4A football playoffs recap: Cedar outlasts Crimson Cliffs; Canyon View, Hurricane eliminated

Written by Jeff Richards
October 26, 2019

CEDAR CITY — The Cedar Reds outlasted Crimson Cliffs in the first round of the 4A playoffs Friday afternoon, winning 21-19 in a game that saw neither team score in the second half. Meanwhile, Canyon View lost at Cedar Valley, a new 4A school in Eagle Mountain, on Friday by a score of 40-19. In Saturday afternoon’s contest, the Hurricane Tigers lost on the road to Ridgeline, 48-13.

Cedar City 21, Crimson Cliffs 19

For the second time in a span of two weeks, the Cedar City Reds hosted the Crimson Cliffs Mustangs. The Reds won the previous meeting 42-14, but the score was much closer this time around, with Cedar’s slim two-point halftime lead proving to be just enough to get past Crimson Cliffs in the opening round of the playoffs Friday afternoon.

The Mustangs struck first, with Curtis Sweeten breaking loose on the opening drive for a 70-yard TD run to give Crimson Cliffs a 6-0 lead just 55 seconds into the game. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt failed, however.

At the midway point of the first period, Cedar quarterback Jaron Garrett connected with Kolbe Meek for a 10-yard TD pass. Kicker Taz Chamberlain converted the PAT to give the Reds a 7-6 lead.

On the ensuing possession, Crimson Cliffs scored on a short run by quarterback Chase Hansen. The Mustangs again went for the two-point conversion, this time on a pass play, but again they fell short. Crimson Cliffs held a 12-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Cedar faked a field goal try and instead got a 10-yard TD pass from Garrett to Ben Ellis. The PAT kick was good, putting the Reds up 14-12.

Later in the second quarter, Meek caught another pass from Garrett and sprinted down the right sideline, making his way to the end zone for a 78-yard TD, putting the Reds on top 21-12.

In the closing seconds of the first half, Crimson Cliffs tried a Hail Mary pass into the end zone on fourth down, which Sweeten briefly appeared to take hold of before it was batted down by surrounding defenders. The officials ruled the play a touchdown, however, and the Mustangs trailed by just two points at halftime, 21-19.

Remarkably, that was all the scoring in the game, as neither team was able to add any points on the scoreboard during the second half.

Cedar head coach Josh Bennett credited his team’s defense for stepping up after halftime.

“That was ugly on our end,” Bennett admitted. “We didn’t play well, but defensively I thought we stepped up the second half. Our coaches made some good halftime adjustments and we did what we needed to to hold on.”

“We challenged those guys at halftime to show some leadership, you know, and said hey, we need somebody to step up. And they did,” Bennett added. “Hopefully, we’ll get better and be ready to go next week.”

With the first-round win, Cedar advances to the second round of the 4A playoffs, where the Reds will face No. 4 seed Green Canyon next Friday, Nov. 1 in North Logan.

Cedar Valley 40, Canyon View 19

At Cedar Valley High in Eagle Mountain, the 15th-seeded Aviators picked up a 40-19 home win over Canyon View, the No. 18 seed.

Cedar Valley scored three touchdowns in the opening quarter to post an early 21-0 lead.

Canyon View managed to score on an 8-yard TD catch right before halftime, then the Falcons added another TD in the third to narrow the deficit to 21-13.

The Aviators were able to pull away in the fourth quarter, however, tacking on three more touchdowns to seal the victory.

Ridgeline 48, Hurricane 13

Saturday afternoon at Ridgeline High in Millville, the Hurricane Tigers scored a TD in the opening quarter, with Luke Wright rushing for a 71-yard score. However, Ridgeline’s offense proved difficult to stop, as the RiverHawks posted a 41-6 halftime lead. Each team added one more touchdown in the third quarter to wrap up the scoring. Hurricane’s last TD came on a 20-yard pass from Brock Starley to Ray Codova. Ridgeline advances to the second round of the playoffs, where they will face Region 9’s Dixie at 4 p.m. next Friday.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have two young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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