As soon as he saw a running back cross in front of him, Hurricane senior Gordie Dotson felt a need to tail him and keep him from helping Morgan gain a much needed first down. But it turned out he didn't need to worry.

A pass from Morgan quarterback Matt Largent came right to him at the 5-yard line. Dotson turned up field, hurdled a defender and ripped off a 41-yard return before the Trojans finally brought him down just shy of midfield.

"It was nothing I did," Dotson said of his first-quarter interception. "It's just good coaching. They prepare us to do that kind of stuff."

It was exactly those sort of big defensive stops that helped vault the Tigers into next week's 3A title game by sparking their 26-9 victory over Morgan on Thursday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Dotson's first-quarter interception, which led to a 6-0 Hurricane lead, was the first of four picks for the Tiger defense. The second, a pass pilfered by Tyler Ewell, also proved big in wiping out a would-be Morgan rally late in the fourth quarter.

Shortly after the Trojans made it 23-9 on Jakob Kinsey's 1-yard plunge over the goal line, Morgan linebacker Jordan Wilde recovered an awkward looking onside kick. The Trojans took advantage and marched 45 yards in only six plays to set themselves up at the Hurricane 9-yard line.

But Ewell stepped in front of Largent's pass at the 1-yard line and ended Morgan's hopes of making it a one touchdown game.

"I kind of thought that was the turning point," Tigers coach Chris Homer said. "They score that touchdown, who knows what happens?"'

Hurricane's defensive dominance manifested itself in other ways. The Tigers did not allow Largent to complete a pass for three quarters. Hurricane also blocked an extra point after the Trojans scored their only touchdown of the game.

As good as the defense looked, the offense had plenty of shining moments of its own to brag about. Dotson rushed for 124 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 24 carries. Joran Langston added 111 yards of total offense and threw for a touchdown.

That touchdown pass — a 17 yarder to Jacob Pugh — gave Hurricane a 6-0 lead. Morgan narrowed the margin to 6-3 late in the first half on a 20-yard field goal from Matt Roundy.

After Cory Edwards knocked home a 51 yarder before halftime to make it 9-3, Dotson really helped the Tigers break things open. He punched in two touchdowns — a 15 yarder and 1 yarder — to make it 23-3 just seconds into the fourth quarter.

Between excellent blocking from his linemen and solid play calling on the sidelines, Dotson felt like there was nothing Morgan could do stop Hurricane from taking over the game.

"(We) kept them on their heels the whole night," Dotson said. 'they didn't know where we're going and that helps. That's what this offense is all about. If they don't know where we"re going, we get yards."

The Tigers accumulated 260 rushing yards, with 147 of it coming in the final two quarters. For a run-oriented offense, such a high tally proved vital.

"I thought we were pretty tough running the ball in the second half," Homer said. "I thought it was a big difference. A lot of (our) first downs (came) in the second half."

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E-mail: jcoon@desnews.com