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SALT LAKE CITY — Dixie football knows a good story.
Last week, the Flyers scored four touchdowns against Stansbury to edge the Stallions. This week, Dixie forced three interceptions and a fumble and used a big-play offense to beat crosstown rival Pine View 38-28 to advance to next week’s state final at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Dixie coach Blaine Monkres said his team learned a valuable lesson from the narrow quarterfinal win over Stansbury, and used it in the win.
“Last week was a rude awakening for us,” said Monkres, referring to the 49-42 quarterfinal win. “We didn’t play well, and we were fortunate enough to come away with a win. We stressed all week we couldn’t come out with the same intensity we did last week.”
The Flyers opened the game with a touchdown drive as quarterback Ammon Takau found receiver Bret Barben on a 41-yard throw, taking a 7-0 lead 1:42 into the game.
However, the Panthers recovered, stopping the Flyers on a fourth down in Pine View territory. Then, Pine View quarterback Kody Wilstead, a BYU commit, led the Panthers on an eight-play drive, punctuated by a 1-yard scoring run by Pano Tiatia.
Pine View scored again before the end of the first quarter as Wilstead threw a 17-yard pass to Steve Bangerter to give the Panthers a 14-7 lead.
Dixie forced four turnovers in the game, including three interceptions.
Dixie tied the score at 14-14 early in the second quarter on a 52-yard throw from Takau to Barben.
Pine View drove the field again, but Dixie’s Ryan Wilgar intercepted Wilstead at the 1-yard line. The next play, Trenton Miller went 98 yards to give the Flyers a 21-14 lead.
Monkres said the play was attributed to Miller’s speed.
“(Miller) broke through there when we had it on the 2-yard line, and we were able to find a little crack,” he said. “Tre’s a good back, good player. When he gets out in the open field, he’s hard to bring down. He’s got good speed, and the lineman did a good job clearing a hole.”
However, with 2:38 left in the first half, Pine View’s Pano Tiatia scored on an 8-yard run to tie the score at 21-21. Still, the Flyers responded yet again, scoring on a 13-yard pass from Takau to Barben to end the half with a 28-21 lead.
Wilstead put the Panthers on the board first in the third quarter, scoring on a 5-yard run to tie the game.
A critical play in the quarter came on a muffed punt by Bladen Hosner, which was recovered by Dixie’s Abel Gutierrez at the Pine View 13-yard line. Takau scored a play later, giving the Flyers a 35-28 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Pine View had the ball on the goal line to start the fourth quarter, and Tiatia scored a touchdown. However, the touchdown was negated by a Dixie encroachment penalty. On the next play, Keanu Faumuina tackled Tiatia at the 1-yard line to stop the Panthers.
Dixie would punt the ball away, giving the Panthers another shot. However, Wilstead threw an interception, with Dixie’s Jeff Martinez forcing the turnover.
The Panthers would force another Flyers punt, giving the Pine View offense another shot. However, Wilgar intercepted Wilstead for the second time in the game, setting Dixie up at the Pine View 12-yard line. McLane Keenan kicked a 26-yard field goal, giving the Flyers their ultimate advantage.
The game was an offensive contest, with both teams combining for 856 yards of offense. The Panthers ran 85 plays.
Pine View coach Ray Hosner said his team’s miscues should be attributed to coaching errors.
“I called the wrong plays,” said Hosner, referring to Wilstead’s interceptions. “We should have called different plays. It’s definitely not (his) fault; he did a great job.
“I couldn’t ask anything more from my kids. They did a great job, and I didn’t do a very good job coaching.”
The Flyers will face another cross-town foe, regardless of whether it's Desert Hills or Hurricane.
Monkres said his team has to be prepared for both contests.
“They’re both good teams,” he said. “We (narrowly won) at Desert Hills, and Hurricane took it to us pretty good, so either one is going to be a tough game for us. Whoever it is, we’ll just get prepared and hopefully come to play.”
