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Syracuse linebacker Jordan Faifai (23) tries to wrap up Weber's Quayden Berry (1) during a 6A playoff quarterfinal Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Syracuse High's Chandler Christensen (4) snags a touchdown reception over the outstretched arms of Weber's Teegan Humphreys (16) during a 6A playoff quarterfinal Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Syracuse High's Chandler Christensen (4) tries to stiff-arm a tackle attempt from Weber's Jett Hill (10) during a 6A playoff quarterfinal Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber running back Logan Payne runs in a touchdown during a 6A playoff quarterfinal against Syracuse on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Syracuse quarterback Jake Hopkins (5) eyes a throw to Tyson Stapley (19) during a 6A playoff quarterfinal against Weber on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber High students cheer during a 6A playoff quarterfinal against Syracuse on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Syracuse High students cheer during a 6A playoff quarterfinal against Weber on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Syracuse High's Daxton Faddis (1) celebrates his interception with teammate Jordan Faifai (23) during a 6A playoff quarterfinal against Weber on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber High's Amari Swain runs the football during a 6A playoff quarterfinal against Syracuse on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber receiver Cannon DeVries (32) runs the football during a 6A playoff quarterfinal against Syracuse on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Syracuse High's Daxton Faddis (1) runs the football during a 6A playoff quarterfinal against Weber on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Weber High quarterback Aidan Carter (11) throws to Quayden Berry (1) during a 6A playoff quarterfinal against Syracuse on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

❮ ❯

PLEASANT VIEW — Heading into the Weber-Syracuse 6A state playoff quarterfinal football game Friday, it was difficult to determine which team had the hotter hand.

Was it a wounded No. 4 Warrior tribe, who has kept winning while its starting quarterback is out with injury, or a No. 12 Syracuse squad that was red-hot to begin the season, cooled off during region play, then posted back-to-back blowout playoff triumphs?

It took four full quarters to find out.

Weber fielded a Syracuse punt at its own 10-yard line with 8 minutes, 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter and a 14-7 lead built at the half.

In what may go down in Warrior lore as the most famous drive never to end in a score, Weber embarked on a 17-play possession that ended with a kneel-down at the Syracuse 14 as time expired in a clutch performance for the ages.

With the 14-7 victory over the Titans, Weber advances to the playoff semifinals for the first time since 1999.

The Warriors will face No. 1 Corner Canyon (10-1) at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, at University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium.

“We just gotta trust our coaches, trust our coaches to do a job,” Weber backup quarterback Aidan Carter said. “I was wanting to go score. I wanted to get two possessions on the board and put it away, but coach did a freaking heck of a job by maintaining that clock, and the O-line had a great game.”

Defense played a major part in the second half as all of the points were scored in the first 24 minutes.

Senior defensive back Quayden Berry wrestled the ball away from a Syracuse receiver in the end zone for an amazing interception with 7:51 remaining in the third quarter to maintain the harrowing lead for Weber.

“Quayden Berry, that’s my dog. There’s nothing I can say about that. He’s a playmaker and he made a play. Congrats to him,” Carter said. “We did an amazing job of bending, not breaking; we’ve figured it out. We’re a very solid team.”

The teams traded touchdowns in the first half, but Weber had the leg up with two scores to Syracuse’s one and led 14-7 at the break — and at the end of the game.

There was a lot of activity early with no results to show for it.

Weber (10-2) held the ball for 10 plays to open the game, but the drive ended when Titan safety Daxton Faddis picked off an errant Warrior pass in the end zone.

Syracuse then ran 11 plays that ate up nearly half of the quarter before turning the ball over on downs at the Weber 32.

Logan Payne finally went over from 5 yards out with 1:27 left in the initial quarter as Weber took a 7-0 lead.

“Number 38, Logan Payne, he’s an animal. We’ve trusted him the whole season,” Carter said. “I put the ball in his hands, he’ll run behind our front five and we’re good. He can do that all game and we’ll win.”

Syracuse (8-5) countered on its next possession and tied the game 7-7 when backup quarterback Brevin Hamblin found Chandler Christensen for a 25-yard rainbow TD toss in the back corner of the end zone just 1 minute, 16 seconds later.

Weber gained the upper hand late in the second stanza on a 26-yard touchdown toss from Carter to Jett Hill with 2:26 left in the half, as Hill dove for the pylon, and Weber took the 14-7 edge to the locker room.

“They had the one-high safety, so we knew they could take away the deep shot, so then I come back down and I knew it was going to be there and I just trusted my brother Jett and threw it out there for him and let him make a play,” Carter said.

The Warriors made a ton of tactical errors that kept Syracuse drives alive, but didn’t pay the price for it. Syracuse picked up three first downs on Weber penalties and the Warriors wasted a successful fake punt with another flag.

However, an opportunistic Weber defense kept Syracuse out of the end zone, including an interception by Cannon DeVries at the Titan 2 midway through the second period.

Syracuse missed a field goal attempt just 7 seconds before the end of the half.

The Titans have played Weber tough twice this year, but have come up barely, painfully short both times.

“The storyline was that we just didn’t finish all the way. We had a couple of interceptions down there in the red zone, and the missed field goal. We definitely had our chances,” Syracuse coach Mike Knight said. “Both good teams going into it; a playoff atmosphere that tightened things up a little bit. Considering the situation, I think both teams played pretty well.”