Utah
Utah Warriors to host Major League Rugby’s west final after holding off Seattle 23-21
HERRIMAN — The ending left more to be desired, but the first-ever home playoff game in Utah Warriors history finished with a burst, a boom, and a celebration unlike anything the eighth-year franchise has experienced on home turf at Zions Bank Stadium.
Jordan Trainor scored a pair of tries and D’Angelo Leuila converted two critical second-half penalty kicks as the Utah Warriors held off the Seattle Seawolves 23-21 in front of more than 4,000 fans.
The host fans left happy Saturday night — if not without some nerves.
“We’ve got the best fans in the comp,” Trainor said. “To have them come out for us and to get a win for them, to put on a show for them, we’re stoke for them. … Having those home fans is like another player out there.”
Lauina Futi scored two tries for Seattle, but it was Trainor’s brace — and a crowd that included everybody’s favorite Uncle Phil, actor Ty Burrell, and Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson — that launched the top-seeded Warriors to a 17-0 halftime advantage.
“We were happy with the first half,” Trainor said. “I think we just stuck to our game plan and our systems, and came away real happy in the second half. … But we knew Seattle was going to stay in it, which they did. We’re just happy to get a win and move on to next week.”
Warriors coach Greg Cooper credited Trainor for sparking the first-half flash — as well as Kyle Brown, the 22-year-old New Zealand center who returned from a nearly two-month injury to start at outside center and spark the offense.
It was Brown’s offload pass that set up Trainor’s first try, and the youngster played a critical role in each of Utah’s three first-half scoring plays that also included Joel Hodgson’s penalty-goal conversions.
“We’re really lucky to have JT; our back three is really solid,” Cooper said. “And it was a tremendous performance from Kyle Brown. We gave him 40 minutes because that’s all we thought we’d get out of him today; and I thought it was an outstanding 40 minutes.”
The Warriors also held up another try to close the first half, which — when considering the final score — proved crucial, both mathematically and in momentum.
After a penalty try to open the second half, Futi dotted it down twice between the 58th and 71st minute to pull the Seawolves within 2 points.
But it was a pair of penalty kicks from Leuila — including one from distance in the 66th minute — as well as an illegal lineout by Seattle in the final minutes of the match that helped Utah advance to next week’s conference championship.
“I thought our defense was outstanding today,” said Cooper, who (somewhat cheekily) admitted his side hasn’t played a complete game yet. “We came under a lot of pressure, but I thought our first-half defense was superb. We didn’t chase rucks, we had chased rucks, and we put ourselves under pressure.
“Some of our attack was outstanding. But we probably left 3-4 tries out there.”
The Warriors will host the winner of Sunday’s match between Houston and Los Angeles next Saturday, June 21, at Zions Bank Stadium.
The winner will advance to face the Eastern Conference champion June 28 at Centreville Bank Stadium in Rhode Island.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (19-14-1) at the Utah Mammoth (17-16-3).
The Broadcast: TV — MSGSN 2, Devils Hockey Radio
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Utah
Man accused of killing Charlie Kirk files motion to disqualify Utah County Attorney’s Office from prosecuting case
The bottom line? An atmospheric river will pump moisture into northern Utah through the weekend, but with how warm it is, snow levels will remain high. Even the Wasatch Back will see more rain than snow, and what little snow they get will barely stick, if at all. Mountains won’t do too bad.
The weeks following the college football regular season provide players plenty of time to weigh their NFL draft options against their desire to compete in a bowl game.
In Utah’s case, offensive tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, as well as defensive end Logan Fano, decided it was in their best interests to forego the Utes’ Las Vegas Bowl matchup against Nebraska and declare for the 2026 NFL Draft instead.
Utah quarterback Devon Dampier, meanwhile, was looking forward to one last ride with his 2025 teammates before calling it a season.
“I chose to finish out this season with my team,” Dampier said during a media availability session Thursday. “I’m gonna play in the game. But some people, it’s a lot higher stakes; got a couple first rounders and things like that.”
‘We know those guys love us. They let it be known every day since they’ve been here, so we still support those guys and they support us.”
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham presumed Thursday that the Fano brothers and Lomu would be the only bowl game opt-outs on Utah’s side, along with a few walk-ons. Some Utes who announced their transfer portal intentions continued to practice with the team as well.
Dampier confirmed his availability for the Las Vegas Bowl after a historic regular season under center, becoming the first Utes signal-caller to throw for over 2,000 yards and rush for over 600 yards in a single season since Alex Smith accomplished the feat in 2004. Dampier had 2,180 passing yards, a career-high 22 passing touchdowns and only five interceptions after throwing 12 picks last season. He also had 687 rushing yards and seven touchdowns going into Utah’s postseason game.
While his intentions for Dec. 31 were made clear, Dampier’s status for next season remained somewhat cloudy. He did hint at making an announcement alongside fellow quarterback Byrd Ficklin, though it was postponed after Ficklin’s return to the Utes was leaked Dec. 11.
“Y’all going to see,” Dampier said when asked if he was coming back for the 2026 campaign. “It’s great. I’m very happy to be here.”
“[Ficklin and I] were trying to do something special, but his [return] got a little leaked out before we could get to it. But it’s coming.”
Dampier said during a radio show appearance earlier in December that he was “big on staying” and had “no intentions to leave” the Utes. He also said over the airwaves that he anticipates being named a captain for the 2026 squad, and that he does play a role in recruiting.
Dampier discussed Kyle Whittingham’s impending departure from the program and the future outlook with Morgan Scalley set to take over during his media availability session.
On Kyle Whittingham’s decision to step down as head coach
“That’s a legend. I got a lot of respect for him. I think he’s transformed this program. He’s made it perfect for [Morgan] Scalley to step in. I’m still excited to still be at Ute.”
On Morgan Scalley taking over as head coach
“I’m very confident in Scalley. When I came here on my visit, that was someone I talked to. He let me know the rundown for when his time comes. He had his full belief in me and in my talent, so I’m perfectly fine where I’m at.”
On sending Whittingham off with a win
“It means a lot to me. I could try to speak for everybody on the team, but for me, especially, that’s a coach that believed in me to come in here after being at New Mexico, and just had a full trust in me, in the offense, to do what we do. And that’s just huge respect from him, and just what he’s done for this program. This is one only programs in college football where you know what Utes do, you know how they play and you know the mentality. So for him to leave that up, I got to finish well for him.”
On whether the program is in better hands than it would be if an outsider was hired
“Most definitely. I think just what’s already set here, what’s known here; Scalley has been under Whitt. I think Whitt’s done a great job of allowing him to demonstrate what a good head coach looks like and I know Scalley is gonna step into it and do what he does.”
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