GAME PREVIEW CAPSULE
Pine View (4-2, 2-1) at Cedar (3-3, 1-1)
Previous Meeting: Panthers 42, Redmen 21 (Sept. 21, 2012)
Broadcast: KSUB-590 AM
PANTHERS
Classification: 3AA, South Region
Coach: Ray Hosner (13th year, 105-39 overall)
Offense: Spread
Last game: Beat Desert Hills 16-10
Players to watch: DBs Jaden Ah Quin and Colton Miller took it personally that the Desert Hills receivers were getting all the publicity leading up to last week’s game by having outstanding games. They combined for four INTs and generally kept the DH WRs contained. Miller also had a huge game at WR (Doesn’t he ever get tired?). LB Justice Santiago also had a great game and the Panthers, with the exception of one long screen play, were excellent on defense, holding the Thunder to just 83 rushing yards. Don’t look now, but QB Kody Wilstead is nearly on pace to become the leading per game passer in Utah history. He is just 7 ypg off the all-time record.
PPG: 33.7
PAPG: 22.2
Trend: What a huge win for the Panthers last week — a must win if any region title hopes were to remain. The big surprise was that PV did it with defense, not the high-flying offense that went into the game averaging 38 ppg. The same defensive team that gave up 36 points and nearly 500 rushing yards to Lehi earlier this year held DH to 10 points and one screen-pass TD. Pine View is still a little beat up, but the injuries are starting to heal and the offense is likely to get rolling again after a sub-par week. If PV can get this road win, they could go into the playoffs on a four-game win streak.
REDMEN
Classification: 3AA, South Region
Coach: Todd Peacock (27th year, 157-128-1 overall)
Offense: Triple option
Last game: Beat Sequoia (Calif.) 34-7
Players to watch: The Redmen are starting to put it together, with Brecken Lewis and Austin Obering still splitting time at QB. Lewis scored two TDs last week, while RB Dusty Hone was the big-play man with 117 yards on just five carries as Cedar embarrassed the Cherokees of Sequoia. FB Dallin Grover had the most attempts last week, but no less than 11 Cedar players toted the rock in the victory. Cedar doesn’t pass much, but last week the Redmen did hit on 6 of 8 passes for 134 yards, with WR Jeff Rogers accounting for 87 of those yards.
PPG: 21.5
PAPG: 15.5
Trend: Sequoia coach Rob Poulos told the San Jose Mercury-News, “”Cedar City was physical, (but) more than that, they were tenacious, scrappy. They kept after it.” That’s Cedar in a nutshell. Undersized, with less talent than most of their opponents, the Redmen make up for any perceived lack of talent with effort. In Cedar’s three wins (Canyon View, Hurricane and Sequoia), opponents have only scored nine points. That said, the Redmen have been overpowered by Skyline and Desert Hills this year. This the first in a tough three-game stretch for CHS, with a road trip to Snow Canyon next week and a date with Dixie in two weeks.
GAME OUTLOOK
Cedar has only allowed 93 points in six games, but has not faced an all-out passing team like Pine View. No team has even attempted more than 15 passes on the Redmen. Meanwhile, Wilstead averages 40 attempts a game. Pine View, last week, pretty much shut down the Desert Hills run game, so the Cedar option attack has its work cut out. But it will be cool (forecast for kickoff-time is 35 degrees) and the long Cedar grass could slow down the Panthers speedy WRs. Pine View is 8-5 against Cedar since 2000 with most of the contests being very close.
STGnews (record) PREDICTION
Andy Griffin (27-5) — Pine View
Darren Cole (21-11) — Pine View
Parry’s spread: PV by 17
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