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SALT LAKE CITY — Over the past few seasons, Pine View has struggled when expectations have been high.
In a year where they aren't considered the top favorite in Region 9, the tables turned for the Panthers in the first week of the 2013 season against the Judge Memorial Bulldogs.
After trailing 13-0 to Judge, the Panthers closed the game with a 38-11 run, capping a dramatic come-from-behind 38-24 win in non-region play at Judge Memorial.
“We decided we needed to be tough in every situation, and not just the good situations,” Pine View coach Ray Hosner said. “Our kids were fearless; they didn’t panic. We stick in there, and we knew we could chip at them.”
The Panthers received the opening kickoff, but quarterback Cody Wilstead fumbled the ball on the first play, and Judge’s Ricky Maka recovered to give the Bulldogs excellent field position. Two minutes later, Kaden Ellis scored on a one-yard quarterback keeper, and Judge took a 7-0 lead.
A few moments later, another Pine View fumble was recovered by Zach Gill at the nine-yard line. The Bulldogs’ Max Barnett scored on a two-yard run to give Judge a 13-0 lead.
“Early in the game, we had a few bad snaps, and we were kind of chasing the ball around,” Hosner said. “We definitely weren’t used to the humidity up here.”
After a Pine View punt, Judge Memorial was driving again, but then Ellis threw a pass that was picked by the Panthers’ Parker Ferris.
Pine View scored on a 74-yard touchdown pass from Wilstead to Colton Miller, cutting Judge’s lead to 13-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The Bulldogs responded though, as Michael Kearns used a dominant Judge outside running game to score on a 10-yard toss to the left, adding to the Bulldog lead. However, just before halftime, Wilstead led the Panthers into the red zone. Triston Duran ended up scoring from the one-yard line, leaving Judge leading at 21-14 at halftime.
The Bulldogs’ kicker, Andrew Matthews, connected on a 45-yard field goal early in the third quarter.
Pine View responded with a fervor as Wilstead connected with Jack Bangerter on an eight-yard cross for a touchdown to bring the Panthers within three, 24-21.
From there, the Panthers dominated as Wilstead connected with Bangerter on a 45-yard go-route to start the fourth quarter, giving Pine View its first lead, 28-24.
Judge’s momentum evaporated as the Panthers tacked on two more scores — the first, a 10-yard field goal by Ethan Baer; and the second, a 45-yard run by Duran, right after the Panthers stopped the Bulldogs on fourth down.
Wilstead threw three touchdown passes, including two to Bangerter. He also lost a fumble and threw an interception to end the first half.
“Jack Bangerter played absolutely amazing today,” Hosner said. “All our kids did a great job.”
Despite the loss, Judge Memorial coach James Cordova was encouraged by the strong outside running by his team.
"For the first game of the season, I feel good about our performance," Cordova said. "I'd like it to be a lot cleaner, obviously, but we're going to use our speed.
"We hurt ourselves; we hurt ourselves a lot."
