With the 4A state soccer tournament getting under way this Friday, it's time to find out which region was really the best.
Bonneville didn't allow a single goal in 10 Region 4 games, but are the Lakers really that good? Spanish Fork won the Region 6 title, but wasn't that region enduring a down year? With four Region 5 teams in the title hunt heading into the final two weeks, are we to believe all four are really good, or is that region just diluted? Then there's Region 7, which possibly has the two best teams in 4A with Lone Peak and Mountain View.
It's all speculation until the tournament gets under way.
Even though these results happened months ago, they might offer insight into how the state tournament might play out.
Region 4 champ Bonneville tied Region 7 co-champ Lone Peak 1-1 in late March.
Region 6 runner-up Timpview lost to Region 5's fifth-place team Highland 3-2.
Region 7 co-champ Mountain View eked out a 3-2 win over Sky View in the preseason.
Region 7 third-place finisher Pleasant Grove beat Region 6 champ Spanish Fork.
Speculation aside, Mountain View "is" the consensus team to beat. The Bruins return a plethora of players from their runner-up team from a year ago, and a defense that rarely breaks. In racking up a 14-1-1 record this year, the Bruins only surrendered eight goals while tallying 47.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, as long as state tournaments are played in football stadiums, a first-ever state title may continue to elude them. Year after year, the Bruins continue to play perhaps the best brand of possession-style soccer in the state, but year after year they keep coming up short at state.
Is it the narrow football fields? Many coaches believe it is, but eventually you'd figure coach Dave Woolley's team has to break through.
The quest won't be easy for the No. 1 Bruins. Their first-round opponent is Sky View, a team very capable of pulling off the upset.
Second-ranked Bonneville doesn't have an easy draw either. The Lakers' reward for a 10-game winning streak in which keeper Scott Klema didn't let in a single goal is a first-round game with Woods Cross, one of the unknown teams out of Region 5.
With four state titles in the last six years, Region 5 champ Bountiful must always be considered a contender.
KICK PICKS
Enter the Kick Picks contest and pick winners of each game in the state boys soccer tournaments. Best pickers win cash and T-shirt prizes. The Deseret Morning News sponsors Kick Picks. Readers may enter one or both of the 5A and 4A contests via the newspaper's Web site. Go to deseretnews.com/preps to enter.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com