With the regular season in the rear-view mirror, Region 9’s four remaining teams adjusted their focus to Region 10.
Region 9 won the overall battle with Region 10 in the first round of the state playoffs, taking 3 of the 4 games. Let’s start this week’s article with The Bad.
Dixie Flyers vs. Juan Diego Soaring Eagles
Juan Diego 41 – Dixie 0
The Bad: Let’s face it, the Flyers drew the short straw. They were forced to take on the second best team in Utah’s 3A ranks, behind only the Hurricane Tigers. The Juan Diego Soaring Eagles are like the Hurricane Tigers of the north. They dominated Region 10, and have done so for as long as any of the players on their roster have been dawning the uniform. It was an unfortunate circumstance that the Dixie Flyers were forced to take on Juan Diego so early in the post season.
The game started out slowly. It was scoreless for both sides heading into the second period of play. The Soaring Eagles opened it up in the second period, putting 14 points on the board, and really sealed the victory in the third when they added 21 points. The Juan Diego defense really shut down Blake Barney, Justin Cummings, and the rest of the Dixie offense. The Soaring Eagles forced quarterback Blake Barney into three interceptions, and held the normally high-flying Flyer offense scoreless.
Dixie had a very impressive season. finishing with a 7-3 record overall, the Flyers don’t have many things to hang their heads over. Sure, the name of this article is The Good and The Bad, and this section happens to be The Bad portion of that article. But the only bad thing about it was that Dixie didn’t win. They put together a great season, and the best part for the Flyers and their fans is how young this team is. They will retain a big core of their team, including junior quarterback Blake Barney, who put together one of the most impressive season in the quarterback spot statewide.
Congratulations to the Flyers on a great season.
Now let’s talk about The Good.
Hurricane Tigers vs. Wasatch Wasps
Hurricane 42 – Wasatch 7
The Good: The Tigers pounced on Wasatch, and they pounced quickly. Hurricane put up 21 points in the first quarter, and that alone was more than enough. Holding the Wasps scoreless for the first 45 minutes of the game, the Tiger defense shut down any hope for the Wasatch Wasps. Hurricane had four sacks, and six tackles for a loss.
The Hurricane offense dominated again. They racked up 431 yards of total offense, and 291 of those yards were on the ground. Every touchdown the Tigers scored was big. The had one touchdown on a 9-yard play, but every other score came on big plays, including Taylor Parker connecting on two touchdown passes over 40 yards, and a couple of big runs from Joseph Takau and Weston Yardly.
Hurricane looked as dominant against Wasatch as they have the rest of the season. The Tigers will now welcome Grantsville High to Tiger Stadium. The Cowboys are 7-4 on the season. They lost their first 3 games, but have gone 7-1 since then. The beat North Sanpete 16-7 in their first round matchup. The Tigers shouldn’t have a problem continuing their dominant ways this week.
Hurricane vs Grantsville
Friday night at 7:00 at Hurricane High School
Cedar Redmen vs. Judge Memorial Bulldogs
Cedar 45 – Judge Memorial 21
The Good: Ok, I’m just going to get this out of the way right now. My prediction for this game was a complete 180 from the actual outcome. Despite Cedar’s recent success, I didn’t see them getting the victory against Judge Memorial on the road. But they certainly proved me wrong.
Cedar jumped out early against the Bulldogs, and held on to their lead. They were up 28-7 at the half, and added 17 more in the third period. Cedar has completely flipped the script on their season. After a terrible start, they’re one of the hottest teams in 3A.
This week the Redmen will head to Delta to take on the Rabbits. Delta has been one of the best teams in 3A this season. They’re 10-1 so far this year, and after shutting out Ogden last week 43-0, they’re on a 10-game winning streak.
Cedar at Delta
Friday night at 7:00 at Delta High School
Desert Hills Thunder vs. Park City Miners
Desert Hills 34 – Park City 14
The Good: The Thunder struck early Friday night. Desert Hills jumped out to a 14 point lead over Park City in the first quarter. But that lead didn’t last too long. The Miners fought back in the second quarter and went into halftime down 17-14. Desert Hills stopped all hopes of a Park City comeback. The Thunder shut out the Miners in the second half.
On paper, this game was closer than the scoreboard makes it out to be. Both teams had around 300 yards of total offense. The difference was Desert Hills’ ability to score. Quarterback Porter Harris was able to connect for three touchdown passes, two of which were to Ty Rutledge. Desert Hills’ impressive run defense continued its dominance, only giving up 100 yards to the Miners on the ground.
This was a big win for the Thunder who faltered towards the end of the season. This week they will head north to take on the Region 11 champion Stansbury. The Stallions are 9-1 on the season and beat Juab 48-21 last week.
Desert Hills at Stansbury
Friday night at 7:00 at Stansbury High School
