ST. GEORGE — Fans of Region 10 football got nearly a season’s worth of drama in one night on Friday as local teams started showing what they’re made of.

Three local teams playing at home were victorious, as Desert Hills and Dixie both rallied for come-from-behind victories and Crimson Cliffs won big.

Meanwhile, also at home in Cedar City, the Cedar Reds played Juab close for three quarters before falling late in the game.

And in Nevada, Hurricane was just edged by Moapa Valley and Snow Canyon lost by a touchdown to Arbor View.

Following are recaps of Region 10 action from the second week of the high school football season:

Desert Hills 31, Cedar Valley 28 (OT)

Without injured star quarterback Noah Fuailetolo, the Thunder never led against the Aviators until the final play of the game. Down 21-0 early on, Desert Hills rallied for 31 second-half points to pull off the win.

Tristin John’s 25-yard field goal in overtime won the contest for Desert Hills after Tyden Morris ran 20 yards for a touchdown with 25 seconds remaining to tie the contest in regulation.

Cedar Valley stunned the home crowd after taking a 21-0 lead into halftime.

Backup quarterback Beau Wall ran for a 3-yard score and threw a 5-yard TD pass to Cyrus Polu to start Desert Hills’ comeback in the third quarter.

Kona Crowell added a 7-yard scoring run in the second half, setting the stage for Morris and John to become the heroes late in the game.

Desert Hills (2-0) hits the road next week for a game at Spanish Fork.

Dixie 17, Riverton 13

The Flyers shut out the 6A Silverwolves in the second half, recovering from a 13-7 halftime deficit for Dixie’s first win of the season.

Despite enjoying a significant size advantage across the offensive line, Riverton was unable to score again after putting up all its points in the second quarter.

Dixie got on the board first with Jeffrey Christian’s 9-yard TD run. Riverton answered with a touchdown and two field goals.

Then, Dixie quarterback Jalen Schultz ran for a 5-yard score late in the third quarter and Johnathon Bibiano’s extra point put the Flyers ahead by one.

Bibiano tacked on a 38-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to provide the final margin. 

Dixie (1-1) is on the road for the first time next week in a game at Palm Desert, California.

Crimson Cliffs 35, Spanish Fork 7

The Mustangs played punishing defense for the second week in a row, and this time their offense was equally good in a rout in Washington.

Crimson Cliffs came into the season needing to replace its entire defense from last season. After surrendering just 10 points in its first two games, the Mustangs defense looks like it’s been playing together for years.

“We got put in a lot of bad situations,” first-year head coach Wayne Alofipo told St. George News after the game.

“We had our backs against the wall a couple of times and I was just impressed that in those tough situations, the boys didn’t break,” he added. “For a young team to overcome those situations, it’s a good growing moment for all of us.”

On the other side of the ball, a week after managing only 10 points, the Crimson offense put up big play after big play against the visiting Dons.

“On the offensive side this week we talked about not imploding and having self-inflicted wounds,” Alofipo said. “These boys played with a higher level of execution and they did a great job.”

Quarterback Steele Barben found his groove in the pocket, throwing touchdown passes to Jordan Eaton (70 yards) and Owen Peterson (12 yards). 

The Mustangs galloped on the ground as well, scoring touchdown runs of 90 yards (Mason Topalian) and 1 yard (McCord Christiansen).

The special teams also came through for Crimson when Tyler West, who Alofipo called their fastest player, ripped off a 90-yard kick return for a touchdown to open the second half.

Crimson Cliffs (2-0) hosts Timpview next week.

Juab 37, Cedar 20

At Cedar, the Juab Wasps used a late offensive surge to score 23 points during the final 13 minutes of the game, defeating the Reds 37-20.

Cedar scored on its opening drive, which ended with a 2-yard TD run by Matthew Villa-Rowe. Edgar Hernandez-Hinojosa added the PAT kick to give the Reds an early 7-0 lead.

However, Juab answered immediately, thanks to a 96-yard kickoff return by Gunner Nielsen that made it 7-7 with 9:16 left in the first quarter.

Late in the first quarter, Cedar quarterback Koden Lunt found receiver Ammon York for a nice gain that brought them to the Juab 9-yard line. Cedar’s TreDyn Elliott then ran the ball into the end zone on the very next play, putting the Reds back on top, 14-7.

Juab scored a TD on a 9-yard pass with three minutes left in the second quarter to tie the game 14-14. Cedar then drove it the length of the field and got as close as the 1-yard line but came up empty-handed: The score stayed deadlocked at halftime.

Early in the third quarter, Cedar’s Ammon York picked off a Juab pass and ran back up the sideline 22 yards for a TD. The PAT attempt was blocked, but Cedar had a 20-14 lead with 11:05 left in the third.

Remarkably, those were the last points the Reds would score during the game, as Juab went on to first kick a field goal late in the third, followed by a touchdown after a blocked punt one minute later. 

The Wasps kept at it during the fourth, capitalizing on Cedar turnovers and other miscues as they added two more touchdowns, the first on a 30-yard pass with 5:03 left, followed by a 48-yard run with 3:40 left. 

The Reds, who were handed their second straight home loss, will host crosstown rival Canyon View next week. The Falcons were 54-14 winners over Providence Hall on Friday night.

– written by Jeff Richards

Moapa Valley 26, Hurricane 22

The Tigers went down I-15 and played well in a tough loss. Stats were not available at press time.

Hurricane (0-2) goes to Orem next week for a game against Timpanogos.

Arbor View 7, Snow Canyon 0

The Warriors played a slugfest in Las Vegas, surrendering a 6-yard touchdown run with five seconds remaining in the bitter defeat.

Snow Canyon’s high-octane attack was held to just 183 total yards in the defensive battle. Senior quarterback Hunter Johnson connected on 17-of-33 pass attempts for 144 yards and tossed one interception.

Snow Canyon (1-1) returns home next week to host defending 4A state champion Ridgeline.

3A/2A/1A recap

In other Friday night action involving Southern Utah schools in the smaller classifications, the 3A Canyon View Falcons scored eight touchdowns in a big 54-14 home win over Providence Hall. Quarterback Jaxon Jensen threw four TD passes, three of which were to receiver Nick Macias.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise Wolves picked up a 21-14 home win over the South Sevier Rams, while the Milford Tigers won big at Gunnison Valley, defeating the Bulldogs 58-26.

Playing their first game following a bye last week, the Parowan Rams lost at North Sevier, 33-6. Beaver also lost, falling at home to Granstville, 35-14.

And at Millard, the Kanab Cowboys won on the last play of the game for the second straight week, kicking a field goal with no time left to defeat the Eagles 18-15.

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