ST. GEORGE — A wild night under the lights on Friday saw four prep football teams from Region 9 pick up victories.

Dixie pulled off another fourth-quarter comeback to beat Desert Hills in the game of the year so far. Meanwhile, Cedar won at home and Snow Canyon won big on the road.

Crimson Cliffs pummeled a non-region 4A opponent in Washington Fields and gained momentum in the state rankings to complete the slate.

Dixie 27, Desert Hills 26

For the second week in a row, the Dixie Flyers saved their best for last and rallied to beat Desert Hills in the fourth quarter.

Dixie coach Blaine Monkres was at a loss as to why his team waits for the fourth quarter in seemingly every game this year before they snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

“They always tell me not to worry, we got it,” Monkres told St. George News. “But you know, this old man is getting older and they’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days.”

The first half was a back-and-forth affair as the teams traded blows.

Ran Sawyer busted loose for a 72-yard touchdown run on the second play of the game and Dixie jumped ahead 7-0.

After recovering a Dixie fumble, Desert Hills answered with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Beau Wall to Javiyen Cummings.

The first of three first-half interceptions by the Thunder’s Cyrus Polu led to a 4-yard scoring burst by Tytan Mason and the home team jumped in front 14-7. 

Dixie came right back with Junior Coughlin’s sweep around the end for a 35-yard TD run that tied the score at 14-14.

Polu’s second pick set up Wall’s 6-yard score, then his third interception led to Tristan John’s 33-yard field goal and Desert Hills took a 24-14 lead into halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, Sawyer stepped between two Thunder players to pick up a punt, then raced untouched 66 yards for a score to get Dixie right back into the game early in the fourth.

“Our team came together in the fourth quarter, like we always do,” Sawyer said in a jubilant Dixie locker room. “It’s just how we play football. I love it.”

Desert Hills regained momentum and padded its lead after Ocean Taufa blocked a Dixie punt that went out of the end zone for a safety, and the Thunder led 26-21 with less than seven minutes remaining.

Both teams had possessions in the final minutes before Dixie drove down the field with two quick passes to Jaxon Barben.

Then junior quarterback Wyatt Truman ran into the house from 7 yards out for the winning touchdown with 1:01 left. Dixie’s 2-point conversion attempt failed and the Flyers led by one, 27-26.

“I’ve played with these guys my whole life,” Truman said. “I love playing with them and I’m glad I can be here to play with them.”

Desert Hills got one last possession but Dixie sealed the deal when Coughlin picked off Garrett Grondel for his second interception of the game.

“We always turn it on in the fourth quarter, we always do,” Coughlin said. “I mean, we got to work on that but we’re a fourth quarter team and that’s what we’re good at.”

Dixie stayed unbeaten in Region 9 play at 3-0, 3-4 overall. Meanwhile Desert Hills slipped to 1-2, 2-4 after the tough loss.

Snow Canyon 42, Hurricane 14

The Warriors scored two touchdowns in the first, second and third quarters of the contest to cruise to the win in Hurricane.

Senior quarterback Tank Kelly tossed two touchdown passes in the first session. His 52-yard scoring toss went to Cael Johnson and he connected with Archie Threlfall for a 19-yard TD.

Hurricane answered with Dylyn Gabriel’s touchdown pass near the end of the quarter to cut Snow Canyon’s lead to 14-7.

But Kelly kept lighting up the scoreboard, finding Johnson a second time for a 16-yard score. Kelly’s 12-yard TD toss to Konrad Green came almost four minutes after that.

Gabriel’s second TD pass, this one a 32-yarder to Austyn McRoberts brought the Tigers within two scores at 28-14 at halftime.

But Trey Vaughn put things out of reach with his 55-yard interception return for a Warriors touchdown a little less than halfway into the third frame. Kelly burst into the end zone from 2 yards out for a touchdown to provide the final margin about four minutes later.

Snow Canyon improved to 2-1 in region play and is 5-2 overall. Hurricane still seeks its first win in Region 9 action at 0-4, 1-6.

