ST. GEORGE – Pine View returned to form in its 42-21 victory over Cedar Friday night.
Panthers quarterback Kody Wilstead, who was taken out at the beginning of the season with a broken ankle, made a phenomenal comeback by completing 16 of 25 passes for 274 yards and four touchdowns.
“We came out and played and executed the game plan pretty well,” PV assistant coach Todd Shaw said. “We had four first-half turnovers, but our defense was spectacular. Having Wilstead back really opened up a lot for our team from an offensive standpoint.”
The Panthers struck the initial blow when Wilstead connected with Cameron Hughes for a 7-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Wilstead then found Gage Afatasi in the second quarter for the 14-0 lead.
James Katoa then picked up a fumble and ran for a 63-yard score that put the Panthers up 21-0 heading into halftime.
“The team played hard and rallied around Wilstead,” Panthers coach Ray Hosner said. “Our defense was the big point, though. We had some turnovers, but the kids on defense came out and helped big time.”
The second half saw Cedar inch back into the game with a score of its own. But the Panthers scored back-to-back-to-back touchdowns to seal the deal.
“We just let them know we had to get back to executing and not let the score dictate how hard we play,” Hosner said. “Sometimes you get up and start losing that focus. We just regained our focus and ended up increasing the score.”
Pine View, which played with quarterback Dylan Draper during Wilstead’s absence, was able to return to its regular spread offense with the sophomore stud back on the field.
“It’s tough to run an offense that you have for a certain kid,” Hosner said. “Dylan Draper did a great job as quarterback. But now Kody allows us to go back to what we originally designed offensively.”
This was the Panthers first Region 9 win of the season. Their record now stands at a respectable 1-2 (3-3 overall) heading into the bout against Hurricane next week.
“We just came out focused,” PV lineman Jesse Pederson said. “We knew what we had to do and we did it.”
Cedar, on the other hand, has yet to win a game this season(0-2, 0-5). The Reds will try to break that trend next week against Snow Canyon.
Boxscore: pvced2012
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