Snow Canyon coach Bill Jacobsen picked one of the 3A state finalists four months ago -- the Emery Spartans.
At the same time, Emery coach Jimmy Jones picked Snow Canyon to finish fourth in the state.He projected Bear River to be the No. 1 team in the state and his team second -- and the Spartans (11-1) beat the Bears last week.
With Bear River out of the picture, Jones hopes his team can fill that spot.
"I hope we're one better," Jones said as his team squares off with Snow Canyon Saturday at Southern Utah University for the 3A title.
In the third week of the season, the two finalists met in St. George with Snow Canyon posting a 32-13 victory -- but both coaches agree that a lot has changed since then.
"The first time we played them we didn't play really well," Jones said. "We have a lot of respect for them, but if we play our game we think we can win."
Jacobsen said his Warriors (10-1) are better, too. They haven't lost since falling to 4A semifinalist Provo 25-7 in Week 2.
"Are we a better team in Week 12 than in Week 3? I hope we are," Jacobsen said. "We've played very good offensively for a number of weeks."
Except for turnovers -- the Warriors turned the ball over six times in their win over Morgan in the quarterfinals, but zero times in their 54-22 victory over Delta in the semifinals.
Emery is led by running back Zac Sharp. The converted all-Region lineman turned ball carrier rushed for 1,191 yards and 25 touchdowns this season.
"With the stud fullback they have pounding on our little kids, we could be in trouble," Jacobsen said, adding the play of quarterback Brad Stilson and receiver Mike Justice as potential problems.
The Warrior offense present an equally tough challenge for the Spartans in quarterback Scott Jensen and running backs Landon Lounsbury and Darrin Hill. The Warriors have averaged 52 points in three playoff victories.
"Defensively I don't think we can completely shut them down, but hopefully we can contain them," said Jones. "If it gets into a high-scoring affair, I think we're in trouble."