3AA football: Pine View takes no solace in coming close after title-game defeat

It was another heartbreaking conclusion to the season for the Pine View football program. The Panthers were up by two scores in the second half before falling on the final play against Desert Hills in the Class 3AA state championship, 28-27, on Friday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Panthers coach Ray Hosner didn't want to take solace in any moral victories, however, despite his program appearing to exceed expectations once again. After slumping to an uncharacteristic 6-5 record in 2015, Pine View finished 10-3 overall this season, with two losses against the Thunder.

"There's no excuses. They beat us. You work hard to win, not to have a moral victory," Hosner said. "We came here to win, and we came up short. I'm not going to talk about anything we did [during the season], because we didn't win today."

Pine View is now 0-6 all-time in the state championship, but was one yard away from continuing an unusual trend from the southernmost region in the 3AA classification of lower seeds winning it all.

As the third seed from the 3AA South region, the Panthers knocked off Ben Lomond in the opening round before surprising Tooele on the road. The Panthers then earned revenge against Dixie, which routed them 38-7 earlier in Week 5 before Friday's loss.

Dixie, as the No. 4 seed, won in 2014, and as the No. 3 seed in 2012, while Desert Hills won as the third seed in 2013. As much as the 3AA South has dominated the classification, the region champion has not captured the state title since Hurricane in 2011. Desert Hills was the No. 2 seed.

"You look at some of those teams we played, no one has ever said how our kids overachieved to get here," Hosner said. "It's always the negative, the negative, the negative, but you know what? Our kids have busted their butts when no one thought we would ever make it in 4A. We went two times in 4A, so 0-6 doesn't mean anything to me. Instead of saying, 'Hey, your kids overachieved, they played well,' I never hear that. Always hear that six, but that's alright."

tphibbs@sltrib.com

Twitter: @trevorphibbs —

Storylines

R Pine View improved from 6-5 in 2015 to 10-3 overall this season.

• The Panthers dropped to 0-6 all-time in state championship games.

• Pine View was the most recent team from the 3AA South to navigate through the postseason bracket as a lower seed.