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Home > Archive > Oct 5, 2006

Dixie Takes a Loss to Cedar’s Redmen
By Coby Millet
Staff Writer
In what could be the last football game in one of the state’s longest-running rivalries, Cedar City defeated Dixie 41-20 Friday night.

The two teams battled for the 78th time, and while Cedar came out on the winning side this time, Dixie holds a 43-34 margin in a duel that began with six-man football nearly sixty years ago.

“Cedar came in with a great game plan both offensively and defensively,” said Dixie coach Jake Nelson. “They shut us down, and now we have to get back to work for next week. You have to have a short memory in high school football.”

The game started like a classic, with both teams taking advantage of first-half turnovers and turning them into touchdowns. At the half, Cedar had the lead 21-14.

Coach Peacock called his team out during halftime. "I lost my mind at halftime. Our offensive line got tired and quit blocking people. I called them out, and they proved me wrong in the second half."

The Redmen defense became stingy in the second half as well. Timely sacks by defensive linemen Cabe Jensen and Dylan Fox stalled Dixie drives. Coach Peacock credited defensive coordinator Jason Lee, "We made good adjustments at half time. He knows what they are going to do before they do it. He pulled the trigger on those blitzes and got us those sacks."
The Redmen ended the game with 374 total yards led by senior running back Cory Brown, who finished with 221 yards on 28 carries and 3 touchdowns.

Dixie was led by quarterback Tyler Hukill, who went 12-15 through the air for 91 yards. Junior running back Nate Carter was limited to 29 yards on 10 carries. Cedar limited Dixie to 155 yards of total offense.

Nelson offered praise to several of his players, including Derek Owens and Garret Blake.
“It’s a great rivalry, and they came to play,” said Nelson. “Now we have to forget about this and look to next week.”

The outcome of the game is only part of the story. One of the oldest rivalries in the state could end with the realigning of local schools coming at the end of year. With Dixie, Pine View and Snow Canyon likely moving to 4A and Cedar, Hurricane, and Canyon View staying at 3A, there is a chance it will become difficult to continue playing against each other every year.
Both head coaches would like to continue the rivalry even with the realignment. After the game, Coach Peacock said "I would like to continue playing Dixie, Pine View and Snow Canyon. It is our proposal that even if they move to 4A and we stay at 3A, we would stay in the same region."

Fans, former coaches and a few sports writers hope it will continue as well.
The addition of new schools and other rivalries hasn't changed the
intensity of Cedar vs. Dixie.

"By far, this is the biggest rivalry we have. If we could only win one game in a year, I would want it to be against Dixie,” Peacock said. “It is the most fun game, because they are always well coached, and you know it will be a tough game."

The rest of this season and the state playoffs will come before realignment.

Cedar will travel to Pine View (4-3,1-1) on Thursday at 7 p.m. Dixie will play host to Canyon View (4-3, 0-2) at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Pine View and Canyon View are both coming off losses and will have to win to remain in the playoff picture.

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