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SANDY — Enzo Jaques put away his third goal of the match in the final minute and jogged to the sideline, where a mix of English and Portuguese cheered him to victory in the 3A state final Wednesday at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Then he turned around and saw a teammate kneeling in front of him.
Bow to the king? Hardly; just shine up those boots. They may be worth something someday.
Jaques scored a second-half hat trick in about 20 minutes of game time, and Felipe Harada added a goal as top-seeded Layton Christian pulled away from Real Salt Lake Academy 4-0.
"It was very special for me. It makes me happy," said Jacques, a senior in his first season with the Eagles (17-3). "I thought that I was going to score, but I never thought I could do this in this stadium, where an MLS team plays.
"Scoring a hat trick in the final makes today special. I think I'll remember this day for the rest of my life."
In the battle of the last two 2A state champs, it was the champion of 2019 that took the decisive edge, with a roster that spoke as much Portuguese as English on the pitch often dribbling circles around the representatives from the charter school that shares quarters with MLS club Real Salt Lake's training facility in Herriman and finished the season with a 14-3 record.
With both former 2A schools in 3A, Layton Christian first-year coach Lucas Almeida mentioned the team wanted to prove they were "the best team in Utah." On Wednesday evening, they did just that — to say nothing of wins against higher classification opponents like Sky View, Northridge and Tooele.
"We're very diverse; we come from everywhere," Almeida said. "I feel like sometimes we aren't so welcome by other teams. I just told them, you keep your heads straight; that's going to be the biggest challenge we face.
"Every single game, it's little comments. But they just go out there and do what they need to do."
Jaques estimates that "more than half" of the Eagles' roster hails from Brazil, with other players from as far away as Costa Rica and Serbia, as well. That cultural diversity could lead to some awkward exchanges when the team would go on the road and win — sometimes convincingly.
"They are angry, and say things with no meaning. I understand it," Jaques said. "We understand that we came from outside the country, and we're here beating them. It may be hard for them.
"If I was in Brazil, and someone came to my country and beat me, I'd also be upset. I understand. I don't get mad."
At the end of the day, the group only wanted to play futebol and play it beautifully, leading the jogo bonito to the school's second championship in three seasons.
"We play with joy; we play bonito, play beautiful," Jaques said. "That's what we love to do; we love to be here, in the field. More than anything, we love to be on this grass field in this beautiful stadium.
"This made all the difference for us."
Felipe Harada gave LCA the early lead, sliding home a worm-burner in the 17th minute to put the Eagles up 1-0.
Jaques ripped a scorcher just past the hour mark, after a pair of deft saves from goalkeeper Guilherme Palacio kept the clean sheet for Layton Christian.
The senior Brazilian made it 3-0 with a goal in the 72nd minute, slicing a shot that took a deflection into the back of the net for the final margin before finishing off his hat trick with 40 seconds remaining. Jaques gave credit to his teammates, to his defense, and to God for the performance.
But his coach heaped plenty of credit on his striker.
"I believe in him. He believes a lot in himself," Almeida said. "And a player like that doesn't show up easily.
"You let those guys play. … He has the skill, but his confidence is up there."
