ST. GEORGE — The two teams that played in the 2022 4A high school football championship game will meet in the state quarterfinals this year

Defending champ and No. 10 seed Desert Hills will play next Friday at No. 2 Crimson Cliffs, last year’s runner-up, for the right to advance to the semifinals.

The Thunder defeated No. 7 Snow Canyon 49-33 on Friday night, while the Mustangs ran away from No. 15 Cedar, shutting out the Reds 56-0.

No. 13 Dixie, meanwhile, saw its season come to a conclusion on the road in a 36-14 loss to No. 4 Park City.

Click here to access the 4A playoff bracket.

Desert Hills 49, Snow Canyon 33

While it might be an upset on paper – No. 10 Desert Hills winning at No. 7 Snow Canyon – there was no doubt about who played better on the field after the Thunder rumbled for a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and an insurmountable 28-6 advantage at halftime.

“It was really important to get up early and kind of just ride that for the rest of the game,” Desert Hills junior running back Tytan Mason told St. George News after accounting for six of the Thunder’s seven touchdowns in the win. “We knew what we had to do.”

The Thunder (6-4) took the opening kickoff right down the field on a steady diet of Mason runs. Quarterback Gerrit Grondel threw a 14-yard touchdown to Mason to cap the drive and the Thunder led 7-0 before Snow Canyon got the ball.

The Warriors (7-4) fumbled away their first possession when Desert Hills senior linebacker Dillon Rex pressured Snow Canyon quarterback Tank Kelly and forced the turnover.

Mason’s 12-yard TD run immediately followed, and Desert Hills made it 21-0 midway through the second quarter after Mason ripped off a 53-yard scoring scamper. Snow Canyon played catch-up for the rest of the night.

Desert Hills defeated Snow Canyon earlier in the season and Mason said familiarity with the Warriors’ scheme helped the Thunder’s execution.

“The O-line balled. I just made plays when I had to. The O-line was playing great,” Mason said. “The receivers were out blocking in open space, which really helps, so I just did what I had to do.”  

Kelly gutted out some scores in the second half and kept his team in the game, his last on the Snow Canyon football field. 

Kelly ran for a 12-yard score and threw touchdown passes to Konrad Green (for 12 yards) and Semaj Thompson (for 3 yards) as Snow Canyon would not go down quietly.

But two fourth-quarter TDs by Mason (a 72-yard reception and a 15-yard knife into the end zone) secured the big win for Desert Hills.

Grondel accounted for the Thunder’s seventh touchdown, a nifty 67-yard run that saw him weave and dodge his way down the field.

Mason finished with a whopping 222 rushing yards on 20 carries. He also collected 86 yards on two receptions, both touchdowns.

Grondel went over the century mark for Desert Hills, amassing 103 rushing yards on nine totes.

The Thunder offense finished with 331 total rushing yards. Their imposing, physical offensive line and blazing ball carriers reminded many fans of last year’s 4A state champion Desert Hills team.

“When the O-line plays their best, there’s not a lot of people who can stop us,” Mason said.

The win sets up the third Desert Hills-Crimson Cliffs matchup in less than two seasons. The Thunder won in last year’s 4A state title game and Crimson Cliffs dominated in this year’s Region 9 matchup.

“We just got to get locked in and get ready for Crimson,” Mason said. “If we play our game it’s going to be way closer than last time, and we’ll be able to compete with them.” 

Crimson Cliffs 56, Cedar 0

The No. 2 seed Mustangs showed no rust left over from their bye week, leading 14-0 after the first quarter and 35-0 at halftime on their way to the blowout.

No. 15 Cedar defeated Pine View last week to earn the playoff rematch against Crimson, which beat the Reds earlier this year in Region 9 play. But the Reds (4-7) couldn’t get anything going against Crimson’s top-ranked defense.

Crimson (10-1) started things off with a 3-yard Mason Topalian touchdown run a little more than halfway into the first quarter.    

Then senior quarterback Steele Barben took over, accounting for the next five Crimson Cliffs’ scores.

Barben hit Ty West on a 65-yard touchdown strike, then he ran in a 27-yard score and the Mustangs went ahead for good 21-0.

Barben tacked on a 10-yard scoring toss to Boston Adamson and second TD to West, this one a 17-yarder, to provide Crimson’s big cushion at halftime.

West’s third touchdown, a 60-yarder from Barben, opened the third quarter and Crimson rolled to win.

McCord Christiansen’s 73-yard TD run and a 4-yard touchdown pass from Darius Strickland to Caiden Garcia-Casey provided the final margin of victory for Crimson.

The Mustangs will play Desert Hills in Washington Fields Friday, Nov. 3 with a spot in the 4A semifinals on the line.

Park City 36, Dixie 14

At Park City, the 13th-seed Dixie Flyers scored a rushing TD early in the fourth quarter to pull within 21-14.

However, the No. 4 Miners went on to score two unanswered touchdowns to put the game out of reach and advance to the 4A quarterfinals.

