After the fourth week of Region 9 match-ups, it’s more clear as to which teams are contenders, and which are pretenders.
In week four, one undefeated fell, a winless persisted, and there was a barn burner at Panther Stadium.
The Good:
Hurricane Tigers (4-0) vs. Cedar Redmen (0-4):
Hurricane 29, Cedar 20
The Good News:
The Tigers continued their undefeated way against the Redmen on Friday night, but not without a little scare. It took a big fourth quarter by the Tigers to secure the win, the winless Redmen held their own against the state runners-up. Hurricane scored with only 1:35 left on the game clock to take the nine point lead. This touchdown came 21 seconds after Cedar scored, making the game 22-20.
The Tigers have major weapons on both sides of the ball. Offensively they have Brian Scott. Scott rushed the ball 20 times for 245 yards and three touchdowns. Scott currently leads the entire state with 11 touchdowns in four games. Defensively, Jared Edwards shined for the Tigers. He accounted for 21 tackles, and also scored the ball on a 5-yard run.
Hurricane continues their strong play, and will look to remain undefeated as they face the only other undefeated team in Region 9, Dixie, on Friday.
The Bad News:
The bad news really isn’t that bad for Cedar this week. The Redmen put together their most impressive preformance of the season against Hurricane. But they still came up short. They took a seven-point lead into halftime, holding the Tigers scoreless. John Ursua led the Redmen with 191 yards rushing on 29 carries, and two scores. He also went 9-of-18 for 140 yards through the air, including one touchdown pass to Braiden French.
Turnovers hurt the Redmen. Ursua fumbled three times and threw one interception. If Cedar can maintain possession, and force a few turnovers on defense, the Redmen should get in the win column soon.
Cedar has this week off before they host 2-2 Pine View next Friday.
Dixie Flyers (4-0) vs Pine View (2-2):
Dixie 35, Pine View 33
The Good News:
The Flyers made a bold statement Friday night with their biggest win of the season on the turf at Pine View. In the ultimate back-and-forth game, Dixie held on to grab the victory in Washington County’s marquee battle. The Flyers were led by familiar names. Blake Barney went 16-of-28 passing for three touchdowns, but also had three interceptions. Justin Cummings ran the ball 23 times for 118 yards and one score. Barney is currently third in the state with 12 touchdown passes. Lukas Hildebrandt caught seven passes for 152 yards and scored twice.
The Flyers may have turned skeptics into believers with this win. They’re now one of two undefeated teams left in Region 9, along with the Tigers of Hurricane, who they happen to host this Friday night.
The Bad News:
Pine View certainly held their own in the cross-town battle, but the Flyers were just too much. Despite a 2-2 record so far, the Panthers should still be considered one of the strongest teams in Region 9, and all of 3A for that matter.
Braxton Peterson led the Pine View offense with 19 carries for 162 yards and two touchdowns. Kody Wilstead was 6-of-13 through the air for 187 yards and one score. The Panther defense intercepted the Flyers three times, but the Panther offense fumbled three times.
The Panthers will look to get back into the win column this week when they host the 3-1 Desert Hills Thunder who are rolling as of late.
Desert Hills Thunder (3-1) Canyon View Falcons (2-1):
Desert Hills 39, Canyon View 2
The Good News:
This game was all Desert Hills. Up 32-0 at halftime, the Thunder boomed early and never looked back. Quarterback Porter Harris was very efficient, going 8-of-11 for 176 yards and one touchdown. Mike Needham carried the ball nine times for 130 yards and three touchdowns, he also caught four passes for an additional 111 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, the Thunder were solid, not giving up a single point to the Falcons. Peter Brown is fifth in the state with 39 tackles in 4 games. Canyon View’s only points came off of a safety they forced in the fourth quarter.
It’s safe to say Desert Hills has recovered from their week-one heartbreaker against Syracuse. Since week one the Thunder have put up 109 points while only allowing 16. The Thunder are rolling, and the rest of Region 9 should be on the lookout.
Desert Hills will have their hands full this week when they visit Panther Stadium to take on 2-2 Pine View.
The Bad News:
The Falcons started the season strong with back-to-back wins before a week 3 bye, but they seemed to have taken two weeks off instead. The only points the Falcons put on the board were via a safety in the fourth quarter.
Offensively, Canyon View was absent. Kameron King and Koy Huxford both took snaps Friday night, and were a combined 5-of-18 passing for only 48 yards. The Falcons put in 139 yards of total offense, but their defense allowed Desert Hills a whopping 438 yards, and, more importantly, 39 points.
This week Canyon View hosts 1-2 Snow Canyon, before three consecutive road games.
Snow Canyon Warriors (1-2):
The Good News:
The Warriors were the only Region 9 team playing out of Region 9 this weekend. They traveled to North Sanpete, and came home with a victory.
Snow Canyon put together a strong offensive game behind Brayden Linde, who went 12-of-28 for 211 yards and one touchdown. The Warriors notched 415 yards of total offense and held the Hawks to 162 yards. Snow Canyon got a little careless with the football at times, fumbling four times, and losing three of them.
Defensively, the Warriors forced two interceptions and two fumbles. Curtis Bulloch led the Warrior defense with eight solo tackles, one sack, and three tackles for loss. Trevor Nelson also landed eight tackles for the Warriors, with 1.5 sacks and assisted five other tackles.
Don’t count the Warriors out yet, they play their next two on the road, at 2-1 Canyon View this week, followed by a big battle next week against undefeated Hurricane.
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Region 9 has four teams in the Deseret News’ 3A rankings.
1.) Hurricane 4-0
2.) Dixie 4-0
3.) Juan Diego 3-1
4.) Desert Hills 3-1
5.) Pine View 2-2
Region 9 is also represented in the statewide rankings.
Hurricane #10
Dixie #13
Desert Hills #22
