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ST. GEORGE — Dixie High football is getting used to being champions. The defending state champions, Dixie has run through region play in 3AA, bringing itself into a matchup with cross-town rival Snow Canyon with a chance to clinch a bye and the region title. The Flyers quickly took advantage of their highly touted, skilled players and made short order of the Warriors despite multiple turnovers, beating Snow Canyon 28-13 at Walt Brooks Field at Dixie High School. “We didn’t do a very good job on offense tonight,” Dixie coach Blaine Monkres said. “We had penalties, got turnovers. We’ve got some things to work on, but I’m proud of the kids; not having really your best game and still beating Snow Canyon, that is a fairly good team.” Things didn’t start well for the Flyers as quarterback Ammon Takau was intercepted on the first series by Richmond Anderson. The Warriors drove down the field, but had a field goal blocked by Dixie. The Flyers took over and drove down the field on Takau’s back, scoring on a 20-yard touchdown pass to Andy Appel to give the Flyers a 7-0 lead. After a Snow Canyon three and out, Dixie returned to the vertical passing attack, and Takau threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Drew Batchelor. Takau threw his third touchdown pass in the second quarter on a shovel-pass to his older brother, Joseph, as the Flyers took a 21-0 lead. Snow Canyon gained some momentum going into halftime, scoring on a two-yard direct snap to Connor Parry. The Flyers responded immediately in the third quarter, scoring on a 65-yard touchdown from Takau to Batchelor. However, Takau lost a fumble and also had a pass intercepted in the game. In a bizarre series of plays, though, both teams intercepted a pass on back-to-back plays in the third quarter. The Warriors picked up a score in the fourth quarter, first on an 89-yard pass from Jake Frei to Zach Kennedy. Snow Canyon drove for another score, but the Flyers stopped the Warriors on fourth down deep in the red zone. Now, with an undefeated region season in the background, Monkres said the season is important for Dixie football. “We had a lot more kids out after the season we had last year, and hopefully we’ll build the program up to where we have 100, 110 kids in the program,” Monkres said. “It’s a big win for us, and hopefully it gets us into the playoffs with some confidence.”