Cedar 28, Pine View 15

At Cedar, the Reds took an early lead over Pine View and never relinquished it, eventually coming away with a 28-15 homecoming victory.

Cedar got on the scoreboard first with a 41-yard punt return for a touchdown by JT Jeter with 6:39 left in the first quarter.Then, early in the second quarter, Cedar’s TreDyn Elliott broke loose down the right sideline for an 85-yard TD run, putting the Reds up 14-0.

Pine View answered almost immediately, with David Beckstrand capping off a quick one-minute drive with a 2-yard touchdown that brought the Panthers within seven points, 14-7. That score stood until halftime.

Cedar scored on its opening possession of the second half, with Elliott capping off the drive with a 5-yard TD run. Then, in the fourth quarter, Cedar quarterback Everett Kelling connected with receiver Ammon York, putting the Reds deep in Pine View territory once again.

A couple plays and a penalty later, Krue Giles went in motion to the right, took the ball from Kelling and made his way to the end zone for an 11-yard TD run. That gave the Reds a comfortable 28-7 advantage with 7:00 left on the clock.

Pine View managed to put one more score on the board at the end, with Brock Harris catching a pass from quarterback Adam Moore and taking it into the end zone for a 4-yard TD. The ensuing two-point conversion, a pass to Quincy Jones, was good (both times, with a penalty in between), making the score 28-15 for Cedar with just over two minutes to play.

The Reds then recovered Pine View’s onside kick and were able to run out the clock to seal the victory.

“Defensively, we played outstanding,” Cedar head coach Josh Bennett said afterward. “It was one of our best defensive efforts against a very good Pine View team that has scored a lot of points this year.”

Added Bennett: “Offensively, I felt like we did a good job moving the ball up and down the field. We left some opportunities in the red zone, and we’ve got to get better with penalties. But I’m proud of our overall effort on both sides of the ball.”

With their second straight win, Cedar improved to 2-2 in Region 9 play, 3-4 overall. Meanwhile, the loss drops the Panthers to 1-3 in region, 3-4 overall.

– written by Jeff Richards

Crimson Cliffs 62, Stansbury 20

After a scoreless first quarter, the Mustangs erupted at home for 28 points in the second quarter and never looked back against the Region 10 Stallions.

Boston Adamson had two touchdown receptions, Mustangs quarterback Steele Barben ran for an 11-yard score and Ty West galloped for a 90-yard kick return touchdown right before halftime.

McCord Christiansen’s 3-yard TD run was sandwiched between a couple of Stansbury scores in the third quarter but it was all Mustangs after that.

Mason Topalian ran for a 3-yard score and Barben connected with Owen Peterson on a 20-yard touchdown pass and Crimson was in control.

Darius Strickland had a 3-yard touchdown run and Carson Vought put the cherry on top of Crimson’s big win with a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Crimson Cliffs stayed atop the Region 9 standings at 3-0, 6-1.

1A/2A/3A results

Manti 61, Canyon View 40

At Manti, the Templars handed the Canyon View Falcons their first loss of the season. Manti led by just two points at halftime (21-19), but rattled off 19 unanswered points during the third quarter to pull away.

Enterprise 29, Milford 13

At Enterprise, the Wolves trailed 7-6 at halftime but bounced back to defeat the Tigers 29-13. Kyron Bracken scored on an early rushing TD one minute into the game and later capped off the scoring with a TD reception in the fourth.

Kanab 48, Parowan 0

At Parowan, the winless Rams were kept off the scoreboard by the visiting Kanab Cowboys, who led 20-0 at halftime and 42-0 after three quarters. Griffen Bone and Drey Stubbs each scored two rushing TDs for Kanab, which improved to 5-2.

Beaver 29, North Summit 2

At Beaver, the Beavers held the North Summit Braves to a third-quarter safety, while scoring two rushing TDs plus two passing.

Water Canyon 80, Whitehorse 12

In 1A eight-player action, the Water Canyon Wildcats won big at Whitehorse.

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