Game Preview Capsule: Pine View at Lehi

GAME PREVIEW CAPSULE
Pine View (2-0, 0-0) at Lehi (1-1, 0-0)
Previous Meeting: Pine View 42, Lehi 6 (Sept. 14, 2007 at Lehi)
Broadcast: ESPN SportsRadio 106.1 FM, Andy Griffin on play-by-play

PANTHERS
Pine-view-smClassification: 3AA, South Region
Coach: Ray Hosner (13th year, 103-37 overall)
Offense: Spread
Last game: Beat Orem 42-14
Players to watch: RB Tristan Duran had a great game last week with 164 combined yards and two TDs. QB Kody Wilstead threw five TD passes and seems to have eliminated most of the panicky decision-making he had as a sophomore last year. Truthfully, he looked better than a lot of QBs playing on Saturdays across the country. WR Jack Bangerter caught another seven passes and has 17 for 295 yards and four scores in two games. LB Thor Katoa seemed to be in on the tackle on every play vs. Orem.
PPG: 40-0
PAPG: 18.0
Trend: With the rise of Desert Hills and Hurricane in recent years, Pine View has dropped from among southern Utah’s elite. The Panthers want desperately to get back there. It’s early, but they look like they’re headed that way with Wilstead in the driver’s seat. Still, getting caught up in the hype has hurt them in the past. It is, after all, still preseason. A blowout win this week would be another shot of confidence heading into region play.

PIONEERS
lehiClassification: 5A, Region 4
Coach: David Hastings (3rd year, 5-17 overall)
Offense: Spread/Wing-T
Last game: Lost to Dixie 51-28
Players to watch: Caden Calton is the real deal. The RB has 331 yards rushing and five TDs in two games, plus he led the team in receiving yards for the Pioneers last week as well. QB Derek Beeston has Lehi passing a bit more (307 yards in two games), but the Pioneers are still rushing almost twice as much as throwing (78-41). When they do throw, senior WR Austin Whetzel is usually the top target with 139 yards in two games.
PPG: 44.0
PAPG: 35.5
Trend: If Lehi beat Dixie 51-28 and Lehi beat Murray 60-20, does that mean Dixie would beat Murray by 63? Probably not, but it does mean that Murray is probably pretty bad. As for the Pioneers, well, the jury’s still out. Dixie certainly made them look silly with more than 500 yards of offense and 44 points in the first three quarters. The 5A Lehi team still has to play Pleasant Grove, Lone Peak and the other big boys, so it will get even tougher for them. It could be a long year if they can’t beat a couple of 3AA teams.

GAME OUTLOOK
We shouldn’t compare this game with the Dixie-Lehi game. After all, Lehi will be at home, plus we’ll never know how much the heat affected the Pioneers last week. Yeah, it would be unfair to compare the two games … but we’re going to do it anyway. If Pine View’s passing game is on par with the Flyers, PV should be able to march up and down the field with ease. In fact, Lehi’s defense is bad. But the Pioneers have athletes on offense. PV should win, but will the Pioneers put up a few scores?

STGnews (record) PREDICTION
Andy Griffin (13-1) — Pine View
Darren Cole (11-3) — Pine View
Parry’s spread: Pine View by 17

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