Region 10 football recap: Snow Canyon, Pine View, Desert Hills all get first region wins

ST. GEORGE — The first games in Region 10 high school football action found two home teams winning big while a third local squad snatched a victory on the road Friday night.

Snow Canyon and Pine View both started strong and never looked back in their home triumphs, while Desert Hills went to Crimson Cliffs and came away with a hard fought win.

Snow Canyon 48, Cedar 14

Hunter Johnson tossed four touchdown passes to four different receivers in the first half alone as Snow Canyon raced out to a 27-7 lead at halftime.

Senior Logan Mendenhall was the recipient of one of those first half touchdowns and he didn’t need any time to identify what was working so well for the Warriors offense.

Logan Mendenhall returns an interception in Snow Canyon’s win over Cedar, St. George, Utah, Sept. 3, 2021 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

“Hunter Johnson really balled out, same with our line,” Mendenhall told St. George News. “I don’t think we gave up one sack. The guys did great in the trenches tonight.”

Both teams scored on their first possessions. Snow Canyon took the opening kickoff and marched down the field, finishing with Johnson’s 6-yard touchdown toss to Jake Hill.

Cedar responded on its opening drive. Starting on their own 3-yard line, the Reds moved the ball into Warriors territory, then quarterback Koden Lunt connected with Demario Warren on a 45-yard touchdown toss. 

But then it was all Warriors as Snow Canyon scored three touchdowns in the second quarter and two more in the third to seal up the win.

Johnson found Jordan Wade for an 11-yard score, then Tag Gubler blocked a Reds punt and the Warriors got the ball back. Johnson quickly converted that into a 9-yard TD throw to Mendenhall.

Then Mendenhall plucked an interception out of the sky and set the Warriors up again with great field position. Johnson’s 31-yard strike to Will Warner with 12 seconds left in the half put the home team up by 20.

Mendenhall finished with two interceptions and a fumble recovery in the win. He said the defense was ready for what the Reds threw at them.

“I think our game strategy worked really well,” Mendenhall said. “We planned for Cedar really well and got the guys to execute it.”

Johnson threw TDs to Warner and Wade in the third quarter, and the junior quarterback capped his huge night with a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth. He finished with 210 yards passing with six TDs and the running score.

“I was proud of our offensive line, I thought they did a really good job. Cedar is tough in the box and up front,” Snow Canyon coach Mike Esplin said. “Defensively we threw some good pressure at them, and we had some good one-on-one coverage in the back, we did a pretty good job of that.”

Cedar completed the scoring in the contest when Tredyn Elliott scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. 

Pine View 45, Hurricane 6

The unbeaten Panthers roared out to a huge lead and never let up as the visiting Tigers had a hard time moving the ball against Pine View’s ferocious defense.

Pine View and Hurricane in a Region 10 football game, St. George, Utah, Sept. 3, 2021 | Photo by Jacqui Knighton, St. George News

Junior quarterback Sawyer Woods had his second consecutive big game for Pine View, piling up 365 passing yards and tossing three touchdown passes.

Senior receiver Dominique McKenzie collected two long-bomb touchdowns from Woods, 86 and 80 yards, for the Panthers.

Twin brother Marcus McKenzie had the third Pine View touchdown pass, this one covering 62 yards.

Senior running back Keith Adams recorded another rushing touchdown in his strong season for the Panthers, and Byron Cullison found the end zone after an 11-yard scoring run in the third quarter.

Woods had a rushing touchdown as well in the win, a 16-yard scamper in the fourth quarter. Senior kicker Austin Kogan completed Pine View’s scoring with his 24-yard field goal.

Hurricane’s lone score of the contest came in the fourth quarter when quarterback Carter Ashby threw a 28-yard touchdown to RJ Wright.

Desert Hills 33, Crimson Cliffs 21

A game that entered the fourth quarter with a 7-6 lead for the Mustangs produced a whopping 41 combined points in the final frame as Desert Hills escaped with a victory on the road.

Two Thunder field goals by Shayden Scott, 25 and 33 yards, sandwiched around a 4-yard touchdown burst from Mustangs running back Easton Droubay and Crimson Cliffs took its one-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Crimson Cliffs in its game against Desert Hills, Washington, Utah, Sept. 3, 2021 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

Desert Hills jumped ahead 19-7 with back-to-back touchdowns, a 4-yard run by Tyden Morris and a 90-yard pass from Noah Fuailetolo to Awsten Turnbow.

Crimson Cliffs responded with a nifty trick play that resulted in Gunner Orr’s 45-yard scoring dash, bringing the Mustangs  within five at 19-14.

But then two consecutive scores for the visitors put the game out of reach.

Morris started the burst with a 1-yard TD run and Fuailetolo followed with a 10-yard scoring scamper for Desert Hills. 

Ryan Woolley’s 90-yard kickoff return for a Crimson Cliffs touchdown provided the final margin. 

Next Friday’s Region 10 schedule is as follows:

Crimson Cliffs at Snow Canyon, 7:00 p.m.

Dixie at Pine View, 7:00 p.m.

Hurricane at Cedar, 7:00 p.m.

Desert Hills at North Sanpete (non-region), 7:00 p.m.

Region 10 football standings (region, overall):

  1. Pine View, 1-0, 4-0
  2. Snow Canyon, 1-0, 3-1

      (tie) Desert Hills, 1-0, 3-1

  1. Hurricane, 0-1, 2-2
  2. Cedar, 0-1, 1-3
  3. Crimson Cliffs, 0-1, 1-3
  4. Dixie, 0-0, 1-2

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