ST. GEORGE – There’s no doubt the Wasatch Revolution and the Zion Lions have been the class of the Rocky Mountain Football League for years. Whether the Lions can stay in that conversation may hinge upon Saturday’s RMFL championship game at Weber State University (8 p.m.).
“They beat us a couple of times up there and of course that is not something we’re happy about,” said Zion quarterback Misi Tupe. “We’ve just got to be patient, take it one play at a time and see what happens from there. They’re a great team, but so are we.”
The Revolution has beaten the Lions twice in a row in the championship and put a bit of icing on the cake earlier this season with a sound whipping of the Lions, 42-0, during the SASA showcase weekend at Woods Cross High School.
The Lions turned the ball over five times in that game, an issue that has been a recurring theme in the Zion’s three losses this season.
“If we take care of the ball, we’re very hard to beat,” Lions coach Dale Stott said. “The games we’ve lost, we turned it over multiple times and really hurt ourselves.”
In last season’s title game, a contest the Lions entered with a perfect 10-0 record, a fumbled kick return gave the Rev their first lead late in the third quarter and a bad snap on a punt gave Wasatch a much-needed cushion in its 30-21 victory.
“It’s always a good game against the Rev,” Zion defender Danry Hargest said. “Two years in a row we didn’t get it done against them. This year, we’ve got to change that. I’m sure they’ll come in confident, but we’ll be ready. We’ve got to make sure we get it done.”
The Revolution sport an 8-1 record, with the only loss coming in their season-opener at the Vegas Trojans (21-14) back on Apr. 2. Since then, Wasatch hadn’t had a game closer than nine points — until last week. Against the Utah Shock, a team the Rev had beaten 40-7 earlier in the season, Wasatch trailed 34-14 late in the third quarter. Led by likely league MVP Charlie Peterson, the Rev rallied for 21 unanswered points, including the game-winning TD with five seconds left on a pass from Peterson to Delric Ellington.
Wasatch leads the league with an average of 32.3 points per game, with the defense allowing just 13.5 points a contest. By comparison, the Lions are scoring 29.5 points a game and allowing 17.0.
Peterson will have to keep an eye out for one of the top defensive players in the league in Lions defensive back Dave Bishoff. He leads the RMFl with seven interceptions and returned a couple of those for touchdowns. The Zion defense has 17 interceptions on the season.
RMFL championship Saturday schedule (@ Weber State University)
Big 9 Bowl
11 a.m. — Sting vs. Wildcats
Great North All-Star game
2 p.m.
Great North Championship
5 p.m. — #1 Gladiators vs. #2 Cobras
Big 9 Championship
8 p.m. — #1 Revolution v #2 Lions
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