With the regular season finished, Region 9’s top four teams will now turn towards Region 10 in this week in the first round of the playoffs.
Hurricane vs. Wasatch
Where: Hurricane High School
When: Friday, October 28, at 5:00 p.m.
The 2011 season has played out just as the Tigers of Hurricane had hoped. Finishing with an impressive 9-0 record, including big wins over West Jordan, and Region 9 rivals Dixie and Desert Hills, the Tigers will take on the Wasatch Wasps in the first round of the playoffs.
The 5-5 Wasps had a very up and down season. In the first game this year, they edged out Grantsville 14-13, but after that, there wasn’t such a thing as a close game for the Wasps. Wasatch shut out three teams this season, but also lost to Judge Memorial 49-14, and to Juan Diego 44-13.
Hurricane shouldn’t have a problem with the Wasps, especially on their hope turf. Behind the beast named Brian Scott, and quarterback Taylor Parker, the Tigers are ferocious on both sides of the ball.
Prediction:
Hurricane 35, Wasatch 14
Dixie @ Juan Diego
Where: Juan Diego High School
When: Friday, October 28, at 4:00 p.m.
The Flyers have the hardest matchup for anyone in the first round of the tournament, other than the Wasatch Wasps. Juan Diego finished the regular season 9-1. Their only loss came to Skyline, whom Hurricane beat, and Cedar barely lost to.
The Soaring Eagles have a very balanced offensive attack. It’s apparent that they know how to put points on the board, with two games breaking the 60 point mark this season. They aren’t timid on defense either. Over their ten game season, the Soaring Eagles only gave up 87 points, while scoring 379. Their 379 was 10 more than Hurricane had on the season (granted the Tigers only played 9 games) and the Tigers gave up 141 points to their opponents.
The high-powered Dixie Flyer offense has to show up in this game. The old saying “defense wins games” may not be so true for the Flyers this week. They have to put up points if they want to win. Behind quarterback Blake Barney and dual threat Justin Cummings, the Flyers have the offensive weapons needed to score big points. But they will certainly have their hands full against last year’s 3A state champions.
Prediction:
Juan Diego 42, Dixie 24
Cedar @ Judge Memorial
Where: Judge Memorial High School
When: Friday, October 28, at 5:00 p.m.
The Redmen have been cruising the second half of the season. After losing their first four games of the season, they won four of their last five games, including a big win over Desert Hills last week, 48-20. They will have their hands full again this week when they play the Judge Memorial Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs put together an impressive season, going 7-3 overall. However, the Bulldogs were shut out by the Soaring Eagles of Juan Diego in their last game of the season, 34-0. The Bulldog running backs had two players with 10 touchdowns each.
This bout is sure to be a heavyweight ground and pound game. Neither offense is very pass heavy. The Redmen are hot right now, but they face a strong opponent on the road, it should be a very good game.
Prediction:
Judge Memorial 21, Cedar 14
Desert Hills vs. Park City
Where: Desert Hills High School
When: Friday, October 28, at 7:00 p.m.
The Thunder finished the regular season on a two game losing streak, with losses to Hurricane and Cedar. They’ll have to turn things around at home this weekend against visiting Park City if they want to live to play another game.
The Miners finished their season with a 3-7 record overall. Park City managed to go 3-2 in Region 10 play, but they also gave up 269 points on the year, in comparison to the 251 they scored. Both of these teams are definitely capable of scoring points, but Desert Hills also has one of the better defenses in Region 9.
Desert Hills landed what appears to be the weakest team in the playoffs. Behind Porter Harris and Mike Needham, the Thunder should have no problem taking care of the Miners at home.
Prediction
Desert Hills 41, Park City 21