Region 10 football: Snow Canyon hosts Desert Hills in battle of Region 10 champ hopefuls
Region 10 football rolls on as we pass the midpoint of the season.
Desert Hills and Snow Canyon got big boosts with their star quarterbacks coming back last week and guiding each team to big wins.
This week, the two match up as the top game of the week.
Whether Friday’s contest provides the drama that last year's did remains to be seen.
The Crimson Cliffs Mustangs continued their strong play against Cyprus and faces off against a Hurricane team that hasn’t scored in its last two games.
Dixie and Cedar, meanwhile, spark up their rivalry in Cedar City
Pine View has the week off after falling in double overtime to Cedar.
Mid-season standings:
Crimson Cliffs 5-1 (2-0)
Cedar City 3-3 (2-1)
Snow Canyon 3-3 (2-1)
Desert Hills 4-2 (1-1)
Dixie 3-2 (1-1)
Hurricane 1-5 (1-2)
Pine View 0-5 (0-3)
Desert Hills at Snow Canyon
A season ago, these two teams played in what was one of the best games of the year. As Desert Hills continued its surprising run through the region, Snow Canyon provided a huge test.
In a back-and-forth affair, it took a Jed Harris 12-yard touchdown pass to Tristin John with 55 seconds to play to lift the Thunder to a 35-33 win.
Hunter Johnson and Noah Fuailetolo each threw four touchdowns and an interception in the win. Jake Hill and Brooks Esplin hauled in touchdowns from Johnson.
Eventual Region 10 MVP Awsten Turnbow had three receiving touchdowns, and Tyden Morris added 120 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Check out: Fuailetolo shines in return, leads Desert Hills past Dixie 56-21
Both sides return their playmakers (outside of Turnbow) from last season.
Desert Hills has won two in a row, and the return of Fuailetolo could potentially turn the region on its head.
The senior quarterback threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns in last Friday’s 56-21 win over Dixie. Morris continued his battering ram-like ways to the tune of 159 yards and two touchdowns.
Morris leads 4A in rushing touchdowns with eight.
Johnson also made his return to the Snow Canyon lineup after being held out against Crimson Cliffs.
Much like Fuailetolo, Johnson threw for three touchdowns in the Warriors’ 47-0 win over Hurricane. Johnson added another 90 yards and two scores rushing.
The win was the Warriors most complete game to date, limiting RJ Wright to just three catches and 51 yards and intercepting Gerritt Grondel twice.
Both teams enter Friday finally healthy and hitting their stride.
Prediction: Desert Hills
Dixie at Cedar City
One has to wonder if this game was purposefully scheduled for this week in regard to Utah Tech traveling to Southern Utah University this week as well for football.
Either way, the matchup of two old rivals fires up once again on Friday night.
The Reds avoided an upset by Pine View last week, beating the Panthers 31-28 in double overtime with Parker Kucifer hitting a 38-yard field goal in OT for the win.
The 28 points scored by Pine View is just the second most Cedar has allowed in a game all season.
Koden Lunt continues a breakout junior season. Lunt ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more, hitting Ammon York and Logen Wesolowski for scores. Wesolowski’s score tied the game at 28 in the fourth quarter.
Dixie’s three-game winning streak was snapped in a humbling loss to Desert Hills. A 21-14 halftime deficit quickly escalated into a blowout win for the Thunder.
Three separate Flyers found the end zone on the ground in the loss. Jalen Schultz, Louie Bennett, and Jeffrey Christian all had scores.
Schultz added another 211 yards passing.
Dixie shutout Cedar 42-0 a year ago on their way to the 4A State Championship Game, but with all the turnover for the Flyers and improvement by the Reds, this year’s contest should be much more competitive.
Cedar’s home crowd should give it an additional boost but look for the Flyers to be fired up after last week’s loss.
Prediction: Dixie
Hurricane at Crimson Cliffs
Hurricane’s offense has been shut out for two consecutive weeks, first by a tough Cedar defense and then by Snow Canyon.
The 47-0 loss to Snow Canyon was the third time Hurricane has been shutout in 2022.
The Tigers rushed for just 47 yards on 21 rushes. Gerritt Grondel completed just 15/33 passes and was intercepted twice.
Their reward is a matchup against the best team in Region 10, that also happens to boast arguably the region’s top defense.
Outside of allowing 49 points to Timpview, Crimson has only allowed one other team (Snow Canyon) to score more than 15 points.
On three occasions, the Mustangs have held teams under ten points, including last week in a 41-8 win over Cyprus.
Steele Barben completed 12/13 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns.
Luke Childs had three catches for 135 yards and a touchdown, while Jordan Eaton added four catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns.
Barben has burst onto the scene as a first-year starter and could be the frontrunner for Region 10 Player of the Year, completing 63% of his passes with 11 touchdowns in the first six games. Barben leads all of 4A with 1,284 passing yards.
Prediction: Crimson Cliffs
Sean Ellertson is a sports reporter for the St. George Spectrum & Daily News. To continue to support his work, please subscribe to The Spectrum. Follow Sean on Twitter @SeanEllertson.
This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: Region 10 football: Warriors vs. Thunder serves as game of the week
