08/15/2024
Mountain Crest vs Hurricane
On Friday, Mountain Crest travels south to face Hurricane for the start of the 2024 season. MC will start the season vs. Hurricane for the third straight season, but it hasn't been much of a challenge for MC. In the previous two games, Hurricane has yet to score on MC, whereas MC has a combined score of 62 in the first two meetings of these schools.
However, look for a much more competitive game this year, as Hurricane's situation is changing.
Coach Cowan is now leading Hurricane after being the dominant force at 2A Duchesne for 17 seasons. Hurricane is still voted last in Region 9, but it will be hard to overlook with seven returning starters on offense, anchored by junior quarterback Dylan Gabriel. Hurricane also returns seven defensive players. Last season, Hurricane only averaged 17.9 ppg and will need to up that to be competitive in Region 9 and vs. MC on Friday.
Mountain Crest is coming off a 6-6 season where 3 of their 6 losses were by a touchdown or less. MC was voted 5th in Region 11 by the coach's pole, which MC is taking with stride. When asked about being ranked 5th, coach Visser said, “Im fine with it…. We lost all our offense, and that's what they look at…. But I feel good with the boys we've got taking over.”
MC will have a new defense coach this year in Peston Schwab. MC is moving to a 3-4 base defense that's more prevalent in high school today. When asked how he feels about the players picking up the 3-4, coach Schwab replied, “We ran some 3-4 last year, so it's not a huge shift, and I thought it fits our skill set. We have some athletic kids who can move and utilize that space.”
Even with big shoes to fill, like the loss of quarterback Casey Crofts, big-time receiver Will DeKirver and power RB Dax Benson MC feel confident in the kids filling in. Starting quarterback and Captain Brayden Larson, who battled two other great quarterbacks for the starting spot, looks impressive and hopes to make an impact in the air and on the ground, as he has shown his ability to run and throw.
Carrying the ball for MC will be a heavy load of RB Preston Arambel, who has had a fantastic off-season and looks to run people over. Also, in the backfield, look for Chaptains Zyan Foulger and Santiago (Puma) Huerta, who bring different styles to the RB position, helping keep defenses on their toes while trying to stop the run. However, Puma and Zion will see most of their actions on Defence, where both shined last year being 2 of the defense returning starters.
The MC offensive line will be key to the team's success this year. Anchoring the line will be C Seth Burbank, with twins OT Siaosi Tupuola and OG Kekoa Tupuola. In the past, MC has always relied on speed to overcome the line's lack of size, but this year, MC will have both size and speed, a deadly combination.
The season will be an uphill battle for both schools, but look for both to compete in their region with a chip on their shoulder.
The Friday kick-off is at Hurricane at 7:00 PM, and it can be heard on 107.7 FM, seen on CacheValleyDaily.com, and viewed on YouTube Mountain Crest sports.
Author John Olsen
