GAME PREVIEW CAPSULE
Cedar (3-6, 1-4) at Payson (1-7, 1-4), 7 p.m., tonight at Lions Stadium
Previous Meeting: Redmen 28, Lions 20 (Oct. 23, 1992, at Payson)
Broadcast: 590-KSUB with Chris Holmes
REDMEN
Classification: 3AA, South Region
Coach: Todd Peacock (27th year, 157-131-1 overall)
Offense: Triple option
Last game: Lost to Dixie 41-0
Players to watch: Ryker Tom got time at QB with Brecken Lewis hurt and Austin Obering ineffective. Tom also led the defense in tackles, but there weren’t a lot of positives to come out of the blowout loss to Dixie.
PPG: 18.8
PAPG: 20.4
Trend: It was a bafflingly poor performance against Dixie. The Redmen had been so tough against so many opponents this season. But it was clear in the second quarter that they had no chance against Dixie. The QB issues have not gone away. getting Lewis back may help, but the Redmen have other issues on offense, plus a bunch of injuries.
LIONS
Classification: 3AA South Region
Coach: Jeremy Chapman (5th year, 16-31 overall)
Offense: Spread
Last game: Lost to Pine View 32-3
Players to watch: QB Easton Smith played sparingly against Pine View. He was nursing an injury and it seems Chapman wanted to save him for their playoff shot this week. RB Kyle Moffatt had a big game, with 140-plus yards, but was basically the only offense against the Panthers.
PPG: 19.9
PAPG: 34.0
Trend: Turning to the run game kept the Lions in the game with Pine View … for a little while. But Payson has just the one win and hasn’t been real close in any region game.
GAME OUTLOOK
This is the last shot for Payson, which could force a play-in game scenario with a win at home. The Lions have scored points this year, but haven’t stopped many people. Cedar has had trouble scoring, but has a pretty good defense. It makes for a pretty good match-up. Cedar can claim the fifth seed with a win.
STGnews (record) PREDICTION
Andy Griffin (37-7) — Cedar
Darren Cole (32-12) — Cedar
Parry’s spread: Cedar by 14
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