SANTA CLARA, Calif. – From the starting quarterback to the long snapper, former Southern California prep football stars had a hand in Utah’s tight 26-24 win over Indiana in the Foster Farms Bowl at Levi’s Stadium on Wednesday.
They certainly made a difference in the game’s final moments, as junior quarterback Troy Williams (Narbonne) drove the Utes down the field with his team down by a point, setting up a 27-yard game-winning field goal by Andy Phillips, who received the snap from senior Chase Dominguez (Orange Lutheran).
Phillips will garner the spotlight for making the game-winning field goal, as he should. But the snap was delivered by Dominguez, the Orange Lutheran product who has played and started in every game in his four-year career while snapping for every punt and placekick.
So of course, it was fitting for Dominguez to have his final snap be arguably the biggest one of his college career. Phillips had no doubt the senior would deliver.
“I got full faith in our protection, full faith in Chase Dominguez, who has been lights out for his entire career,” Phillips said.
Elsewhere on the field, junior safety and Eleanor Roosevelt grad Marcus Williams also made a key interception with the game tied at 17-17 early in the second half, while senior Nick Nowakowski (West Ranch) started at center.
The end result? A positive ending to an up-and-down season for the Utah, which could’ve won the Pac-12 South had it not dropped three of its last four games.
“It still stings a little bit,” Williams said. “We know where we should’ve been. This is where we were placed … I feel like we did a great job coming out here, ending our season on the right note and coming out with a win.”
Williams completed 11 of 23 passes for 178 yards, throwing one interception. He wasn’t the star of the night (that went to his running back, Joe Williams, who rushed for 222 yards), but despite rushing for a net negative-11 yards, ceding a few snaps to freshman backup quarterback Tyler Huntley and having his offense turn the ball over four times, the quarterback didn’t falter when it mattered most.
Though Williams threw just one pass on the Utes’ final drive, it set up the biggest play of the game. After a holding penalty on Nowakowski pushed Utah back to a second-and-long near midfield, Williams’ 10-yard completion to Raelon Singleton set up Joe Williams’ 32-yard run on third down to put the Utes in field goal range.
In a season full of ebbs and flows — and a turbulent college career that has sent him from Washington to junior college and now to Utah — the quarterback was well-versed with the situation.
“We’ve been handling adversity all year,” Williams said. “Just being a family and as close as we are, we did a great job with that tonight.”
