American Leadership (3-7) at Hurricane (8-2)
3A state tournament first round
Friday, 5 p.m.
Parry's Power Guide: Hurricane by 52
All-time series: First meeting
Coach vs. Coach: ALA's David Lewis and Hurricane's Chris Homer, first meeting
Last meeting: First meeting
Everything was going according to script for Hurricane, last year's 3A runner-up, as it neared the end of the 2009 regular season.
And then the final week happened.
That's when the Tigers surprisingly lost to second-year school Desert Hills, 27-20, in a game that sent reverberations throughout Class 3A.
Hurricane still enters the postseason as the No. 1 seed from Region 9 and will meet American Leadership Academy in the opening round of the 3A tournament at 5 p.m. Friday, but last week has certainly given the Tigers a ton of things to think about.
"All I can say is that Desert Hills outplayed us," said Hurricane coach Chris Homer. "I thought they had a better game plan, they worked harder (and) they were physical. We made our mistakes. I think they had six first downs and 27 points, so the only way that happens is if your special teams let down and you give up big plays. That's the two things we haven't had happen all year, and it happened.
"I give Desert Hills all the credit, and hopefully this serves as a wake-up call because you just never know. It's been a frustrating weekend, and I think our kids have to do some soul-searching and we'll see if we can bounce back. A lot of people have told me this is gonna be a good thing, but until we win some games, who knows?"
Trying to turn last week's negative into a net positive is clearly the main challenge for the Tigers right now. Up until last week, Hurricane had rattled off eight consecutive wins and had positioned itself as one of the leading contenders in Class 3A.
Homer hopes his kids can show that they've got what it takes to bounce back.
"I'm not sure that a loss is ever good, but I can guarantee we'll have better practices this week — I think we'll be more intense, I think we'll be more focused in film sessions," said Homer. "The only way that this is positive is if we do bounce back, if we are able to survive these first couple weeks."
If Hurricane can find ways to get back on track and make it back to Rice-Eccles Stadium, prep football fans will be introduced to a much different-looking bunch from Southern Utah. Gone is all-everything fullback Gordie Dotson, who rushed for 1,836 yards and 27 TDs last year and pretty much carried Hurricane's offensive load for three years.
In his place are several players that can do positive things at any given moment.
"The good thing for us is we are balanced," said Homer. "I think in the Wing-T that is a positive thing. But it works both ways. If you have a dominant kid that you know can go for four or five yards every time, you know you're gonna win a lot of games. He didn't fumble the ball or things like that. You miss that. It's kind of like a blanket. You always know you've got that in your pocket at any time, and place.
"We went for it on fourth down in the three years he was fullback probably 30 times a year. It was ridiculous. We'd just go for it, and we'd get it. Now you've got to approach it a little bit differently without that one guy."
ALA statistical breakdown
Scoring offense: 20.9 ppg
Scoring defense: 33.4 ppg
Passing leader: Hunter Morley (139-273, 50.9%, 2,032 yards, 12 TDs)
Rushing leader: Hunter Morley (171 carries, 669 yards, 6 TDs)
Receiving leader: Marcus Monsen (57 catches, 900 yards, 4 TDs)
Tackles leader: Jace Anderson (77 tackles)
Sacks leader: Cade Taylor (4 sacks)
Interception leaders: Chris Haynes, Riley Lewis, Tyler Zeeman (1 interception)
Hurricane statistical breakdown
Scoring offense: 32.1 ppg
Scoring defense: 17.7 ppg
Passing leader: Tim Long (83-147, 56.5%, 1,354 yards, 7 TDs)
Rushing leader: Robert Reeve (90 carries, 656 yards, 14 TDs)
Receiving leader: Anderson Rich (15 catches, 200 yards, 1 TD)
Tackles leader: Ian Gates (77 tackles)
Sacks leader: N/A
Interception leaders: Rich Anderson, Jaden Seely, Zach Sorenson (1 interception)