St. George • Dixie players and coaches had Friday night’s game circled on the calendar after falling to Pine View in the Class 3AA state semifinals last year.
Dixie’s sidelines were full of smiles and high fives as the final seconds ticked off the clock Friday because the Flyers avenged last year’s heartbreaking playoff loss with a 24-14 win at Panther Stadium.
“It’s indescribable. It’s the best feeling ever to beat them after what happened last year,” Dixie wide receiver Payden Harrah said. “It was a special game and even better to be able to do it on their homecoming night.”
Dixie senior quarterback Jacob Barben didn’t have his usual flawless game. The senior completed just 8 of 20 passes for 108 yards, but he still managed to throw two touchdown passes against a pesky Panthers defense.
With junior running back Ammon Ah Quin out with an undisclosed injury, Dixie’s Hobbs Nyberg stepped up. He switched from his slot receiver position and lined up in the backfield. The three-sport athlete didn’t have a lot of chunk plays, but his 26 carries added up to over 150 yards rushing and a touchdown.
That left Harrah as the primary target on the outside. And despite being blanked all night by the Panthers secondary, he finished with four catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. The speedster also set up another touchdown after a 50-plus-yard grab put the Flyers inside the 10-yard line in the second half.
Dixie 17, Pine View 0 (2Q 5:20). @paydenharrah7 with the big TD catch on third down to extend the Flyers lead. #Region9Preps @TheRoyalLine1 pic.twitter.com/QoiXVqYFhA
— Justin Giles (@JustinGiles_) September 23, 2017
PLAYER OF THE GAME <br>Dixie wide receiver Payden Harrah had a game-high four catches for 87 yards and a touchdown to lead the Flyers to a big road victory over Pine View in a Region 9 battle.
The drive was capped with a 8-yard touchdown catch by Wyatt Forbes, who then dunked the ball over the goalpost to celebrate Dixie’s 24-7 lead.
Dixie’s defense forced three turnovers as Payton Wilgar and Tyson Miller both had an interception. Dixie held Pine View’s high-octane offense to 14 points despite entering the game averaging just over 40 points per game.
“Our defense really won it,” Harrah said. “They played lights out all night.”
“I knew our defense would step up to the challenge,” Dixie coach Andy Stokes said. “We’ve played a lot of tough teams already this year, and so the guys were well prepared coming in. The defense really put us in great situations all night on offense with all the forced turnovers.”
Are. You. Kidding. Me! @Ryanjavines finds @mpungi_jacob for the Hail Mary TD as time expires as the Panthers get on the board. @PVPantherFB pic.twitter.com/oNEX0Xxjfz
— Justin Giles (@JustinGiles_) September 23, 2017
Pine View running back Jacob Mpungi had a big night. The senior rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown, including a 51-yard touchdown run, as well as a 37-yard touchdown reception as time expired in the first half. Pine View quarterback Ryan Javines threw up the Hail Mary and Mpungi came down with it in the end zone as the ball was just past the fingertips of Dixie’s Josh Pulispher.