When Hurricane beat Delta 20-8 in Delta all the way back in Week 2 of the preseason, the Delta Rabbits were in the midst of a hellish season-opening stretch. The Rabbits started off 2010 with four tough games in a row, including the home tilt with Hurricane, and they lost all four of them to leave the rest of their season shrouded in uncertainty. Flash forward to the present, however, and Delta is a much different football team now than it was then. Indeed, since starting out the season 0-4, the Rabbits have reeled off eight consecutive victories and have grown and improved as a team every step along the way. Delta's reward for its remarkable turnaround is a spot in the 3A semifinals for the first time since 2006, and the Rabbits will hope to show just how far they've come when they meet Hurricane for the second time of the season, this time in the 3A semis at 6:30 p.m. Thursday on the grand stage of Rice-Eccles Stadium. Delta coach Russ Henrie's team is obviously much different now than it was two months ago, but he said that doesn't change who will be favored once kickoff arrives Thursday night. "We've made some adjustments and moved some kids around and it's made us a better team, but we're still — by far — the underdog," said Henrie. "It's a David and Goliath thing. We're gonna have to shock the world in order to beat 'em, but you know what? We're gonna go give 'em everything we got and play them as hard as we can and take what we can get." Hurricane coach Chris Homer and his team wouldn't expect anything less. Homer and Henrie have gotten to know one another well over the past several seasons, and Homer says his coaching staff has tons of admiration for Henrie and his staff. Accordingly, Homer isn't surprised that Delta has recovered from its 0-4 start to ultimately face his Tigers in the semis. But he did point out that such a feat is incredibly difficult to accomplish. "I think people probably underestimate how hard that is to basically perform a recovery like they did, especially dealing with young men," said Homer. "They have good kids and good leaders, but 0-4 is a tough road to hoe when you don't know what lays ahead each week. "(Coach Henrie) is a positive guy and he loves his kids, and they'll always respond to that, whether it's with wins or other things. In this case, it did turn into wins. I think that's a credit to him and his coaching staff. They are just good to their kids, and you can kind of see that." When Delta and Hurricane met all the way back in the preseason, Hurricane jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first half before Delta responded by playing much better in the second half. Because so much has happened since then, however, neither coach is putting too much stock into that game. "A million things have happened since then," said Henrie. In Hurricane's case, that meant game-planning from scratch. "As a coaching staff, we decided to approach Delta as more or less a new team because that was so long ago," said Homer. CLASS 3A SEMIFINALS
HURRICANE (11-1) VS. DELTA (8-4)
Thursday, 6:30 p.m. — Rice-Eccles Stadium (field turf)
Ticket information: Fans can purchase tickets at www.uhsaa.org.
TV: None — Parry's Power Guide ?— Hurricane by 13
HURRICANE TIGERS DEPTH CHART
OFFENSE
QB ADAM LONG 1
Taylor Parker 7
FB ROBERT REEVE 24
Brian Scott 8
HB JAROM HEALEY 33
Zach Prince 6
ZB TREY SMITH 10
Weston Yardley 5
WR NATHAN BARKER 2
Jordan Prince 20
WR TYLER KAULMANN 23
Taylor Barker 7
RT DANIEL NIELSEN 70
Obike Nkwotcha 72
RG ALEX SEFITA 54
Logan Adams 58
C BO PENROD 51
Kale Porter 50
LG KEVIN MORTENSON 56
Joe Thurman 68
LT JESSE BETTRIDGE 77
Bryan Lee 71
PK COREY EDWARDS 3
Koy Gubler 11
KR JAROM HEALEY 33
KR TREY SMITH 10
DEFENSE
DE DANIEL NIELSEN 70
Obike Nkwotcha 72
NG MIKE REYNOLDS 74
Derek Yazzie 59
DE ERIC CANFIELD 53
Jesse Bettridge 77
OLB McCRAE VAIFANUA 89
Colton Marshall 84
MLB TAYLOR FROST 34
