COMMENTARY — Girls soccer opened region play last week and this week the footballers and volleyballers begin playing the games that really count.

Fortunately for us all, the weather has finally cooled down a bit and it’s actually starting to feel like fall. Gosh, does that mean the state playoffs are just around the corner?

FOOTBALL

The preseason games have told us a lot this year, especially that the 3AA South teams are going to very good once again. The teams from southern Utah went 14-7 in the yearly non-league slate, though some of the losses (Desert Hills-Roy, Snow Canyon-Juan Diego) were just close defeats at the hands of good teams.

Then again, how much can we learn from some of the wins against lesser opponents (Dixie-Mojave, Cedar-Virgin Valley)?

Whatever we want to interpret from the preseason, it matter very little when it comes to who wins region and who can make a playoff run in late October. What really matters is the slate of region games, beginning this Friday. Here are some thoughts on the 3AA South region opening games:

Cedar at Dixie — Both teams gave up exactly 42 points to Canyon View. The difference is that Dixie was able to score 55, while Cedar took the loss with 41 points. What does that mean? Who knows, but expect both these teams to score a bunch of points Friday at Walt Brooks Stadium.

Pine View at Snow Canyon — It’s been six years since the Warriors last beat the Panthers. The cumulative score in the past five games: Pine View 187, Snow Canyon 101 (or an average score of 37-20). That’s a lot of points given up by the Warriors, but SC seems to be much better defensively, allowing just 11.8 points a game. Then again, so is Pine View (9.8 papg). So expect the defenses to rule the day at Warriors Field.

Desert Hills at Hurricane — This game holds the biggest mystery, with the two teams playing completely divergent schedules. For the Thunder, it remains to be seen if their offense can really get rolling, given that a lot of what they planned coming in was based around Nephi Sewell, who is out for the year. For the Tigers, not too much has changed, with a tough fullback (Jake Carr) leading the Wing-T offense. Like the other two games, I expect this one to be close.

This Friday’s 3AA South football schedule:

Desert Hills at Hurricane, 7 p.m. (CEC-TV, 106.1 FM)
Pine View at Snow Canyon, 7 p.m. (890-Am KDXU)
Cedar at Dixie, 7 p.m. (590-AM KSUB)

VOLLEYBALL

The defending state champ Snow Canyon Warriors open region play with a home match tonight against Pine View, while Desert Hills travels to Hurricane and Cedar is at Dixie.

Look for photos and a full roundup tonight from Robert Hoppie and Darren Cole.

This week’s volleyball schedule:

Tuesday
Cedar at Dixie, 7 p.m.
Desert Hills at Hurricane, 7 p.m.
Pine View at Snow Canyon, 7 p.m.

Wednesday
Snow Canyon at Cedar, 7 p.m.

Thursday
Dixie at Desert Hills, 7 p.m.
Hurricane at Pine View, 7 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER

Cedar and Desert Hills have jumped out on top of the region standings after the first week, with the two set to battle in Cedar Thursday afternoon.

But there are games Tuesday as well and Pine View and Snow Canyon are just three points back here in the early going.

This week’s girls soccer schedule:

Tuesday
Cedar at Hurricane, 7:30 p.m.
Dixie at Snow Canyon, 7:30 p.m.
Pine View at Desert Hills, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday
Desert Hills at Cedar, 4 p.m.
Pine View at Dixie, 7:30 p.m.
Snow Canyon at Hurricane, 7:30 p.m.

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Twitter: @oldschoolag

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