The Hive Sports

by AJ Conlin

With the football season falling into the last couple of weeks, the state is nearly ready for playoff football. But before the season of ultimate competitiveness is upon here, there is one more regular season game for every team to play, and the games played last week must still be discussed.

This week, Jordan had the non-region match-up, in which they hosted Mountain View from Region 8, and lost by 25. Cottonwood marched onto the field at Hillcrest and declared their first victory of the season, winning by 30. Park City continued their reign of terror after a 31 point win in Tooele. Finally, Stansbury took a trip out to Murray, and shut them out 47-0.

Cottonwood vs. Hillcrest (37-7)

The Cottonwood Colts marched onto the field at Hillcrest High to play the Huskies with some sort of fire we have never seen before. They destroyed the Huskies in a defensive wonder.

Offensively, the Colts ran for 340 yards and four touchdowns, adding 128 yards and a touchdown through the air. The Huskies threw for 188 yards and one touchdown, with just 120 yards on the ground.

Defensively was where the action was in this game. The Colts won the turnover battle 6-1, forcing and recovering two fumbles and intercepting four passes. The Huskies were only able to pick one pass off and block a field goal.

The Colt defense was able to lead the team to their first victory of the season. Their final game this season will be against Murray on Wednesday, yes, Wednesday, at 7 PM.

Hillcrest melted down offensively in this game, but will have to shake it off when they play their next game against Jordan on Wednesday, again, Wednesday, at 7 PM.

Jordan vs. Mountain View (30-55)

The Jordan Beetdiggers hosted the Mountain View Bruins of Region 8 in the non-region match-up of the week. Jordan would end up losing due to ineffective run defense.

The Beetdiggers racked up 299 yards and four touchdowns through the air, along with 186 and another touchdown on the ground.

Sophomore RB Dexton Havea of Mountain View was a work horse all game, racking up 267 yards and four touchdowns on the ground alone. 46 more rushing yards were added by teammates to that total, along another touchdown. Don’t forget about the pass, because the Bruins threw for 168 yards and two more touchdowns.

Defensively, the Bruins won the turnover battle 1-0, grabbing one interception and returning it to the end zone for a touchdown.

The Beetdiggers will have to find a way out of the hole they’ve dug and come back to play their final game of the year, which will be against Hillcrest on Wednesday, once more, Wednesday, at 7 PM.

Park City vs. Tooele (52-21)

The Park City Miners stormed into Tooele, beating the Buffaloes in nearly every aspect of the game. The stats for this game include crazy standout performers and a 500 offensive yardage swing.

Offensively, the Miners were incredible. They threw the ball 31 times, completing 17 of those passes for 393 yards and four touchdowns.

Sophomore RB Eli Warner almost had a better stat line than the aforementioned Havea of Mountain View. On the ground, Warner ran for 272 of Park City’s 348 rushing yards. He also had two of their three touchdowns.

The Buffs were a whole different story. They had almost nothing on offense all night. They had a grand total of 52 passing yards, with 197 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Defensively, the Buffs actually won the turnover battle 3-0, which only makes the final score make more sense. The Miners didn’t appear to have any noteworthy defensive stats.

The Miners are closing out this season with the non-region match-up against Springville, who looks to be able to give them a run for their money. That game will happen on Friday at 7 PM.

The Buffs took a tough loss last week, but must pick themselves back up. The Buffs will have a fire underneath them heading into Rivalry Week. They’ll travel 10 minutes down Highway 36 to play Stansbury on Friday at 7 PM.

Stansbury vs. Murray (47-0)

The Stansbury Stallions made the short trip to Murray to play the Spartans on Thursday, and laid them out. The stats speak for themselves.

The Stallions only had 108 passing yards and one touchdown through the air. They didn’t even have as many rushing yards as one might think, with 253, 185 of them came from Senior RB Alex Geovjian. They had five touchdowns on the ground.

The Spartans offense, if you can even call it that, had some serious struggles. They had just 20 passing yards and -7 rushing yards, leaving their total yards for the night at just 13.

Defensively, both teams tied 1-1 in the turnover battle, both interceptions. The Stallions had a season-low 29 tackles, most of which were probably tackles for loss, but none are listed as such in the stat book. Junior LB Max Olson recorded the single interception for the Stallions, and took it 15 yards to the end zone for the touchdown.

The Spartans defense managed one interception, but was otherwise inept in stopping the run game, as Geovjian’s 185 yards proves.

The Spartans will need to find a way to pick themselves up going into their final game, which will be on Wednesday, one last time, Wednesday at 7 PM.

The Stallions are riding the high of a shutout win, and will need every bit of momentum they can get as they head into Rivalry Week. Their final game of the regular season will be against the Tooele Buffaloes from across the valley. That game will be played on Friday at 7 PM in Stansbury.

Featured Image Credit: AJ Conlin: The Hive Sports