Breakdown: An in-depth look at Week 2 in the 3AA South Region (w/highlights and photos)

Cottonwood vs Snow Canyon, St. George, Utah, August 29, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

After winning just three of seven contests in Week 1, the 3AA South played angry in Week 2 and the result was four blowout wins, a double-overtime thriller, a disappointing home loss and, well, Payson.

Our St. George News team scrambled Friday night to get fans the lowdown on all the goings on in the 3AA South, including stories, photos and highlights from the night of football. Here’s what we found:

Hurricane 28, Stansbury 7
Written by Andy Griffin

HURRICANE — A little luck and a lot of defense helped the Hurricane Tigers send the Stansbury Stallions back home with their tails between their legs.

hurricane-smThe first six minutes of the contest was owned by Stansbury, which came into the game ranked second in the state by the Deseret News. The Stallions had stuffed Hurricane’s opening drive and marched 53 yards to the HHS 12-yard line. But the next four plays would turn the game on its ear.

On second-and-5 at the HHS 12, Stansbury fumbled the ball on an exchange between quarterback Gage Mangione and running back Hudson Conrad. Hurricane’s defense pounced on the loose ball at the 12, but the Tiger offense netted minus-6 yards on the next two plays. Then came the luckiest play of the game.

Stansbury at Hurricane, Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 29, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News
Stansbury at Hurricane, Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 29, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News

On third-and-15 at the Hurricane 6-yard line, Tigers QB Kayden Langston rolled right into his own end zone. With pressure coming, he threw a wounded duck toward Nick McDaniel, who had yet to turn and look for the ball. Stansbury defensive back Coalten Brown read the pass and had the interception timed perfectly, but when the ball arrived, Brown had it bounce off his hands and into the waiting arms of McDaniel. The senior wide receiver took the carom and, finding himself behind the defense, bolted the remaining 80 yards or so to the end zone.

“Yeah it was lucky,” Langston said. “It probably should have been picked off. We got lucky, man. He wasn’t looking yet, but I had nowhere else to throw it. It worked out, man. Got lucky.”

No one on the field after the game was arguing about the fortuitousness of that play. But what happened the rest of the game had nothing to do with luck. In fact, the happy bounce seemed to light a fire under the Tigers that would never flame out.

“Well take luck where we can find it, but our offensive line did a great job tonight and our inside game, especially, was good tonight,” HHS coach Steve Pearson said. “It was a great game for our defense. We have a lot of speed. We can cover people and pursue really well.”

Stansbury at Hurricane, Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 29, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News
Stansbury at Hurricane, Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 29, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News

Hurricane forced a three-and-out on the next series and then embarked on an impressive drive that ate up 5:02 off the clock. The 11-play, 78-yard march ended with a Jeremiah Ieremia 1-yard dive for six points. Cole Stratton’s PAT made it 14-0 with 7:36 to go in the first half.

Early in the third quarter, Noah Elison intercepted Manzione and set Hurricane up with the ball at the Stansbury 15-yard line. Two plays later, Ieremia scored again, this time from 10 yards out, and the rout was on at 21-0.

“The whole team did their jobs,” Elison said. “Last week there were a few big plays we gave away on defense, but I felt like we improved on that. I’m really excited because this is the first win on our home field in a long time. Our spirits are going to be raised for awhile.”

Hurricane tacked on a game clincher midway though the fourth quarter on Ieremia’s third TD, this one a 15-yarder that capped an 11-play, 60-yard drive. Stansbury avoided the goose egg on the scoreboard with a late TD by Casey Roberts with 2:36 left in the game.

“It’s a good statement that every year’s different and our seniors have their own identity,” Pearson said. “They just need to figure ouyt who they are and I think tonight we’re a step closer to that.”

Hurricane dominated the stat box, out-gaining the Stallions 349-201 in yardage and picking up 230 rushing yards, including 105 by Ieremia and 67 from sophomore fullback Jake Carr. Langston finished 4 for 7 for 119 yards and that tip-drill TD.

The Tigers, 1-1, head to Nevada to take on Moapa Valley next week before region play begins in two weeks against Payson. The Stallions, 1-1, will lick their wounds and face Springville next week at Stansbury.

