ST. GEORGE — Dixie, Pine View and Snow Canyon all won their second-round matchups, moving them into the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state tournament. They will all play on Friday with a possible birth to the semifinals on the line.
No. 5 Pine View (8-2) at No. 4 Green Canyon (8-3) – Kickoff at 3 p.m. on Friday
Pine View, the Region 9 champions, were ranked lower than Dixie in the final RPI rankings to the surprise of many people. The RPI rankings do take into account a team’s strength of schedule and their opponent’s record to name a few.
With the seed outside of the top four, Pine View will travel to Green Canyon for an away game on Friday at 3 p.m.
Green Canyon finished third in Region 11 and goes into the game with an 8-3 overall record. The two teams have had three common opponents, Ridgeline, Cedar and Bear River. Ridgeline was probably the loss that hurt Pine View’s RPI the most, as they finished the year with a 4-8 overall record, including a second-round loss to Dixie last week. Green Canyon beat all three of the teams, but it is also important to note that Pine View has gotten considerably better since their season-opening loss to Ridgeline.
Pine View has an electric offense, and they haven’t scored less than 40 points in four of their ten games. The most points that Green Canyon has given up all season was 35 in two different games, a loss to Woods Cross and an overtime win against Logan.
It should be a fun matchup between one of the highest-scoring offenses in the state and a solid defensive team in Green Canyon.
No. 9 Snow Canyon (6-4) at No.1 Park City (11-0) – Kickoff at 5 p.m. on Friday
Snow Canyon head coach Mike Esplin spoke highly of the Miners after their second-round comeback victory against Desert Hills.
“Their quarterback can run,” Esplin said. “They’re more of a power team, not as much spread and it’s going to be cold. I foresee a tightened up, defense is big, special teams is big, turnovers are huge, you’ll have some play action and some RPO but whoever is strongest and physical the most downs will win that game.”
The two teams have no common opponents, but Park City has shown all season that they are the top team in all of Class 4A. They beat 3A Juan Diego in their preseason play and rolled through Region 10 going 7-0 winning every game by 20 or more. They have also got it done on the defensive side of things, giving up a combined 56 points over their last eight games, including three shutout wins.
Snow Canyon can not afford to get off to a slow start like they did against Desert Hills. With the temperature dropping, expect the game to be low scoring with an emphasis on turnovers and holding onto the ball.
No. 6 Stansbury (8-3) at No. 3 Dixie (8-2) – Kickoff at 4 p.m. on Friday
Both Stansbury and Dixie have no common opponents, but similar to Dixie, Stansbury has a potent offense. The two teams average just about the same points per game, with Dixie averaging 41.8 and Stansbury averaging 37.4.
The two teams also average similar passing yards per game, but where Dixie separates itself is the rushing game. The Flyers average almost 60 more rushing yards per game.
Stansbury finished second in Region 10, behind Park City, but has been a little bit more inconsistent on the defensive side of the ball. They gave up a season-high 42 points to Logan towards the beginning of the year, and then 38 and 39 points in losses to Park City and Green Canyon.
With the Flyers being an exciting team on both offense and defense, Stansbury has definitely shown that they can put points on the board. The Stallions have scored 45 or more points in five different games this season, similar to Dixie’s scoring output.
Be on the lookout for an offensive outburst from both teams as they battle for a spot in the Class 4A semifinals.
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