STANSBURY PARK — Pine View running back Tosh Wright is going to sleep well tonight. The senior's eyes have got to be tired after seeing all the big holes that his offensive line was making for him in Pine View's 65-41 4A quarterfinal victory over Stansbury Friday evening.
“I was bugging out, man,” said Wright who rushed for 269 yards and a couple of touchdowns in the win. “The offensive line was amazing. It was all them. They were crushing guys.”
Pine View scored in the 60s for the second straight playoff game in this contest that was never really that close. The Panthers led 28-7 at the half and pushed it to 35-7 early in the third quarter. To Stansbury's credit, the Stallions never gave up and pulled to within 41-21 and 55-35 before Pine View was able to ice it late.
The Panthers ended up with more than 600 yards of total offense in the game. Quarterback Dallin Brown rushed for 153 yards and scored three touchdowns and Macloud Crowton threw for 185 yards and three touchdowns.
The matchup was simple: Pine View's flashy quick-strike offense vs. the grind-it-out, chew-the-clock approach of Stansbury. But it was clear early on that Pine View's flashy offense was going to be unstoppable. On their first drive of the game, the Panthers scored in five plays, with Brown scrambling around the left side for a 25-yard TD. Later in the quarter, Brown broke off his biggest run of the game, an 80-yard keeper that put Pine View ahead 14-0 with 3:22 left in the first quarter.
I'm so excited. This is my first playoffs ever and my first time playing at the University of Utah, so I can't wait. It's going to be amazing. – Pine View running back Tosh Wright
The Stallions looked to make a game of it on their next possession by marching 80 yards in 14 plays to make it a 14-7 game. But once again, Pine View's offense got it rolling as the Panthers went 65 yards in just six plays, with Crowton hitting Brown on a 4-yard TD pass to make it 21–7 with 10:22 left in the second quarter.
Just moments later, Pine View struck again with Wright scoring his first TD of the night on a 14-yard run. He was literally untouched as the Pine View offensive line blew up the Stansbury defense on the play.
“Seeing how much work Tosh puts in, we just wanted to give it back to him," said Pine View tackle Solo Katoa. "Once we started getting the offense down, coach (Gary) Crowton just went to the run. We're getting better. This is the perfect time of year to peak."
That made it 28- 7 with 5:18 left in the half and gave Wright 127 yards rushing in the first half.
But if his first half was good, Wright's second half would be incredible. After halftime, he carried 13 times for another 142 yards and Pine View scored on all but one possession of the second half.
“Feels good, hearing those numbers,” offensive tackle Tim Colburn said. "We've got a pretty big line, we're pushing almost 1,500 pounds, so we can make some big holes so you can drive a truck through."
Pine View used Brown as an offensive weapon in the first half, but as mostly a decoy in the second half.
“The defense has to pay so much attention to him," Panther coach Ray Hosner said. "When we moved him outside and threw the ball to him, they had to move guys over and that opened things up in the middle."
After scoring just seven in the first half, Stansbury got its offense going after halftime. Speedy wide receiver Kaeden Kincaid scored a pair of touchdowns through the air and had one rushing TD as the Stallions were able to keep it within 20. But Pine View got a field goal from Conner Brooksby and a rushing touchdown from Wright to push the lead out to 30 and it was just a matter of time until the Panthers finished things off.
Pine View (8-3) averages nearly 50 points a game and has topped the 60-point plateau four times this season. The Panthers earned their way to the 4A state semifinals next week with this win and will play Orem at 6 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
“I'm so excited,” Wright said. “This is my first playoffs ever and my first time playing at the University of Utah, so I can't wait. It's going to be amazing.”