ST. GEORGE — For the first (and perhaps only) time in history, two Region 10 high school football teams will play for the 4A state title in St. George, and Devin Dixon and The Fan Sports Network will be there for comprehensive local coverage.
Crimson Cliffs and Desert Hills vie for the crown at 7 p.m. Friday in Greater Zion Stadium.
The winner will be the first Region 10 4A state football champion in the last four years after Ridgeline (last season) and Sky View (the previous two seasons) won the trophy out of Region 11.
Dixon, a voice of local and high school sports in St. George for the last 20 years, will broadcast the game live on The Fan Sports Network 99.5 FM and 95.3 FM in St. George and at 93.1 FM and 1400 AM in Cedar City.
The Fan Sports Network begins coverage of the 4A state championship Friday morning during “The Drive,” Dixon’s daily sports talk show.
“At 7:30 we’ll have Crimson coach Wayne Alofipo,” Dixon told St. George News via telephone Thursday afternoon.
St. George News and The Fan Sports Network are both owned by Canyon Media.
“At 8:15 we’ll have Desert Hills head coach Rick Berry,” Dixon added. “We’ll be breaking down the X’s and O’s and talking about two big things to watch for each team.”
Pregame coverage begins on The Fan Sports Network at 6 p.m. Dixon will be in the broadcast booth with Mark Musgrave, aka “The Voice You Know,” and they will be joined by Kaden Foremaster with in-game reports from the sideline.
Dixie head coach Blaine Monkres mentored both head coaches in the contest when they were all working together at Dixie before Crimson Cliffs opened its doors in 2019. Monkres will join Dixon and Musgrave in the broadcast booth at halftime.
Go to The Fan Sports Network online to access live streaming of the 4A state championship game.
Dixon said that both Crimson and Desert Hills have excellent defenses. Comparing the offenses doesn’t reveal much difference between the teams, either.
Crimson Cliffs junior quarterback Steele Barben tossed 38 touchdown passes this year. Meanwhile, Desert Hills senior signal caller Noah Fuailetolo missed some games due to injury but still threw 18 scoring strikes. Fellow senior Tyden Morris ran for 15 Thunder touchdowns.
The running back duo at Crimson, Mason Topalian and McCord Christiansen, combined to run for nine TDs.
“Both QBs equalize. Both teams have good running games,” Dixon said. “It really might come down to which offense is best in the trenches, able to control the clock, run the ball and move the chains.”
Both defensive-minded coaches will look to force turnovers. Berry employs a basic 4-3 scheme while Alofipo prefers a 3-4 set that relies on deception and pressure.
“And don’t forget about the third phase on special teams,” Dixon said. “You can’t miss a PAT and you can’t give up a kick return.”
Both kickers in the matchup – Xander Jones for Desert Hills and Ty Ottenshot for Crimson – have big-kick potential.
“Big plays by the offense, explosive plays, could really play a part and both defenses are going to have to limit those,” Dixon said. “This is pretty much a pick ’em game. Throw the seeds out the window. It might get decided by a trick play or a special teams play.”
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