Stats: Hurricane 28, Stansbury 7

Highlights produced by Dallas Griffin

Cottonwood 35, Snow Canyon 14
Written by Darren Cole

ST. GEORGE – The Snow Canyon Warriors gave up costly big plays in the first half that gave the visiting Cottonwood Colts an insurmountable lead. The Colts almost doubled Snow Canyon’s offensive output, 301-154 yards, and defensively put Warrior quarterback Jake Frei in constant pressure situations.

snow-canyon-sm“We played a talented, disciplined team tonight,” said Warrior head coach Marcus Matua. “While it is never fun to lose, this loss will help us improve, find areas of weakness we need to work on and prepare us for our region.”

Cottonwood would not take long to get on the scoreboard. Colt quarterback Cole DiPietro found the Pututau brothers for scores on their first two possessions. The first touchdown was scored by big brother Fua Pututau on a 15-yard strike. Four minutes later, younger brother Taniela Pututau hauled in an 8-yard pass to put the Colts up 13-0.

Snow Canyon's Brock Staheli disrupts Cottonwood quarterback Cole Dipietros pass attempt, Cottonwood vs Snow Canyon, St. George, Utah, August 29, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Snow Canyon’s Brock Staheli disrupts Cottonwood quarterback Cole Dipietros pass attempt, Cottonwood vs Snow Canyon, St. George, Utah, August 29, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

The Warriors responded with their biggest play of the night. Frei found wide receiver Jake Rhea with a 44-yard pass to close the scoring in the first quarter and pull Snow Canyon to within six, 13-7.

Warriors defensive back Caleb Heward intercepted DiPietro’s pass on the Colts next possession, but the Warrior offense was unable to capitalize, turning the ball over on downs at the Colt 30-yard line.

The Warrior defense held again, forcing a Cottonwood punt. Snow Canyon drove the ball 20 yards before the offense stalled, setting up another punt situation. Colt defensive lineman T.J. Fehoko broke through the line, blocked Nick Jensen’s punt and, after scooping up the ball, ran 10 more yards for the touchdown to put the Colts up 19-7.

It took Frei less than 90 seconds of game clock to answer with a sustained 72-yard drive, culminating with a 2-yard Dylan Parry plunge. The big play during the drive was a 30-yard pass from Frei to Rhea.

“Jake (Rhea) ran very good routes tonight,” said Frei. “He was able to gain good yardage after the catches, too.”

Once again Snow Canyon was within one score, 19-14.

Dylan Parry, Cottonwood vs Snow Canyon, St. George, Utah, August 29, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dylan Parry, Cottonwood vs Snow Canyon, St. George, Utah, August 29, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

The Colts responded with a good kickoff return to their own 42-yard line. After gaining little yardage on their first two plays, Colt running back Jared Tupou dashed 51 yards for the final score of the half. With the two-point conversion, the Colts led 27-14.

Both teams made defensive adjustments at halftime. The second half saw both get stingy, holding the other team’s offenses to limited yardage. The Colts would tack on another touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter to go up 35-14 with another Fehoko touchdown, this time on offense to match his earlier defensive touchdown.

“We did much better in the second half,” said Warrior linebacker Brady Sargent. “We matched our intensity in the first half, but played with better discipline in the second half. We missed few assignments and were able to stop them in the second half.”

Frei completed 9 of 32 passes for 134 yards and one touchdown. DiPietro had 8 of 16 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns.

Cottonwood’s Tupou led all rushers with 85 yards on seven carries. The Colts were led in receiving by Taniela Pututau with 63 yards on four receptions. For the Warriors, Rhea had 102 yards on three catches.

Defensively, Sargent led the Warriors in tackles with 10, followed by Brock Staheli with seven.

The game evens both teams to 1-1 records. Snow Canyon will hit the road next week to face 3AA perennial powerhouse Juan Diego.

Stats: Cottonwood 35, Snow Canyon 14

Highlights produced by Samantha Tommer

Dixie 49, Lehi 48 (2 OT)
Written by Darren Cole

LEHI – The Dixie Flyers made the long trek north and survived an offensive shootout with the Lehi Pioneers, prevailing 49-48 in double overtime. Quarterback Ammon Takau again led the Flyers with 290 yards of total offense, with 200 yards coming through the air.

dixie-smThe Pioneers struck first when Lehi quarterback Calvin Miles found his tight end, Cody Frampton, with a 7-yard hitch. The Flyers responded on the next possession with a sustained 80-yard drive and a McLane Keenan 4-yard touchdown run. Keenan uncharacteristically missed the PAT and the Flyers trailed 7-6 with five minutes gone in the game.

