BY NICHOLAS PAPPAS
Special to The Tribune | At the end of a hard-fought game in which Hurricane escaped with a 38-35 victory over Spanish Fork, the Tigers took a knee in the middle of the field to gain wisdom from their coaches. Each took a turn, but it was Dave Cullimore who elicited the loudest applause. His message was simple.
"We’re there again, now kick the door down this time!" Cullimore yelled.
Whether Hurricane would make it into the championship game for a fourth straight year was in doubt until the final plays. Spanish Fork was able to score with less than three minutes in the contest to pull within three points. A short squib kick by Ethan Stratton caused a pileup of nearly every player on the field, but it was Hurricane receiver Adam Thompson who ended up with it on the bottom.
After that, it was simply a matter of putting the ball in the hands of their workhorse, senior running back Brian Scott. He was able to move the chains and guarantee the victory for the Tigers.
"He did a heck of a job," quarterback Taylor Parker said. "He stepped it up to another level in this game, and our linemen really opened things up for him. I give it to them, too."
Scott gained 206 yards in the game on 36 carries while also adding three touchdowns in the effort. The leading rusher and scorer in 3A couldn’t be stopped, often going straight up the middle and carrying two of three Dons with him. Parker threw only five completions in the contest, as Hurricane committed to the run.
Spanish Fork put up a fight all game, however, and went into the half with a 21-17 lead. It could have easily been 28-14, but the Dons decided to go for it on fourth and 15 with less than a minute to play in the half, and the pass was intercepted by Thompson in the end zone.
A long 52-yard toss to Dakota Olsen set up the field goal. It was a turning point.
"I thought that was significant," head coach Chris Homer said. "I don’t think we were prepared for how good they were. They were tough; they were physical. In the first half I thought they outplayed us for sure."
In defeat, Hayden Nielsen threw four touchdowns for the Dons, with Luigy Paulino the recipient of three of them.
Hurricane will play next week at Rice-Eccles, getting a fourth shot at an elusive 3A championship. The past three years, the Tigers were defeated by Juan Diego. This year, Hurricane will face the winner of Cedar City and Desert Hills, both Region 9 teams that Hurricane defeated earlier this year.
"Region 9 coaches, we get along so well. There’s a respect factor there," Homer said. "We just feel good that one of us is going to finally get this monkey off our back for the region. Whoever we play, we’ll be happy to play, and we’ll be prepared for it."
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