No. 5 Pine View (8-2) at No. 4 Green Canyon (8-3)
- 4A state tournament quarterfinal
- Friday, 3 p.m.
- Parry’s Power Guide: Pine View by 17
- All-time series: Seties tied 1-1
- Coach vs. coach: Pine View’s Ray Hosner leads Green Canyon’s Craig Anhder 2-1
- Last meeting: Green Canyon 45, Pine View 38 (2018)
NORTH LOGAN — Had Pine View approached its two preseason games back in August with a bit more urgency, perhaps it would be hosting a 4A quarterfinal game this weekend instead of traveling north on a six-hour bus ride to Green Canyon.
Realistically though, coach Ray Hosner doesn’t mind.
First of all, he said the bus ride to Cache Valley is a great bonding opportunity for his team — which it already did once this year in Week 1. More importantly though, he believes in giving kids, particularly upperclassmen, the first crack at earning starting jobs early in the season.
With only one returning starter on defense there were a lot of holes to fill to start the season, and some of those initial choices struggled. Pine View lost its opener 58-56 at Ridgeline and then its second game 52-35 at Highland.
By Week 3 in the region opener the coaching staff had solidified the defense with the top players regardless of their age and the Panthers haven’t lost since rolling through Region 9 with a perfect 7-0 record and then dominating Bear River 49-7 in last week’s first round.
“Once we got to region we had to play to win and put our best guys on the field and that’s what we did. Obviously they’ve been stepping up and playing hard and taking care of business,” said Hosner.
Those early losses meant a No. 5 seed in the new RPI-seeded playoffs though, as Pine View must travel to No. 4 seed Green Canyon in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Ironically enough Pine View is facing a somewhat familiar foe at the other end of the state. The two programs met in the season opener in 2017 and 2018, with the road team winning each game.
Fifteen months after their last meeting, a 45-38 win for Green Canyon, the programs will square off again in a game that could have a very defensive feel.
Green Canyon ranks third in 4A in scoring defense allowing only 15.3 ppg, while Pine View is also only allowing 15.0 ppg since the start of region play when the coaching staff had solidified the defense.
Pine View’s defense has a bit more room for error as its offense leads 4A in scoring at 45.4 ppg, whereas Green Canyon ranks 10th at 26.2 ppg.
Pine View is led offensively by quarterback Macloud Crowton, who’s passed for 3,612 yards and 43 TDs this season. He split time at QB last year as the team’s top passing option, but this year the job has been all his and he’s thrived after an offseason of constant work.
“Physically his body has changed and to watch that take place as been awesome, and he’s always been a student of the game,” said Hosner. “He’s the first quarterback I’ve ever coached that feels the rush and doesn’t see the rush. His eyes are always downfield watching what the defense is doing.”
Green Canyon quarterback Jacob Lundin is equally as important to his team in a dual-threat capacity. He’s passed for 1,555 yards and 18 TDs and rushed for 1,315 more yards and 14 TDs.
Going back to Anhder’s time as Sky View’s head coach this will be the fourth meeting between Hosner and Anhder, and Hosner said he knows exactly what to expect.
“Coach Anhder does a great job, he’s an awesome coach. So you know you’re going to play a disciplined football team, you’re going to play kids that don’t quit, they’re going to be hard-nosed, they’re going to play whistle to whistle,” said Hosner.
That hard work is a big reason Green Canyon is hosting a football game in November in just its third season since the school opened.
“Starting from ground zero to getting to here has been a fun road, the kids have had these ambitions for this whole year so it’s been fun,” said Anhder.
Green Canyon actually finished third in Region 11 with a 3-2 record and would most likely be playing on the road this weekend under the old playoff format. It lost back-to-back region games to Sky View and Mountain Crest, the latter a stunning 6-0 loss at home.
Looking back on that game, Anhder said “it was a mess,” and really forced the team to regroup and reestablish the identity that had been so successful in starting the season 4-0.
Green Canyon’s defense was the catalyst to that strong start, and it will need to have arguably its best game of the season to slow down Pine View’s high-octane offense.
Pine View statistical breakdown
- Scoring offense: 45.4 ppg (1st in 4A)
- Scoring defense: 23.0 ppg (8th in 4A)
- Passing leader: Macloud Crowton (218-365, 59.7%, 3,612 yards, 43 TDs, 8 INTs)
- Rushing leaders: Jacob Nobili (58 carries, 398 yards, 3 TDs), Enoch Takau (47 carries, 328 yards, 5 TDs)
- Receiving leaders: Izaiah Moten (40 rec., 804 yards, 11 TDs), Daylor Rymer (40 rec., 722 yards, 15 TDs), Michael Moore (48 rec., 695 yards, 9 TDs)
- Tackles leaders: Uelese Matavao (66 tackles), Enoch Takau (41 tackles)
- Sack leaders: Jacob Nobili, Filipo Tavita (3 sacks)
- Interception leaders: Dylan Becker (2 INTs)
Green Canyon statistical breakdown
- Scoring offense: 26.2 ppg (10th in 4A)
- Scoring defense: 15.3 ppg (3rd in 4A)
- Passing leader: Jacob Lundin (129-226, 57.1%, 1,555 yards, 18 TDs, 6 INTs)
- Rushing leaders: Jacob Lundin (188 carries, 1,315 yards, 14 TDs), Brennan Dean (150 carries, 694 yards, 6 TDs)
- Receiving leaders: Mckay Yorgason (29 rec., 425 yards, 3 TDs), Jacob Regen (29 rec., 372 yards, 4 TDs)
- Tackles leaders: Carter White (98 tackles), McKade Hellstern (77 tackles)
- Sack leaders: Jacob Regen (10.5 sacks), Kayson Krebs (10 sacks)
- Interception leaders: Carter Compton (6 sacks)
Felt’s Facts for Pine View High School
- All-time record: 237-147 (37 years)
- Region championships: 11 (1985-co, 1986, 1993, 1994 co, 2001, 2003 co, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2014 co, 2019)
- Playoff appearances: 28
- All-time playoff record: 28-27
- State championships: 0
- State championship record: 0-6
Felt’s Facts for Green Canyon High School
- All-time record: 15-17 (3 years)
- Region championships: 0
- Playoff appearances: 2
- All-time playoff record: 1-1
- State championships: 0
- State championship record: 0-0