It marked the second time this season the Flyers played at Park City, with the Miners edging the Flyers in preseason action 24-21 on Aug. 25.

This time around, Park City got on the board first with a rushing touchdown in the first quarter. Dixie then answered a couple of minutes later with a 30-yard TD run by quarterback Wyatt Truman.

The Miners struck again early in the second quarter on a TD pass, taking a 14-7 advantage that stood until halftime.

Park City then added a long TD pass in the third quarter to pull ahead 21-7.

Early in the fourth quarter, Dixie receiver David Bartschi caught a long pass that brought the Flyers to the Miners’ 5-yard line. Two plays later, Truman ran it up the middle for a 4-yard score, his second TD of the game.

Down by seven at that point, Dixie needed to make a stop. However, after a scuffle resulted in multiple penalties against the Flyers, the Miners had the ball at the Dixie 5-yard line and were able to run it into the end zone on the ensuing play. The Miners converted the two-point conversion and took a 29-14 lead.

Dixie’s next possession ended prematurely with an interception at midfield. The frustrated Flyers were then penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct, as well as on Park City’s next two plays from scrimmage.

Deep in Dixie territory once again, the Miners broke through with a 1-yard scoring run that effectively iced the game with just over four minutes left.

Dixie’s final drive made it deep into Park City territory but came up short. At one point, the Flyers appeared to have made a TD catch in the end zone, but the play was called back due to yet another untimely penalty.

Dixie ended its season with an overall record of 5-7, while the No. 4 seeded Miners improved to 10-1 overall.

– written by Jeff Richards

1A/3A results

No. 4 Canyon View 21, No. 5 Grantsville 13

At Canyon View, the Falcons were held scoreless in the second half but still managed to outlast the Grantsville Cowboys in 3A quarterfinal action.

Canyon View scored its first TD in the opening minutes as Lincoln Rushton made a 25-yard run into the end zone.

Later in the first quarter, Canyon View marched downfield and capped off a scoring drive with a 12-yard pass from Jaxon Jensen to Traie Buhler, giving the Falcons a 14-0 lead.

With about eight minutes left in the second quarter, Canyon View senior Deegan Davies caught a pass from Jensen and broke loose for a 58-yard score. The Falcons held a 21-0 advantage at halftime.

Grantsville’s Jayden Atkinson scored a rushing TD in the opening minute of the third quarter to make it 21-7.

And early in the fourth, Atkinson scored again, this time on a 3-yard pass reception. However, the ensuing PAT kick went wide left, meaning the Falcons still had an 8-point cushion.

That proved to be enough, however, as neither team scored again.

The fourth-seeded Falcons improved to 9-2 on the season and will next face No. 1 seed Richfield in the 3A semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman next Saturday, Nov. 4, at 4 p.m. The Falcons previously played the Wildcats during the regular season, losing at Richfield 28-14 on Oct. 6. On Friday night, Richfield rolled to a 35-0 shutout win over Ogden.

– written by Jeff Richards

Click here to access the 3A bracket.

No. 1 Beaver 42, No. 8 Gunnison Valley 0

The Beavers (10-1) rolled to a shutout victory over the Bulldogs (6-5) to advance in the 1A playoffs. Beaver quarterback Bodie Wheetley threw for two touchdowns and rushed for one. Tate Gale added a pair of running scores, Deegan Blackner had a rushing and receiving score and Gage Raddon caught a touchdown pass. Beaver will host Kanab in the semifinals next week

Click here to access the 1A playoff bracket.

No. 2 Duchesne 16, No. 7 Milford 9

Sixteen points in the first quarter were enough for the Eagles (10-1), who held on to beat the Tigers (5-7) in the 1A playoffs. Parker Crum and Brody Jacobs accounted for all the scoring, Crum hitting pay dirt on a 5-yard run and also finding Jacobs from 31 yards out. Jacobs also ran in a 2-point conversion, and Nathan Goodliffe threw a conversion pass to Crum. Rider Allen had a 1-yard run for Kanab, which next faces Enterprise.

No. 3 Enterprise 35, No. 6 North Summit 6

The Wolves (10-1) scored all their points in the first three quarters behind three Kyron Bracken scoring runs of 35, 10 and 15 yards to defeat Summit (6-5). Ryker Phillips and Brayden Garden also had touchdown rushes for Enterprise, which now will play Duchesne in the semifinals.

No. 4 Kanab 14, No. 5 Millard 13

The No. 4 Kanab Cowboys outlasted No. 5 Millard to advance in the 1A playoffs. During the third quarter, quarterback Griffen Bone found receiver Maddix Baird from 80 yards out, and Bone added the extra point that proved to be the difference. Millard did score a TD in the fourth but their two-point conversion attempt for the win was unsuccessful.  Kanab will face No. 1 Beaver in the 1A semifinals next Friday.

Water Canyon 26, Whitehorse 0 (8-player)

No details available.

— Compiled by Vin Cappiello

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