ST. GEORGE — Teams in the 4A state semifinal football games Saturday in Cedar City will have an opportunity to make a statement about regional supremacy in Utah.
No. 1 seed Crimson Cliffs plays No.4 Ridgeline in the first game, which kicks off at Southern Utah University at 4 p.m. The second semifinal follows as No. 2 seed Desert Hills faces No. 6 Mountain Crest at 7 p.m.
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Desert Hills v. Mountain Crest
Region 10 representatives Crimson Cliffs and Desert Hills will attempt to seize the title from Region 11’s Ridgeline and Mountain Crest.
Region 11 has won the last three 4A state title games. Defending 4A state champion Ridgeline beat Dixie last year while Sky View won the previous two state titles.
Desert Hills dispatched Sky View last week in the quarterfinals, 35-21. Mountain Crest, meanwhile, upset No. 3 Dixie in St. George, 28-21.
“They’re very, very physical,” Desert Hills coach Rick Berry told St. George News Thursday afternoon. “This will be the biggest offensive line that we’ve seen and faced. They just put up a big physical front, zone block and say stop us if you can.”
The I-formations and two-running back offensive sets Mountain Crest employs are very different from the schemes the Thunder faced in Region 10.
“One of the unique challenges is that we haven’t seen much of this,” Berry said. “In our region, we have spread offenses that balance running and throwing. Mountain Crest runs it about 65% of the time. Defensively we’re going to have to do a really good job of matching their physicality up front.”
That lack of familiarity might help the Thunder on the other side of the ball, he added.
“They don’t see the spread and the things we do in their region,” Berry said. “And we can surprise them. That’s what we did against Sky View after we got that first turnover. We got up early and surprised them with what we could do.”
Meanwhile in Saturday’s first game at 4 p.m., No. 1 seed Crimson Cliffs will face a Ridgeline team that already has beaten two Region 10 teams – Pine View, Snow Canyon – in the playoffs.
Both the Mustangs and Riverhawks rely on a physical 3-4 defensive scheme that confuses offenses. Ridgeline faced the high-octane offense at Snow Canyon twice this year and kept it well in check in two victories.
“It’s a dynamic defense. There’s a symmetry to it,” first-year Crimson Cliffs coach Wayne Alofipo told St. George News. “A 3-4 is harder to read in terms of pressure, who’s coming, who’s not. And it provides a lot of flexibility as well in coverage.”
While the defenses may be equally good, Crimson Cliffs’ offense might have an advantage over Ridgeline’s. Quarterback Steele Barben is a master at distributing the football among a fleet of sure-handed receivers, and the Mustangs have two good running backs in McCord Christiansen and Mason Topalian.
“It’s quite an interesting matchup,” Alofipo said. “Hopefully our offense can outplay theirs.”
Alofipo said that at the beginning of the season, when the Mustangs had to replace its entire defense as well as several key positions on offense, no one expected the Mustangs to sit atop the rankings.
“No one thought we’d be here, the pressure is not on us,” he said. “So we tell the guys to seize the moment, play loose and free and let’s go see what happens.”
View the full tournament bracket here.
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