GAME PREVIEW CAPSULE
Hurricane (3-0) at Cedar (0-3)
Previous Meeting – Hurricane 29, Cedar 20 (Sept. 9, 2011 at Hurricane)
TIGERS
Classification: 3A, Region 9
Coach: Chris Homer (11th year, 79-42 overall)
Offense: Wing-T
Last week: Beat Legacy, Nev. 43-34
Players to watch: After just one touchdown and less than 50 yards in his first game, FB Jared Edwards might have been wishing he hadn’t been switched from defense in the off-season. But in the last two weeks Edwards has nearly 300 yards and nine touchdowns rushing. QB Zac Prince and LB Cody Engstrom have both been solid for the Tigers.
PPG: 30.3
PAPG: 18.3
Trend: Sixteen straight wins now for the defending champs. Now that’s a trend. But the Tigers gave up a lot of yards and a lot of points last week to an athletic Legacy team. Cedar won’t be as athletic, but Hurricane always struggles up in Cedar. Still, it looks like the running game is back in high gear, especially if RB Adam Thompson can share part of the load for the Tigers.
REDMEN
Classification: 3A, Region 9
Coach: Todd Peacock (26th year, 153-118-1 overall)
Offense: Wishbone, Wingback
Last week: Lost to Skyline 20-10
Players to watch: The Redmen offense has been anemic, scoring just 24 points total in three games. As always with Cedar, the QB is the key in their triple-option and Easton Weaver is a decent runner. But Cedar has got to pass to keep defenses honest and Weaver is just 13-44 in those three games. The leading rusher for the Redmen is fullback Kolton Harris, but he is averaging just 42 yards a game
PPG: 8.0
PAPG: 24.3
Trend: Cedar had a special QB in John Ursua, who is pretty much irreplaceable. But the 0-3 start has been against some tough opponents in American Fork, Highland and Skyline. Most coaches will tell you that you want to play Cedar early, because late in the year the Redmen have that triple-option down pat.
GAME OUTLOOK
:
On paper, it looks like a blowout win for the state’s top-ranked Tigers. But last time these teams met in Cedar, Hurricane was 9-0 and ranked No. 1, then promptly got run off the field 44-30 in a game that was not as close as the final score indicates. Both teams played Skyline with the Tigers winning 20-7 at home and the Redmen losing 20-10 on the road. This will not be a blowout.
STGnews PREDICTION
Andy Griffin — Hurricane
Jeff Ames — Hurricane