American Falls 28, Bear Lake 22, OT

MONTPELIER - American Falls staged a furious fourth-qyarter comeback for a 28-22 overtime win at Bear Lake on Friday that sealed 3A Fifth District regular-season title for the Beavers.

Bear Lake can still qualify for the state playoffs if it beats Snake River next week and American Falls defeats Marsh Valley, a combination that would create a three-way tie for second place in the division.

"We knew they would come out and play their butts off because they have their backs against the wall," American Falls coach Jess Johnson said. "We've been telling our kids all week that you can't take Bear Lake lightly. They didn't listen to me; we kind of sleep walked through the first three quarters."

The Beavers (5-2, 2-0 3A Fifth District) trailed 14-0 entering the fourth quarter before Devin Mock intercepted a Bear Lake pitch and returned it for a touchdown. The ensuing two-point conversion, coupled with a 3-yard Jordan Flores run, gave American Falls a 15-14 lead with about two minutes remaining.

Bear Lake (2-5, 0-2) responded when Morris Bunn reeled off an 81-yard run, but Kody Laggis hit Tyce Stewart with a four-yard pass as time expired to send the game into overtime.

Laggis completed 7-for-11 passes for 124 yards, a heavy workload for a quarterback who has gone entire games without throwing a single pass.

"We like to hang our hat on running the ball, but he came up big for us today," Johnson said. "We work on it enough to know what we need to do."

Laggis capped off his big day by scoring on a three-yard run in overtime.

"They just made some great plays down the stretch," Bear Lake coach Jon Homer said. "We're just kind of in shock. We feel like we played them every step of the way, and they found some life. Credit to them. They stuck with it and hung in there."