The state's 1A and 2A prep football playoffs are already down to fields of Elite Eight in both quarterfinals.
Here's a brief preview of this weekend's 1A and 2A matchups.2A quarterfinals
Delta (5-4) at No. 1 Hurricane (8-0), 4 p.m. Friday: The Rabbits are on a rolling, with their 28-15 first-round playoff win over South Summit last week the latest in their three-game win streak. And Delta stayed as close to Hurricane as anybody in regular-season play, losing 34-28 in early September. Meanwhile, the Tigers have allowed three total points in their last three games and have scored fewer than 21 points only once this season.
Millard (7-2) at No. 4 Park City (7-1), 3 p.m. Friday: The Eagles are on a three-win roll, with their two losses to ranked Hurricane and Beaver. In its six victories, Millard scored at least 35 points five times. Park City has on four straight after a midseason loss to unbeaten North Sanpete. The Miners have scored at least 18 points in its seven wins while allowing seven points or fewer in six games.
Kanab (5-4) at No. 3 Beaver (6-2), 1 p.m. Friday: The Cowboys are two too streaky this season - two wins, followed by two losses, followed by two wins, followed by two losses. So, was Kanab's 26-6 win over Grand County in last week's first-round playoff the start of another two-win streak? As for the Beavers, their losses have been to 3A Emery County and 2A frontrunner Hurricane, with Beaver scoring at least 20 points in all six victories.
No. 4 San Juan (5-4) at No. 2 North Sanpete (8-0), 1 p.m. Saturday: First, please be advised that the site of this game was inadvertently listed backwards in Tuesday's editions. The game will be played in Mount Pleasant, home of the higher-seeded Hawks.
The Broncos' four losses - a season-opening 16-13 defeat at Hurricane and losses to out-of-state 4A teams like Montrose, Colo.; Durango, Colo.; and Farmington, N.M. - might have lulled some folks to sleep, but San Juan's wins have been by the scores of 26-13, 44-0, 28-0, 45-0 and 20-7. The undefeated, high-octane Hawks can score, too, with an average score of 43-10 this season. The only time North Sanpete didn't break the 40-point barrier this season was a 28-7 victory over ranked Park City.
1A quarterfinals
No. 4 Monticello (5-4) vs. Parowan (3-5), 1 p.m. Friday at Carbon High: The Buckaroos have logged three shutout victories, but have shut out three times themselves this season. Monticello is 4-1 against Utah 1A competition, winning two straight before last week's 6-0 loss to third-ranked Duchesne. The 1989 runners-up Rams have lost five of their last six games - but two losses were to 2A foes, two more to second-ranked Milford and the fifth to top-ranked and defending champion North Summit.
Altamont (2-7) at No. 2 Milford (8-1), 2 p.m. Friday: The Longhorns have won only one of their last eight games, but the region 13 victory over Whitehorse enabled Altamont to qualify from the 10-team 1A classification. After struggling in recent years, the Tigers are riding a seven-game win streak, allowing single-digit scoring by opponents in six games.
East Carbon (4-5) at No. 1 North Summit (5-4), 1 p.m. Friday: The Vikings advanced to the 1A playoffs by winning three of their last four games, including back-to-back shutout victories at the end of the regular season. The top-ranked and defending champion Braves have lost four games to 2A competition, but they have averaged 45 points a game in five triumphs against 1A teams.
No. 5 Rich (5-4) at No. 3 Duchesne (7-1), 1 p.m. Friday: The Rebels followed a mid-season four-game win streak by losses in two of their final three games - but one was a defeat at the hands of Duchesne and the other was a narrow 23-16 loss to North Summit. The Eagles' sole defeat was a 22-8 loss to North Summit, with Duchesne posting some lopsided wins and some by-the-skin-of-our-teeth triumphs as well.