WHERE: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City
WHEN: Today, 6:30 p.m.
RADIO: 1210 AM
TV: KJZZ
| ABOUT THE TIGERS (12-0 overall)
The Tigers have shown incredible strength in all phases of the game this season. Yet Hurricane’s bread and butter is its Wing-T option attack. The rushing trio of Adam Thompson, Brian Scott, and Weston Yardley are not just the best combo in Region 9, rather, the entire state. Together, they’ve racked up nearly 3,000 yards and 50 touchdowns. This area of the game will test Desert Hills’ defense, which struggled mightily against Hurricane’s big three during a 35-8 home loss Oct. 13. Thompson led all rushers that night with 108 yards, but the stats don’t fully tell the story as Hurricane had the contest well in hand before halftime. For the season, Hurricane is outscoring opponents by 27 points per game. However, the Tigers were tested in last week’s semifinal game vs. Spanish Fork at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Tigers defense — led by Jared Edwards and Kevin Mortensen, who have combined for 185 tackles and five sacks — will hope to redeem their unit against a talented Desert Hills offense. The Tigers secondary could see plenty of opportunities to make big plays down the field. Keep an eye on defensive back Weston Yardley, who leads the team with seven interceptions. Back on the offensive side, Hurricane quarterback Taylor Parker has shown tremendous growth in recent weeks. Although he doesn’t see a ton of opportunities to throw the ball, he has succeeded when given the opportunity, completing 47-of-72 attempts with five touchdowns. His primary receiver is tight end Colton Marshall, who has pulled in 18 catches with 14.9 yards per game average. Hurricane has won three of its four meetings with Desert Hills, outscoring its rival 151-48 during that span.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (9-3 overall)
Their strong up the- middle presence has helped make them a 3A finalist. Ty Shelley and Kellyn Larson maintain the defensive line, while leading tackler Peter Brown and Travis Lagrone direct the linebackers. Safety Porter Harris occupies the secondary. The Thunder hasn’t allowed any of their three playoff opponents to gain 300 yards during their run. Desert Hills showed how strong its defense can be in last week’s semifinal win over Cedar, who had won four straight games by an average score of 44-13 beforehand. Cedar had rolled up 400 yards of offense in each of those games, but that all changed as Desert Hills contained versatile quarterback John Ursua and limited the Reds to 282 yards of total offense. The Thunder will need another showing like that if they hope to secure the football program’s first state title. With all certainty, Desert Hills cannot allow 420 yards of offense like they did vs. Hurricane on Oct. 13. As for the Thunder offense, quarterback Porter Harris (completing 60 percent with 12 touchdowns), running back Mike Needham (averaging 7.6 yards per carry), and receiver Ty Rutledge (14.5 yards per catch) make that engine go. It will be beneficial for them to move the chains and keep the Tigers offense off the field as much as possible. Harris, who endured a broken finger in the quarterfinals, plans to play at quarterback, but If he can’t go, lineman and backup quarterback Nate Brinker will get the nod behind center. He’s completed 16-of-27 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns this season. For the season, Desert Hills is averaging 26.5 points per game and giving up 19 per.
— John Renshaw
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