3A high school football preview: Upset of Cedar leaves tournament wide open

Last week, all the buzz going into the opening round of the 3A tournament was about Cedar and how the Redmen had just shockingly thumped then No. 1 Hurricane on the eve of the postseason.

This week, the buzz is still all about the Redmen, but unfortunately for them, it's for entirely the wrong reasons.

A week removed from shocking the state with a big victory, the Redmen shocked the state with a crushing defeat.

It came at the hands of Judge, which had to beat Grantsville in a play-in game just to qualify for the 3A tournament. Yet the Bulldogs somehow managed to turn around four days later and come from behind late to stun Cedar in Cedar City in a game that sent reverberations up and down the state.

The Redmen's unexpected exit has undoubtedly changed how everyone's now viewing the 3A tournament as it prepares to head into the quarterfinal stage this weekend.

No longer is there the possibility of a mammoth rematch between Cedar and Hurricane in two weeks in the state championship game.

No longer is there the possibility of what seemed like an inevitable semifinal showdown between Cedar and two-time defending champ Juan Diego.

Just like that, the Redmen are gone.

And it was all because a spunky bunch from Judge Memorial refused to back down and found ways late to stun Cedar and the rest of the state.

Hurricane coach Chris Homer, who had watched Cedar whip his previously unbeaten team just nine days earlier, was at home Saturday afternoon during the Judge-Cedar game. But he was fed updates from the St. George radio stations about what was happening in Cedar City, and when time expired and Judge walked away with a win, Homer simply could not believe what had just happened.

"It was just a shocker," he said. "I don't wanna dwell on that, but I'm telling you what — it's just unbelievable to me. I think a lot of credit goes to Judge. They played basically three games in eight days, and they beat a 1 seed in Cedar."

A contingent of Hurricane players decided to go up to Cedar City to watch their Region 9 brethren, and they flooded Homer's phone with texts at the end of the game.

"It was like 25 texts within two or three minutes of each other," said Homer. "We were just in shock, and I can only imagine as a coach how hurtful that is as a 1 seed. They had state championship aspirations, and they should've. It's just one of those things where little things can kill you."