(Hurricane, UT) – Region 9 football powers, Hurricane and Pine View, tested each other’s strength and endurance Friday night. The Tigers ended up stronger with a 35-21 win.

Despite Pine View’s winless region record, Hurricane (4-0) expected a full-force effort from Pine View.

“Their backs are against the wall and that’s how they played,” said Tigers’ coach Chris Homer. “I appreciate how hard their kids played, and I appreciate how hard our kids played. There was a lot of good hitting, it was very physical up front, it was just a well-played ball game and we made a few more plays than they did.

“We had Brian Scott, that’s what it came down to.”

Scott delivered a state of stability when his team needed to fend off Pine View (0-4) momentum in the fourth quarter.

After Pine View marched 62 yards and scored on a Ty Matavao 4-yard run, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 21-14 with 4:42 remaining, and failed on an onside kick attempt, Hurricane started its ninth possession at the Pine View 45-yard line.

The Tigers’ offense turned to their bruising back. Scott ran for 12 yards on the first play, then 11 yards, then a pair of 8-yard runs and finally capped the five-play drive with a six-yard rush into the end zone. After the successful PAT, Hurricane went up 28-14 with 2:22 left. It was the ‘Brian Scott drive’ and the sequence of plays was a snapshot of his season, and his style.

“We were talking on the headsets about what other play we should run besides giving it [ball] to Brian Scott,” Homer said. “He just made it a case where there was no need to give the ball to anybody else. Eleven guys are keying on him, and he still can’t be stopped.

“As a coach, you almost get teary eyed seeing a player show heart like that.”

Scott finished the game with 168 yards on 27 rushes (three touchdowns) and eclipsed 1,000 yards in his senior year.

“It’s a good challenge (playing Pine View) that’s for sure,” Scott said. “Our linemen did great. The blocks were perfect.

“All I needed was little holes to get a few yards, and then I could take on a couple tacklers and scrape for a little bit more yardage.”

Then Hurricane’s kickoff went out of bounds giving the Panthers decent field position at their own 35. Freshman quarterback Kody Wilstead was inserted into the game to help Pine View get down the field fast with his big arm capability.

But on the first play, Tigers’ safety Taylor Parker read Wilstead’s intention and intercepted his pass. Parker returned the ball 40 yards for a touchdown ultimately giving Hurricane a 35-14 lead with 2:11 on the clock.

Just three minutes earlier, Parker had suffered a serious leg cramp and he laid on the field for awhile. He limped off the field in a slow manner, but on the interception return, he found strenght in his legs and was determined to capitalize on the turnover. Parker said he did not want to miss any plays in the game, and coach Homer’s decision to trust his team captain’s reassurance of his ability and let him stay in the game paid off.

“You don’t miss playing against Pine View,” Parker said. “I just wanted to remain playing in the game so bad, I would just do anything to get back in there.”

Asked if he had any reservations about letting Parker go back into the game, Homer said, “You get to know these kids on such a personal level, when they look you in the eye and tell you they can do something, you believe them.”

The Tigers had an answer every time Pine View got close. In the third quarter, Pine View put together its most impressive scoring drive of the game. After Hurricane’s Parker was sacked and gave up a fumble, the Panthers recovered the ball and took over on the Tigers’ 47-yard line.

Pine View pounded out 14 plays, all rushing, including converting two fourth downs, and Matavao plunged from one yard out to make the score 14-7 Hurricane.

But the Pine View excitement was quickly dashed when Hurricane’s Jared Edwards returned the ensuing kickoff all the way back to the Pine View 12-yard line. Edwards, who plays linebacker, admitted redemption was motivating him on the kick return.

“I just got yelled at for messing up on a defensive play,” Edwards said. “I was mad at myself and I was excited for the kickoff. I wanted to make a good play.”

Scott once again found the end zone on a 7-yard rush on the third play putting the Tigers up 21-7 with 49 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

It was the second time Pine View had fought to get within a single score but Hurricane would regain the 14-point difference every time.

“They would get momentum and then we would wrestle it back,” Homer said. “It was two teams working really hard. I give them a lot of credit. They never lay down, and you know that about them going in.”

Hurricane finished with 243 rushing yards and 17 passing. Pine View had 235 rushing and 96 passing.

Adam Thompson had 63 yards of rushing for Hurricane. Kevin Mortenson (12 tackles) and Jared Edwards (11) led the Tigers’ defense in tackles and Parker had the one interception.

Pine View’s Braxton Peterson rushed for 138 yards on 25 carries. Prentiss Miller rushed for 80 yards. Ty Matavao scored two touchdowns, had nine tackles and a fumble recovery. Tyker Olds led the Panthers with 16 tackles.

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Box score:

Pine View 0 – 0 – 7 – 14 < 21

Hurricane 0 – 14 – 7 – 14 < 35

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Scoring plays:

H < Thompson 9 run (Stratton kick) 10:00

H < Scott 30 run (Stratton kick) 5:00

PV < Matavao 1 run (Frieden kick) 3:00

H < Scott 7 run (Stratton kick) 0:50

PV < Matavao 4 run (Frieden kick) 5:20

H < Scott 11 run (Stratton kick) 2:50

H < Parker 40 int. return (Stratton kick) 2:20

PV < Peterson 1 run (Frieden kick) 0:20

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REGION 9 STANDINGS:

Hurricane 4-0 (7-0 overall)

Desert Hills 3-0 (5-1)

Cedar 2-1 (2-4)

Dixie 2-2 (5-2)

Snow Canyon 1-2 (2-4)

Canyon View 0-4 (2-4)

Pine View 0-4 (2-5)

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