ST. GEORGE — This may finally be the year that Region 10 breaks the Region 11 chain.
Three Region 10 high school football teams–Crimson Cliffs, Desert Hills, Dixie respectively– earned the top seeds in the 4A state football championship pairings released Saturday morning.
In fact, according to how the games play out, there’s a possibility that four Region 10 teams could reach the semifinal round, guaranteeing that the state title will reside in St. George for the first time in four years.
“I don’t think it’s automatic for Region 10,” Dixie head coach Blaine Monkres told St. George News. “But I do like our chances.”
Region 11’s Sky View won back-to-back championships in 2019 and 2020 and Ridgeline defeated Dixie last year to capture the school’s first 4A title.
The defending champions were the highest seeded Region 11 team at No. 4 and will host winless Pine View Friday night in Millville.
“Ridgeline is pretty good, of course they already beat Snow Canyon,” Monkres said. “We’ll probably get to see if that was a fluke or not in the second round. Sky View is always a really tough out in the playoffs, they might have got a higher seed. We’ve looked a little at Mountain Crest, they’re getting better and better.”
Region 10’s Mustangs, Thunder and Flyers all received first round byes in the tournament.
The only local game Friday night in that first round will be at Snow Canyon, where the No. 5 seeded Warriors will face No. 12 Green Canyon at 6 p.m.
Also Friday night at 6 p.m. in Cedar City, the No. 8 Reds will host No. 9 Logan in a first round game.
Crimson Cliffs and Snow Canyon shared the Region 10 title with 5-1 records. Dixie was the only team to beat Crimson in region play while the Mustangs narrowly beat Snow Canyon at home earlier this season.
And yet it might be Desert Hills that is best positioned in the brackets to make a run to the title with the No. 2 seed.
Having a bye week will give senior quarterback Noah Fuailetolo and running back Tyden Morris time to rest up. When healthy, the duo leads a dual-threat Thunder offense capable of piling up points.
Speaking of explosive offenses, Snow Canyon won its last four Region 10 games by a combined score of 201-46. Hunter Johnson has deep-threat potential on every play with receivers Will Warner, Jake Hill and Brooks Esplin.
And then at Crimson Cliffs, the No. 1 seeded Mustangs have a punishing defense and a dynamic offense that can run and throw the ball.
And don’t forget about Dixie. The No. 3 seeded Flyers are getting healthy at the right time and are surging behind a stout defense and an improving offense.
“We’ll get some kids back and healed up,” Monkres said about his Flyers, who have dealt with a rash of injuries this season. “It’s good to go into the playoffs with as close to a full roster as we can get.”
Live playoff coverage can be found at the Fan Sports Network 99.5 and for recaps at St. George News Sports.
First round 4A playoff football games, Friday night at 6 p.m.:
- No. 9 Logan at No. 8 Cedar
- No. 10 Hurricane at No. 7 Sky View
- No. 11 Bear River at No. 6 Bear River
- No. 12 Green Canyon at No. 5 Snow Canyon
- No. 13 Pine View at No. 4 Ridgeline
No. 1 Crimson Cliffs, No. 2 Desert Hills, No. 3 Dixie all earned first round byes. Click here to see the complete 4A tournament brackets.
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