John Renshaw
ST. GEORGE - A dominating performance, and another Region 9 title for the Hurricane
football program.

The task wasn't an easy one, yet the Tigers sure made it look the contrary on Thursday
night against up-and-coming Desert Hills. The two programs entered the game tied
atop the region standings, but it didn't take long to figure out who had the edge as
Hurricane cruised to a 35-8 win on the road, clinching the state tournament's No.
1 seed with still one week remaining in the regular season.

"It's a small group (15) of seniors we have," said Tigers coach Chris Homer. "But they're
a down to earth kind of group who works hard every day. É I still remember those
days where we struggled, so I'll never take for granted what it means for this program
to win a region title."

Weston Yardley set the tone for Hurricane early.

After a Desert Hills' punted on its first possession, Hurricane struck immediately.
On the very next play, the senior running back had his number called with a run to
the left, and he shot through the hole like a dart, so fast it was a blur. He sprinted up
the Tigers sideline, shook one tackle and made another Thunder defender miss
downfield to cap his 58-yard touchdown with 6:34 left to play in the first quarter.

Brian Scott added another touchdown in the first and second quarter to give Hurricane
a 21-0 lead at halftime.

On the first possession of the second half, the Tigers marched 91 yards on 13 plays.
The Tigers scored on a fake field goal, which had backup quarterback Zach Prince
take the snap, finding a wide-open Yardley in the flat for another touchdown,
increasing their lead to 28-0 and deflating the Thunder hopes of a possible
comeback.

"This was a big game for us. The team was focused all week because we knew how
good Desert Hills is," said Yardley who finished with 84 yards rushing and 72
receiving. "We knew that if we do our jobs and be physical things will go our way.
Winning region is one of our goals. It's one step that will help us get back to the state
championship. This is such a tough region and to have two home playoff games is
huge."


The Thunder defense was ranked among the best in 3A, but after losing Ty Rutledge
in the first quarter due to injury, it appeared everything went downhill for
Desert Hills from there.

Hurricane outgained Desert Hills, 420-201.

In another twist, the Tigers played its best offensive game of the season after opening
the playbook for quarterback Taylor Parker, who went for 120 yards on 9-of-9
passing.

"I keep telling people we can pass the ball when we need to," Homer said. "We had to
do that tonight because they were putting nine guys in the box to stop our running
backs."

On Defense, the Tigers were just as dominant against a usually very productive
Thunder offense.

Kevin Mortenson had six tackles and one sack with teammate Jared Edwards leading
all Tigers with seven tackles.

Thunder quarterback Porter Harris threw for a season low 37 yards on 5-of-12
passing. The senior added 34 yards rushing.

Mike Needham tallied 64 yards on eight carries and pulled in two receptions for 28
yards.

Harris said the game would come down to which team could make the biggest plays,
and on Thursday, it was the Tigers who executed when they needed to.

Other Hurricane notables were Adam Thompson's 108 rushing yards with a
touchdown, Brian Scott's 78 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns.

For Desert Hills, Nate Brinker and Brad Wulfenstein combined for seven tackles.
Wulfenstein caught the Thunder's only touchdown on a 43 yard pass from Dylan
Staheli in the fourth quarter.

Up next for Desert Hills is a trip to Cedar while Hurricane travels to Canyon View.