Orem steamrolls Pine View in 4A football semifinals

Written by Jeff Richards
November 9, 2018

SALT LAKE CITY — The high-powered offenses of the Pine View Panthers and Orem Tigers finally collided in Friday night’s 4A football semifinal contest, and it was the Tigers who came out on top, 62-20.

Pine View vs. Orem, 4A semifinals, Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov. 9, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

The Tigers got the jump on the Panthers early on, scoring four unanswered touchdowns in the first quarter to build an early 28-0 lead. Two of the scores came in the span of 15 seconds of clock time, as the Tigers capitalized on a fumbled kickoff return by Pine View by scoring on the next play from scrimmage, a 15-yard run by Noah Sewell that made it 21-0 with 7:36 left in the first period.

“Our special teams, we didn’t play very good and [Orem is] a good football team,” Pine View head coach Ray Hosner said after the game.  “We gave up a blocked punt and we fumbled the ball on the kickoff,” he added.

Hosner said once his team fell that far behind, it became increasingly more difficult for them to get back in the game, “especially against a good team like Orem.”

A broken-up pass play, Pine View vs. Orem, 4A semifinals, Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov. 9, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

“But our kids fought to the end and that’s what I was proud of,” Hosner added. “I’m proud of the kids and how they played. They did a great job this season. They got here and that was the goal. That’s all we could ask for.”

Orem ran 32 plays in the first half compared to Pine View’s 43 plays, but the Tigers racked up 412 yards in total offense in the first half alone, while Pine View had 185 yards.

Pine View scored its first points of the game on a 15-yard TD pass from Macloud Crowton to Tosh Wright with just under five minutes left in the second quarter. At that point, Orem held a 41-7 lead and would go on to score one more TD before halftime to pad their lead to 48-7.

Pine View head coach Ray Hosner talks to his players after the game, Pine View vs. Orem, 4A semifinals, Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov. 9, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

The mercy rule kicked in when the third quarter started, keeping the clock running most of the time, except during timeouts and penalties. Orem tacked on two more TDs in the third quarter, the second one coming on a 78-yard scoring run by Sewell, his third and final TD of the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, Pine View’s Dallin Brown returned the kick 87 yards for a TD, winding his way through several Orem players before reaching the end zone. Connor Brooksby’s extra-point kick made it 62-14 with just over a minute remaining in the third.

During the fourth quarter, there was only one more score by either team, as Wright picked up a 2-yard rushing TD with under two minutes left in the game. He finished with 116 yards rushing on 19 carries.

Pine View kicker Connor Brooksby makes an extra point against Orem in the 4A semifinals, Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov. 9, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Although Brooksby’s final PAT attempt missed, the senior kicker finished his remarkable career with 209 extra points made, along with 33 successful field goal attempts. Both marks are the second-highest totals by any player in Utah high school history, according to statistician George Felt.

Hosner also reached a milestone last week’s win at Stansbury, picking up his 150th career victory in 18 seasons as Pine View’s head coach.

Against Orem, Crowton completed 10 of 23 passes during the game for 161 yards and one TD. Defensively, Pine View was led by junior Daylor Rymer, who had a team-high nine tackles and made one interception.

By beating Pine View, Orem earned a return trip to Rice-Eccles Stadium next Friday, when the Tigers will face the Dixie Flyers in the 4A championship game. Kickoff time is 11 a.m.

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Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have two young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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