Region 9 football roundup: Pine View, Cedar, Dixie break into the win column
ST. GEORGE — Here are the results from tonight’s Region 9 games:
Cedar 20, Juab 7
At Cedar, the Redmen scored two touchdowns on their first two possessions of the game to take an early 14-0 lead, then held on to defeat the Juab Wasps, 20-7.
After receiving the ball first to start the game, Cedar marched the length of the field, with senior Drake Fakahua capping off the 69-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run. Zane Montgomery’s PAT kick gave the Redmen a 7-0 lead with 8:31 left in the first quarter.
Juab then went three-and-out on its first possession, punting the ball back to Cedar, who took over on their own 35-yard line. A few plays later, Fakahua broke loose for a 61-yard rushing TD and the Redmen owned a 14-0 lead with 4:39 left in the first quarter.
The score stayed unchanged until the final two minutes of the game, during which each team added a touchdown to account for the final score of 20-7. Cedar’s last score came on a fourth-down, 19-yard TD reception in the end zone by senior Tayvien Brown with 1:43 remaining. Juab’s Cade Bowring ran back the ensuing kickoff past midfield. Soon after that, the Wasps capitalized on a roughing the passer penalty with less than 30 seconds remaining, and Bowring caught a TD pass on the very next play.
Cedar head coach Josh Bennett said Juab made some defensive adjustments to stop the Redmen’s offensive execution, particularly during the middle two quarters of the game.
“I don’t want to take credit away from Juab. They’re a great team. They’re really well-coached, and they made some adjustments,” Bennett said afterward. “The second and third quarters, they stopped us. I was proud of how we came out in the first quarter and we really moved the ball well, but then we just didn’t execute after that, you know, it comes down to execution.”
Bennett said an excessive amount of penalties also hurt the Redmen.
“I felt like we moved the ball effectively, but we just committed too many penalties, and that was a momentum killer. So there’s some things we gotta clean up, especially penalties. I’m happy that we won, but you know, we’ve got lots of things to work on.”
Still, Bennett praised the Redmen defense for keeping the Wasps off the scoreboard almost the entire game.
“We’ve got a great defensive coordinator, Mark Esplin, and he puts a lot of time in to prepare a game plan, and the kids buy into it,” Bennett said. “I was proud of the effort they made, and I felt like we had a shutout there at the end, but then, you know, we commit a penalty and give them another opportunity. But overall, a great defensive effort.”
Salem Hills 17, Desert Hills 10
Salem Hills never trailed against Desert Hills, pulling out a 17-10 win over the Thunder in St. George Friday night.
The Skyhawks struck first, scoring on a TD pass midway through the first quarter.
Desert Hill responded with a 76-yard run by Saul Andrus and Logan Callister’s extra point tied the score with a minute to go in the first quarter.
Salem Hills took the lead for good midway through the second quarter with a field goal that put the Skyhawks up 10-7, which stood up through halftime.
Salem Hills sealed the victory early in the third quarter on the ground with a rushing TD.
Logan Callister narrowed the margin with a 25-yard field goal with a minute to go in the third quarter to make it 17-10, but that was the final blow for the Thunder who fell to 0-2 in the preseason.
Dixie 27, Legacy (N. Las Vegas) 7
The Dixie Flyers traveled to North Las Vegas and came away with a 27-7 victory over Legacy Friday night.
The Flyers took a 14-0 halftime lead but the host Longhorns closed the gap to 14-7 after halftime. However, the Flyers added to their lead in the second half with a touchdown early and late in the final stanza to seal the win.
The victory evened the Flyer’s preseason record to 1-1 after a late loss at Springville last week.
Ridgeline 29, Snow Canyon 13
A late fourth quarter 43-yard TD pass helped Ridgeline top Snow Canyon, 29-13 Friday night in Millville.
The Riverhawks shut out the Warriors in the second half after trailing 13-10 at halftime.
Snow Canyon scored first on a 35-yard pass from Landon Frei to Marshun Swinner but the PAT failed.
Ridgeline narrowed the margin to 6-3 on a 30-yard field goal in the final minute of the first quarter.
However, Jase Mendenhall ran in for a touchdown from 10 yards out midway through the second quarter and Matt Van Gils converted the extra point for a 13-3 lead.
The Riverhawks rallied to close the halftime gap to 13-10 when Frei was intercepted and returned for a touchdown with 2:39 left in the first half.
Ridgeline took the lead for good in the third quarter on a 1-yard pass, 16-13 after the PAT failed. The Riverhawks added another blow early in the fourth quarter on a 43-yard TD pass to make the final 23-13. They added another TD to make the final score, 29-13.
The loss evened the Warriors’ preseason record at 1-1 after their overtime rally last week.
Stansbury 67, Hurricane 8
At Stansbury, the Stallions buried the Tigers with a crushing attack, amassing 10 touchdowns, all on the ground. Senior Silas Young scored the first three TDs for the Stallions, who led 54-0 at the half.
With just under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Hurricane broke the shutout with a 50-yard TD pass from Brock Starley to Raymond Cordova. Starley then ran in the two-point conversion attempt to make it 60-8. Stansbury added one more TD in the closing minutes to account for the final score.
Pine View 45, Highland 30
Canyon View plays Coconino High School in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Saturday.
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