Terrell Hoyt 52
MLB BRIAN SCOTT 8
Logan Adams 58
OLB JOSH BULLOCH 5
Bo Penrod 51
CB WESTON YARDLEY 5
Adam Long 1
CB TREY SMITH 10
Jordan Prince 20
S JAROM HEALEY 33
Jace Jackson 30
S TAYLOR PARKER 7
Zach Prince 6
P TAYLOR PARKER 7
Corey Edwards 3
PR TREY SMITH 10
PR WESTON YARDLEY 5
DELTA RABBITS DEPTH CHART
OFFENSE
QB COLIN CHRISTENSEN 12
Hunter Johnson 17
TB HADLEY MYERS 15
Jace Abbott 4
LRB ZACH HARRIS 22
Taylor Bahr 47
RRB KAYDON HUGHES 24
Kyle Church 34
WR JACE JOHNSON 3
-or- Braden Schouten 7
WR JACE ABBOTT 4
-or- Jordan Young 14
LG BROCK LAWRENCE 54
Dallin Christensen 56
LT KYLE ANDERSON 52
Lance Plumb 51
PK JACE ABBOTT 4
Jace Johnson 3
KR JACE ABBOTT 4
KR BRADEN SCHOUTEN 7
DEFENSE
DE KYLE ANDERSON 52
RJ Springer 2
DT JAXON SINGLETON 42
Gerry Banda 60
DT DALLIN HENRIE 78
Marco Alanis 61
DE MICHAEL SCHENA 64
Dallin Christensen 56
MLB KAYDON HUGHES 24
Darin Dutson 6
MLB HADLEY MYERS 15
Matt Murdock 33
CB BRADEN SCHOUTEN 7
Kip Edwards 8
CB COLIN CHRISTENSEN 12
Colton Chappell 21
WS JACE ABBOTT 4
Jordan Young 14
FS JACE JOHNSON 3
Hunter Johnson 17
SS KYLE CHURCH 34
Kayson Leavitt 23
P HADLEY MYERS 15
Taylor Bahr 47
PR JACE ABBOTT 4
Braden Schouten 7
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
This is the 40th all-time meeting between these schools, with Delta holding a big edge with a 30-10 record against Hurricane. ... Hurricane won the previous meeting back on Aug. 27 at Delta 20-8. ... Hurricane coach Chris Homer and Delta coach Russ Henrie are 3-3 in head-to-head games. ... Delta has won nine state championships in school history, while Hurricane is seeking its first. ... Delta's all-time playoff record is 62-40, while Hurricane's is 20-29. ... Hurricane has lost in two straight 3A championship games. ... Delta's last semifinal appearance was 2006.
COACHING REPORT
Hurricane coach Chris Homer: Has been the head coach at Hurricane for nine years and has amassed a 62-41 record along the way. This is the fourth year he's guided the Tigers to the semifinals.
Delta coach Russ Henrie: A Delta graduate, Henrie is in his sixth year as Delta's head coach. He's amasssed a 46-24 record in those six seasons.
HURRICANE STATS
Scoring offense: 36.2 ppg
Scoring defense: 14.3 ppg
Passing leader: Adam Long (70-114, 61.4%, 1,096 yards, 9 TDs, 7 INTs)
Rushing leaders: Jarom Healey (138 carries, 1,060 yards, 20 TDs), Trey Smith (104, 718, 6)
Rec. leader: Jarom Healey (17 rec., 330 yds., 1 TD), Trey Smith (15, 229, 3) Nathan Barker (17, 225, 2)
Tackles leader: Taylor Parker (68 total tackles)
Sacks leader: Not provided
Int. leader: Jarom Healey (3 INTs)
DELTA STATS
Scoring offense: 23.3 ppg
Scoring defense: 17.4 ppg
Passing leader: Colin Christensen (58-128, 45.3%, 918 yards, 7 TDs)
Rushing leaders: Hadley Myers (133 carries, 971 yards, 14 TDs) Colin Christensen (113, 710, 11)
Receiving leader: Jace Abbott (8 catches, 143 yards 4 TDs)
Tackles leader: Kaydon Hughes (84)
Sacks leader: Hadley Myers (4)
Int. leader: Jace Johnson (5)
HURRICANE GAME-BY-GAME
Aug. 20 … Hurricane 17, Skyline 14
Aug. 27 … Hurricane 20, Delta 8
Sept. 3 … Hurricane 42, Moapa Valley, Nev. 7
Sept. 10 … Hurricane 55, Dixie 28
Sept. 17 … Hurricane 35, Snow Canyon 6
Sept. 24 … Hurricane 27, Pine View 7
Oct. 1 … Hurricane 48, Tooele 14
Oct. 8 … Hurricane 42, Desert Hills 13
Oct. 14 … Hurricane 41, Canyon View 7
Oct. 21 … Cedar 44, Hurricane 30
Oct. 29 … Hurricane 35, Morgan 10
Nov. 5 … Hurricane 42, Emery 13
DELTA GAME-BY-GAME
Aug. 20 … Westlake 35, Delta 21
Aug. 27 … Hurricane 20, Delta 8
Sept. 3 … Park City 20, Delta 19
Sept. 10 … South Summit 22, Delta 7
Sept. 17 … Delta 21, Stansbury 8
Sept. 24 … Delta 24, Manti 21
Oct. 1 … Delta 42, North Sanpete 7
Oct. 8 … Delta 31, Richfield 10
Oct. 13 … Delta 36, Emery 12
Oct. 21 … Delta 28, Juab 0
Oct. 29 … Delta 48, American Leadership 0
Nov. 6 … Delta 27, Desert Hills 7
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