Region 9 football: Tigers grind out run-heavy win at Canyon View

Canyon View vs. Hurricane, Football, Cedar City, UT, Sept. 15, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

CEDAR CITY – After an anemic offensive output in a 28-3 loss a week ago, Hurricane needed to move the ball to have a chance at a road win against Canyon View.

And the Tigers got just enough, scoring two touchdowns and chewing enough clock to come away with a 16-3 Region 9 victory at Falcons Stadium Friday night.

The game also marked a reunion for Falcons head coach Skyler Miller, as he was up against the Hurricane team in which he was an assistant for.

“Nothing but respect for Hurricane,” he said. “They’re obviously dear to me, because of the time I spent down there. They have phenomenal people and kids of great character. We anticipated a battle. It was a battle that we are trying to recreate.”

Hurricane’s Jaron Cordova (15), Canyon View vs. Hurricane, Football, Cedar City, UT, Sept. 15, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

It was a quick game that featured just one complete pass between the two teams. With both teams content to burn clock and run the ball, not much scoring could be expected. The Falcons never did reach the end zone, though they held a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.

As for the Tigers, who held the ball for nearly two-thirds of the entire game, two touchdowns (one each in the second and fourth quarters) turned out to be plenty for the win.

The Falcons were able to put together a great first drive, chewing away more than half of the quarter. But they only came away with a 25-yard field goal from Tyson Davis with 5:31 left in the first. The 3-0 lead was the only lead the Falcons would see.

Although Tigers halfback Tyler Moore received the bulk of the first half carries, it was Region 9’s leading rusher, Jaron Cordova, who stole the show. Quarterback Adam Heyrend connected with running back HK Wolfgram on a 30-yard pass to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Cordova with 27 seconds left in the first half. That Heyrend-Wolfgram connection was the only pass completion of the night.

Canyon View’s Brady Lowry (10), Canyon View vs. Hurricane, Football, Cedar City, UT, Sept. 15, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

The Tigers elected to go for the two-point conversion, and succeeded on another Cordova run. Hurricane held the 8-3 lead going into halftime after a late Falcons drive failed to score any points.

Canyon View had a chance in the third quarter to take the lead, driving the ball inside the Hurricane 20-yard line. But Kyler Bergener had the ball ripped away from him by Hurricane lineman Shane Farnsworth. The big guy pounced on the loose ball, keeping the Falcons out of the end zone with five minutes still left in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Cordova ran in again from 1-yard out, as well as converted on the ensuing two-point conversion, to stretch the lead to 16-3 with 4:26 left in the game. The Falcons would need a miracle to make the comeback.

Falcons quarterback Colten Shumway led the offense down the field on the ensuing drive. Shumway then attempted a deep pass down the middle of the field, only to have Heyrend pick it off with 3:38 left, sealing the win for the Tigers.

Hurricane improves to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in region play with the win. The Tigers had 229 yards of offense and held the ball for 31:46 of the game’s 48 minutes.

For Canyon View, which fell to 0-5 and 0-2, the effort was there, despite the sixth straight loss.

Canyon View’s Jayden Roden (53), Canyon View vs. Hurricane, Football, Cedar City, UT, Sept. 15, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“Our kids, I felt, responded well and played their guts out every down. They are fighters,” Miller said. “Three weeks in a row we’ve been building consistency and it’s just a matter of getting that monkey off our backs.”

A bright spot for the Falcons is that the special teams unit was able to block two punts, including one near the end of the game. Despite what the scoreboard said, the Falcons never gave up. CV also held Hurricane well below its season average in rushing.

“Our defense the last couple of weeks has been pretty stingy,” receiver Tyler Nelson said. “Coach came in preaching BTF. That means Big Tough Falcon.

“When coach came in, he said he wanted to change the culture and honestly, I haven’t seen a student section (so big) at Canyon View. The culture obviously is changing. All we just need to do is transfer it to the field and just win a game for them.”

Cordova finished with 131 rushing yards (on 31 carries) and the two TDs for Hurricane, which will host Cedar next week with game time scheduled for 7 p.m. Moore added 75 yards on 18 carries. The Tigers were 6 for 15 on third downs and 2 for 4 on fourth downs.

Canyon View, which got 69 rushing yards from Bergener, will be on the road next week at Desert Hills with game time scheduled for 7 p.m.

Friday’s results
Snow Canyon 27, Pine View 20
Desert Hills 37, Cedar 13
Hurricane 16, Canyon View 3
Madison (Calif.) 24, Dixie 14

Next Week’s Games
Canyon View @ Desert Hills
Cedar @ Hurricane
Dixie @ Pine View
Snow Canyon (bye)

Region 9 Standings (Region, overall)
Desert Hills 2-0, 3-2
Dixie 1-0, 4-0
Snow Canyon 1-1, 4-1
Cedar 1-1, 2-3
Hurricane 1-1, 2-3
Pine View 0-1, 3-2
Canyon View 0-2, 0-5

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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