Game Preview Capsule: Pine View (5-2) at Hurricane (1-6)

The Hurricane Tigers beat Pine View in overtime a year ago. File photo from St. George, Utah, Sept. 27, 2012 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, St. George News

GAME PREVIEW CAPSULE
Pine View (5-2, 3-1) at Hurricane (1-6, 1-3)
Previous Meeting: Tigers 30, Panthers 23 (Sept. 28, 2012, at Pine View)
Broadcast: Triplecast, STGNews.com, CEC-TV (Baja Ch. 22), ESPN SportsRadio 106.1 FM

PANTHERS
Pine-view-smClassification: 3AA, South Region
Coach: Ray Hosner (13th year, 106-39 overall)
Offense: Spread
Last game: Beat Cedar 21-14
Players to watch: DB Jaden Peterson had a pivotal pick-six vs. Cedar. WR Jack Bangerter played like he is 100 percent with 125 receiving yards and seven catches. Two guys, LBs Thor Katoa and Kaden Kreager, seem to be in on every tackle for the Panthers. Xoren Alisa is a difference-maker on defense and is battling back from injury. QB Kody Wilstead averaged 386 passing yards a game the first five weeks of the season when Pine View went 3-2. The last two games, he’s only averaged 240 passing yards. Both games were close wins.
PPG: 31.9
PAPG: 21.0
Trend: Cedar was tough (the Redmen always are at home), but for the second straight week, the PV defense led out in a close victory that required a couple of fourth-quarter stands. The Panthers are also finally starting to come out from under the injury pall that was hanging over the team. Colton Miller is out, but that should be about it. That Pine View emerged from the Snow Canyon-Dixie-Desert Hills-Cedar gauntlet with a 3-1 record says a lot about this year’s team, which seems to be mentally tougher than in recent years. PV has been involved in five close games this year and won three of them. This week and next week should be much easier.

TIGERS
hurricane-smClassification: 3AA, South Region
Coach: Chris Homer (12th year, 86-50 overall)
Offense: Wing-T
Last game: Lost to Snow Canyon 38-20
Players to watch: WR Noah Elison has 17 catches for 251 yards for a team that throws just 14 times a game. Imagine if he played for a team that threw 39 times a game like Pine View. The next two games feature pass-happy teams (undefeated Logan is next week), so the pressure will be on DBs Adlai Elison, Jay Williams, Noah Elison and others. A big key will be pass pressure, so look for LBs Jeremiah Ieremiah, Charlie Sefita and Cody Lebaron to blitz early and often. FB JD Stanworth leads the team with 241 rushing yards, but has just four receptions. The FB out of the backfield has been a big play over the years for HHS.
PPG: 16.0
PAPG: 29.0
Trend: Usually this time of year we’re talking about the Tigers’ 1,000-yard fullback and maybe a halfback that is also approaching that mark. So far this year, the entire team (12 players) has a combined 1,069 rushing yards. But Hurricane has shown resilience in hanging in the game with both Dixie and Snow Canyon. Moral victories aside, Hurricane should be sky-high for this rivalry game. Nothing fires up a Tiger more than a Panther. Hurricane’s three-game losing streak is tough and it could reach six if the Tigers can’t find a way to get past PV, Logan or Desert Hills. But Hurricane is likely still in the playoffs, so keeping the chin up is paramount.

GAME OUTLOOK
The history of this game suggests it will be close (three overtime games the past five years). The Tigers certainly have the ability to hang with Pine View. Both teams had real battles with Cedar and both lost to Dixie. The real key is that Panther passing attack against some pretty good defensive backs for Hurricane. Without Miller, Wilstead will have to look to Bangerter and elsewhere in the passing game. Hurricane must get the fullback (JD Stanworth or Ieremiah) going. Pine View RB Pano Tiatia could be key as PV rushes more than most people might think.

STGnews (record) PREDICTION
Andy Griffin (30-7) — Pine View
Darren Cole (26-11) — Pine View
Parry’s spread: PV by 18

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2013, all rights reserved.

The Hurricane Tigers beat Pine View in overtime a year ago. File photo from St. George, Utah, Sept. 27, 2012 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, St. George News
The Hurricane Tigers beat Pine View in overtime a year ago. File photo from St. George, Utah, Sept. 27, 2012 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, St. George News

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