ST. GEORGE — Wipe the whiteboard clean. The new season begins Friday.
All seven Region 9 football teams made the 4A state playoffs, and five of them will play locally in opening round games Friday night, Oct. 20.
Region champion Crimson Cliffs and tied-for-second Snow Canyon received first-round byes when the Utah High School Activities Association released final RPI rankings and the complete 4A tournament bracket.
The Mustangs are the overall No. 2 seed in the tournament after posting a 9-1 record including a perfect 6-0 sweep in Region 9 contests. Meanwhile, Snow Canyon finished 7-3 on the season including 4-2 in region play, earning the No. 7 seed in the state bracket.
Click here to access The Fan website and to livestream the playoff games, the first of which begins at 5 p.m. Friday. Games also can be streamed on YouTube.
Devin Dixon’s Tale of the Tape
No. 20 Logan at No. 13 Dixie, 5 p.m.
This is a great draw for the Flyers, staying on the other side of the bracket from the other six Region 9 teams. But the Flyers lost Jaxon Barben to a broken leg in the Crimson Game last week. They will miss his senior leadership and playmaking ability as one of the best wideouts in the region.
The Flyers will still have playmakers like Silas Russell, Ran Sawyer and Junior Coughlin to carry the offensive load, but if they are going to make a run in the postseason, Wyatt Truman will need to limit the turnovers. Coach Monkres says he is going to shrink and simplify the playbook a little to help him out.
Dixie should make it hard on Logan with Anthony Crighton and Jacob Dembroki getting in the backfield. If the Flyers win at home they will get a road game at Park City next week.
The winner of this opening-round matchup will face No. 3 Park City in the next round.
No. 18 Pine View at No. 15 Cedar, 6 p.m.
In the regular-season meeting, Cedar won at home 28-15. But Mo Tonga didn’t play for the Panthers. Adam Moore and the Panther offense will need more than 15 points to advance in this one. But Devin Crenshaw suffered a season-ending injury last week.
Both teams should be amped up and this will be an intense game. The winner gets the ball to playmakers on offense early and often. Play-makers like JT Jeter and Treyden Elliot will be key for the Reds and Brock Harris and Quincy Jones for the Panthers.
Red Zone chances will be paramount, but at the end of the night, the defense that gets the most key stops on third and fourth downs and wins the turnover battle likely will advance.
Crimson Cliffs awaits the winner of this contest in the next round.
No. 23 Hurricane at No. 10 Desert Hills, 6 p.m.
The defending 4A champion Thunder were the third team in the trifecta of second-place finishers in Region 9 at 4-2. They finished 5-4 in the regular season.
Snow Canyon will host the winner of this game in the next round.
Check back with St. George News for more previews and total coverage of the 4A state football playoff games.
Go to The Fan Sports Network for a schedule of streamed playoff games and live broadcasts.
— Compiled by Devin Dixon
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