Region 9 football preview: Hurricane looking to build on 2019 season

ST. GEORGE — In 2019, the Hurricane Tigers got their first win since the 2017 football season. They are looking to build on that win in 2020.

The Hurricane Tigers prepare for the 2020 football season in Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 6, 2020 | Photo by Ryne Williams, St. George News

“It was the first win in my head coaching career,” head coach Skyler Miller said of their win last season against Crimson Cliffs. “Going into year three, I don’t know if there is ever going to be anything that’s going top that. I’m hoping we get more but that’s just something special, it was awesome to have it here (Hurricane).”

While the Tigers lost their starting quarterback in Brock Starley and a number of seniors, they are returning some contributors from last season and a majority of their offensive line.

Caleb Mclaws, someone Miller named as a player to watch, spoke highly of their defense coming into the year.

“We’re looking very strong,” Mclaws said. “We have a lot of juice this season and we’re going to be a very physical defense compared to last season.”

The Hurricane Tigers prepare for the 2020 football season in Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 6, 2020 | Photo by Ryne Williams, St. George News

On the offensive side, Luke Wright will be someone to look out for. He is looking forward to showing that he can compete with the rest of the athletes in Region 9.

Wright said that the Tigers offense is spread out more this season than in previous years, adding that they are throwing the ball a little more.

“Luke Wright is a kid that we build things around,” Miller said. “He’s a totally different player than what we’ve experienced. He’s going to come in and he’s going to contribute.”

For the quarterback position, Miller said he has not made a decision on who will be starting for the Tigers come opening night. As of right now, it is a competition but whoever is chosen to start for the Tigers will be surrounded by a solid core of seniors to help guide them.

With regards to the team as a whole, Miller said he has been impressed by what he has seen.

“For our situation, our overall development from just the physical standpoint, the weight room standpoint, the conditioning standpoint and ultimately a behavioral standpoint, it’s just championship caliber,” Miller said. “The kids are impressing us every single day.”

The Hurricane Tigers prepare for the 2020 football season in Hurricane, Utah, Aug. 6, 2020 | Photo by Ryne Williams, St. George News

Mclaws also complimented his coach on how he has built a program at Hurricane. They have taken on an underdog mentality, something Miller has hammered into the program according to Mclaws.

“He’s always said that we have to have an underdog mentality, be ready to have people hate on you and have the mindset of competing with these Region 9 teams,” Mclaws said.

With their first game against Richfield approaching, Miller stressed that they are focused on the day-to-day, going as far as saying they are locked in moment-to-moment. Miller wants his team to approach the season this way due to the uncertainty of it all.

When asked about the team’s mindset going into the game on August 14, Mclaws said he has high hopes.

“Going into Richfield we have a mindset of, they are a very good, tough team but we all know we can compete with them and I think we’ll have a really good shot of getting our first dub of the year,” Mclaws said.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!