The Pioneers responded with an 80-yard drive of their own, capped off with a 56-yard sprint for touchdown by running back Caden Calton. With 2:38 to play, Lehi led 14-6.

If the fans at Lehi stadium had blinked, they would have missed the next score. It took Takau just two plays to find paydirt for the Flyers. He got half of the 75 yards needed with a pass to running back Tre Miller. The remaining yardage was gained by Keenan, this time through the air, with a 36-yard reception. His PAT again pulled the Flyers to within one, 14-13.

Ammon Takau
Ammon Takau

Takau would get his second touchdown pass halfway through the second quarter, finding wideout Bret Barben from 22 yards out. Keenen’s PAT gave the Flyers a six-point cushion at halftime, 20-14.

Lehi would again be the team to strike first in the second half, this time on a Miles quarterback sneak from one yard out. But once again, if you were celebrating the touchdown, you probably missed Dixie’s answer, this time a 95-yard kickoff return by Miller. Dixie led 27-21 halfway through the third quarter.

After the teams traded punts, Keenan missed on a field goal from 45 yards out. Calton would then get his second touchdown of the night, scoring the initial touchdown of the fourth quarter. His run from 4-yards out put the Pioneers back in front 28-27.

On Dixie’s next possession, Takau drove the Flyers 80 yards, again ending with a 4-yard dive from Miller. Keenan tacked on the two-point conversion with a run this time, instead of a kick. Dixie’s lead was seven with just over six minutes to play in the game.

Miles drove the Pioneers 65 yards in three minutes to tie the score up with a Spencer Blackham nine-yard run on fourth down. The score was knotted at 35 with 28 seconds to play.

In the first overtime, it took Calton just two runs to get his third touchdown of the night. Dixie’s offense responded with five straight runs, the last a Takau touchdown to knot the score at 42.

In the second OT, Dixie scored on its first play, a 25-yard pass to Jaden Harrison. The Flyers now led 49-42. Three plays later, Lehi’s Miles found Braden Calton for a 16-yard touchdown strike. Going for the win, the Pioneers finally faltered when Miles’ pass fell incomplete in the end zone.

Takau completed 17 of 34 passes for 200 yards. Miles completed 20 of 33 for 285 yards. Takau also led the Flyers in rushing with 90 yards on 14 carries. Miller had 70 yards with nine rushes. The Pioneers were led by Caden Calton with 150 yards on 22 carries.

Keenen and Miller both had four receptions apiece with 64 and 28 yards respectively. Braden Calton led the Pioneers with 116 yards on seven receptions. Caden Calton had 91 yards on five receptions.

The loss drops Lehi to 0-2 on the season. Dixie evens its record to 1-1. Dixie will host Riverton next week.

Stats: Dixie 49, Lehi 48

Desert Hills 41, Foothill (Nev.) 0
Written by Andy Griffin

Pity the team that tries to break in a new quarterback against the ferocious Desert Hills defense.

Desert-Hills-smIn the Falcons’ season-opener, Coach Marty Redmond was hoping to learn who his new QB would be after all-stater Devin Doxtater’s graduation last year. But with the Thunder supplying constant pressure and hard hits, Redmond may not have learned much with Nick Gardner and Devin Mueller taking turns as DH’s whipping boy.

“We beat the ever living crap out of their QBs,” Desert Hills coach Carl Franke said. “I think we just beat the will out of them. Our defense played really well.”

Indeed, the Falcons managed just 104 yards of offense and only entered the red zone once the entire game. Meanwhile, DH’s defense was smacking the Foothill backs around. The Thunder forced three turnovers in the third quarter, all of them leading to touchdowns. One of those takeaways was a Nephi Sewell interception that he sprinted 36 yards for a score with.

Carl Franke
Carl Franke

By halftime, it was 27-0 and the second half was pretty humdrum.

