As the seconds ticked off on a dream unfulfilled, East’s football players watched the Leopards’ final gasp of a chance die on the cold turf of Rice-Eccles Stadium.
These were proud players who hadn’t experienced many losses in three glorious years playing for a two-time defending state champion often ranked among the best in the nation.
But try as they might in a desperate fourth quarter comeback attempt in the Class 6A championship game against another defending champion in Bingham, it wasn’t meant to be.
Some dealt with the loss quietly. Others looked angry. And quarterback Ben Ford, who missed last year’s state title game victory with an injury, sobbed, shouldering some of the blame.