The ball was floating irresistibly toward Chase Hansen, so Lone Peak's quarterback did the natural thing: He caught it.

That was a judgment error, because catching his own deflected pass gave the Knights a 12-yard loss. The play kept Hansen from personally topping 400 yards of total offense.

In the first half.

That tells you everything you need to know about Friday's Class 5A state championship game. With his impact divided almost evenly between running and passing, Hansen was the story of the Knights' 41-21 win over Fremont. He made some mistakes, losing two fumbles and throwing an interception in the end zone, but Hansen did plenty to help deliver the school's first football title.

"I'm just overwhelmed right now," he said.

That was only fair, considering how Fremont felt.

Imagine being the Silver Wolves, reaching Rice-Eccles Stadium in consecutive 5A finals, only to run into what was likely Utah's best high school team ever (Bingham of 2010) and then the state's best quarterback since … who, D.J. Nelson, maybe?

Actually, if these past two Fridays served as any kind of unofficial competition between Nelson and Hansen, Round 2 was no contest. Nelson produced the signature moment of this prep postseason with his last-minute, 40-yard touchdown pass that powered Logan past East for the 4A crown, but Hansen topped him with one jaw-dropping play after another.

Hansen passed for 242 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 233 yards and two scores. "He's an all-star, all the time," said receiver Micah Hannemann.

Well, Hansen was pretty average in the second half. After posting 398 total yards in the first half, threatening the state record of 606 yards that Nelson established in the 4A semifinals, Hansen was not the same player. He followed his epic performance of the first 24 minutes with a touchdown pass on the Knights' first play of the third quarter, but then had two turnovers and only 53 more yards of offense. While mildly beating himself up about those mistakes, Hansen still could not stop smiling, praising a Lone Peak defense that produced four takeaways.

"I couldn't run the script better for my senior year," Hansen said.

As a junior, Hansen had left Rice-Eccles disappointed, losing 20-14 to Fremont in the semifinals as his last pass was tipped by a receiver and intercepted. The Knights needed every bit of Hansen's 462 yards (and 45 points, from his offense) in a semifinal win over Jordan, after the defense had saved them in the quarterfinals against Northridge.

This was a complete effort on both sides, and Hansen was poised and electrifying, if that's a possible combination. He would survey the field, move around in the pocket, and either find an open receiver or take off down the field. Playmakers such as Hannemann, Talon Shumway and Connor Humphrey boosted Hansen's numbers after catching the ball, but he also made a lot happen by himself.

His volume of running was not necessarily according to plan. "We just saw a crease where we could take advantage of their [defense]," coach Tony McGeary said, "and he just proved why he's the best quarterback in the state."

Certainly, few quarterbacks have accomplished as much in two weeks at Rice-Eccles, where Hansen is committed to play for the University of Utah. For now, he has a nice, lasting impression of the place.

"This memory right here will never leave me," he said. "Eventually, I'll be up here, and what an honor it was to play on this field. But I'm going to enjoy this for a long time. "