Junior QB Nick Warmsley had a nice game, passing for 132 yards and rushing for 57 more. He connected on TD passes of 9, 18 and 40 yards to Zach Fuchs, Mason Palmer and Bridger Cowdin.

“You’ve got to give Warmsley credit. He’s not 6-foot-6 and can’t see the whole field,” Franke said. “But he does a good job sliding over and making plays with his feet. He’s light years ahead of where he was last year at this time.”

Cowdin, he had his second straight huge game, following up last week’s 155-yard outing with 148 yards against Foothill. He’s got five TDs in two games.

DH outgained Foothill 345-104 in offense. The Thunder, 2-0, return home to face another Nevada school, Legacy, next Friday.

Stats: Desert Hills 41, Foothill 0

Pine View 42, Agassi Prep 7
Written by Andy Griffin

Short passing and solid defense was the perfect combination for the Panthers as they picked up their first win of 2014.

Pine-view-smKody Wilstead had a modest day, passing 16 for 25 for 176 yards and three TDs, as the Panthers slowly pulled away from the Stars of Agassi Preparatory Academy. After an exchange of possessions to start the game, Wilstead led PV on a 6-play, 83-yard drive to open the scoring. Steve Bangerter, catching his second TD pass in as many games, scored from 19 yards out with 1:30 left in the first quarter to make it 7-0.

Playing ball control with running back Kobe Williams, Agassi Prep chewed clock, using six minutes before punting. A good Colton Miller return and a facemask penalty set the Panthers up at the APA 30-yard line and PV struck quickly, with Pano Tiatia rushing the ball in from 15-yards out on the fourth play of the drive.

Pine View picked up the pace in the third quarter, striking for three TDs to turn the game into a rout. After a three-and-out by the Stars, Wilstead needed just four plays to score, finding Blake Ence from 43 yards out, making it 21-0 with 7:45 to go in the third.

Kody Wilstead
Kody Wilstead

After another three-and-out, Bladen Hosner took a punt at his own 20-yard line and returned it 49 yards to the APA 31. Two plays later, Tiatia scored his second TD, a 23-yard jaunt for six, making it 28-0 with still 3:57 to go in the third.

Pioneer Asaasa intercepted an Agassi pass and set Wilstead up with a short field again. The senior signal-caller wasted no time in finding Ence for a 13-yard TD to make it 35-0 with 37 seconds left in the third quarter.

With the starters out of the game, PV backup QB Riley Livingston made it 42-0 on a short pass to Preston Allen with 8:06 left in the game. Agassi Prep finally scored with one second left in the game on a Williams 10-yard run.

Tiatia finished with 103 rushing yards on eight carries. Williams had 169 yards on 35 carries for the Stars.

Pine View, 1-1, is home vs. Lehi next Friday in the Panthers home-opener. PV starts region in two weeks with a home game vs. Snow Canyon.

Stats: Pine View 42, Agassi Prep 7

Cedar 56, Canyon View 19

The Redmen offense feasted on the weak Falcon defense, with Cedar scoring on six different plays of 25 yards or longer.

cedar-smDallin Grover’s 80-yard run was the biggest play, it coming in the third quarter to make it 42-7. But Cedar also scored on a 47-yard pass from Brecken Lewis to Austin Obering, a 55-yard strike from Lewis to Treyson Kite, a 33-yard run by Jeff Rogers, a 25-yard jaunt by Brock Oldroyd and a 57-yard run by backup quarterback Mason Fakahua.

Jeff Rogers
Jeff Rogers

The closest the 0-2 Falcons got was at 21-7 late in the first half, but Rogers’ 33-yard run just before intermission made it 28-7 and Cedar scored 14 unanswered in the third quarter to erase any doubt.

Cedar, 2-0, has beaten Canyon View 16 out of 18 times since the northern Cedar City school opened. The Redmen play at Skyline next week and then open region with a trip to Desert Hills in two weeks. CV is home for Tooele next Friday.

Stats: Cedar 56, Canyon View 19

Salem Hills 42, Payson 7

The Skyhawks scored running, passing and on defense in forging a 35-0 halftime lead, then called off the dogs in the second half.

payson-smDown 42-0, the Lions got on the board with a 3-yard Bryson Tanner scamper. Payson, 0-2, plays at home against Spanish Fork next week.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery. 

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