GAME PREVIEW CAPSULE
Desert Hills (5-0, 2-0) at Pine View (3-2, 1-1)
Previous Meeting: Thunder 28, Panthers 7 (Sept. 14, 2012)
Broadcast: Triplecast: STGNews.com, CEC-TV 22, KDXU 890-AM
THUNDER
Classification: 3AA, South Region
Coach: Carl Franke (2nd year, 13-4 overall)
Offense: Spread, pistol
Last game: Beat Payson 44-13
Players to watch: It was a career night for QB Nick Warmsley, who had 344 yards and four TDs. His favorite target was supreme athlete WR Jordan Hokanson, who had 208 of those yards. In fact, DH had nearly 500 yards of their own against Payson. There is some question as to whether the Cowdin twins will be able to play (personal) and CB/WR Braden Reber is battling the flu. Also, Matt Plumb, who has played on both sides of the ball for the Thunder, is out for the season.
PPG: 25.4
PAPG: 6.4
Trend: Go ahead and disregard the 13 points given up last week as the starters for DH were cooling their heels on the bench in a 44-0 fourth quarter. The defense c0ntinues to smother opponents, especially against the run. Foothill is the only passing-centric team and they did score 16 in a close game in the preseason, so it will be fun to see how the PV passing game fares vs. DH.
PANTHERS
Classification: 3AA, South Region
Coach: Ray Hosner (13th year, 104-39 overall)
Offense: Spread
Last game: Lost to Dixie 21-17
Players to watch: QB Kody Wilstead had a lot of yards, but more interceptions (3) than TDs (2) last week. RB Pano Tiatia rushed for over 100 yards in his season debut after getting pressed into duty with an injury to Tristan Duran. WR Colton Miller was spectacular after teammate Jack Bangerter left with an ankle injury. PV lost backup QB Blake Ence, who also started on defense at DB. He’s out with a broken collar bone. LB Gage Afatasi is also a question mark after an arm injury last week.
PPG: 37.2
PAPG: 24.6
Trend: The end result must have been frustrating for PV fans after racking up 500-plus yards again, but only 17 points in the loss to Dixie. With all the injuries and some internal strife, this team will either congeal and be great, or begin falling apart. There’s no doubt opponents will do all they can to pressure Wilstead the rest of the season, hoping that will force him into more mistakes. It started with Dixie, but Desert Hills has an even fiercer defense. Get ready for lost of blitzes
GAME OUTLOOK
Great passing vs. stubborn defense. It should be great. Perhaps lost in all the hype is the DH offense, which scored 44 last week in three quarters, and the Pine View defense, which held Dixie to 21 points. Obviously, protecting Wilstead will be the key for the first match-up, especially since back-up Blake Ence is out. On the other side, Bridger Cowdin will be key as he can make big plays.
STGnews (record) PREDICTION
Andy Griffin (24-4) — Pine View
Darren Cole (19-9) — Desert Hills
Parry’s spread: DH by 3
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