GAME PREVIEW CAPSULE
Pine View (2-2, 0-1) at Desert Hills (2-1, 1-0)
Previous Meeting – Desert Hills 21, Pine View 14 (Sept. 16, 2011 at PV)
PANTHERS
Classification: 3A, Region 9
Coach: Ray Hosner (12th year, 96-35 overall)
Offense: I-back and spread
Last week: Lost to Dixie 34-24
Players to watch: The pressure is on QB Dylan Draper to produce a subplot for main character RB Prentiss Miller. Although rumor has it Kody Wilstead is out of his boot and may be available to play soon. The PV offensive line, led by D-I signees Cody Boyer and Logan Stott, needs to step it up. They got pushed around in the second half vs. Dixie.
PPG: 25.5
PAPG: 24.3
Trend: There’s no doubt Miller and the Panthers O-line are very good. But when Dixie started putting eight and nine men in the box, Pine View had nowhere to turn. Plus, the defense of PV couldn’t get Dixie’s offense off the field. Still, the schedule is favorable down the stretch for Pine View with four home games in the last five weeks. It’s not time to panic.
THUNDER
Classification: 3A, Region 9
Coach: Carl Franke (first year, 2-1 overall)
Offense: Spread
Last week: Beat Canyon View 56-7
Players to watch: TE/DE Josh Anderson is having a great year. He can block. He can catch. He can tackle. He even shines shoes, we think. RB Bridger Cowdin is just starting to tap into his potential. Of course, Anderson, Cowdin and QB Ty Rutledge spent most of the second half on the bench in last week’s blowout.
PPG: 34.5
PAPG: 16.0
Trend: To be honest, we are still not sure what to make of the Thunder. They beat West, but the Panthers are 0-4. They whipped Canyon View, but everyone in Region 9 does that. Rutledge and his mates are putting up gaudy numbers, but the real season starts now for them.
GAME OUTLOOK
All the kids that had any ties to Pine View have graduated by now, but Desert Hills still gets a lot of its studentbody from what used to be Pine View boundaries and a lot of those kids go to Pine View Middle School, so we are pretty sure this is still a fierce rivalry. Plus, ask any of the kids on either team and they’ll tell you this is the game they want the most. It should be a fantastic battle, especially with two marquee running backs in Miller and Cowdin.
STGnews (record) PREDICTION
Andy Griffin (20-3) — Pine View
Jeff Ames (19-4) — Desert Hills