Lone Peak's football team, the one that started the season 0-4 last year and still made it to the state semifinals, taught us all a good lesson about the road of high school football.
Preseason games are really meaningless in the big football picture. They are for preparation only. That's probably why Knights coach Monte Morgan schedules tough opponents and leaves easy wins off of his preseason lineup. He knows that league games and post-season play are what counts. With Region 6 and Region 7 league play getting fully underway tomorrow night, the real season starts now.
However, the preseason schedule has given me a better idea of what to expect for the rest of the year — rather than relying on roster analysis and coaches' predictions. So, with five weeks of preseason games behind us, this is what I now see happening.
REGION 6: Timpview is still as good as I thought, maybe better. No team has yet to come close to competing with the T-Birds. They can't be stopped on offense and no one has moved the ball effectively against them. They are the team to beat, not only in Region 6 or Utah County, but the entire state. Timpview is one of the best high school football teams ever in these parts.
Springville also has one of its best teams ever and if the Red Devils get the right breaks they are capable of beating Timpview. I don't think it will happen, but it could. Unfortunately for Springville, it plays its two toughest games on the road — tomorrow at American Fork and Oct. 1 at Timpview. The later game should be televised on ESPN, it will be that good.
The Cavemen, just like in years past, are talented and could be overlooked. They have the league's most favorable schedule, with games against Springville, Timpview and Spanish Fork at home. For this reason, I can't see American Fork finishing any lower than third, and a win Friday would set the Cavemen up for a Cinderella run at the league title.
Spanish Fork is as talented as I thought, but more inconsistent than I expected. The Dons have the league's toughest schedule, which is why I see them finishing in the fourth spot. Provo and Payson will both be competitive. The Bulldogs, suddenly full of confidence, could pull off at least one upset. The Lions' best chance to win a game will be tomorrow at Provo.
REGION 7: This is the most-balanced league in Class 4A. I still see Lone Peak and Orem as the teams to beat. Since the Tigers get the Knights at home on Oct. 8, I'm picking Orem to finish ahead of Lone Peak. Also, the Tigers seem to be clicking on a few more cylinders than Lone Peak offensively.
Timpanogos started off looking like it would be the valley's surprise team, but injuries have brought the Timberwolves back to earth. They were no match for Springville last week and won't intimidate any of their league foes. T-Wolves coach Frank Bramall said before the season that the big game would be against Pleasant Grove, and it's looking like he was correct. Tomorrow's game between the Vikings and T-Wolves will put one team — the loser — in the hole in the fight for the league's third and fourth playoff spots.
Don't count out Mountain View. If the Bruins can get one league win under their belts, they'll likely have the confidence to win one more. I am envisioning a play-in game to determine which team gets a play-in game with the No. 4 team from Region 6. Yup, another Region 7 logjam finish. But that makes every game exciting and hard to predict.
LEHI: The Pioneers' win last week over North Sanpete was huge. And since they also get to play Delta at home, I see Lehi going undefeated in league play. However, I don't think the Pioneers are among the elite teams of Class 3A, and I don't believe they'll go too far in the playoffs.
OK, now, let's sit back and see if the valley's 12 prep football teams can prove me wrong.
E-mail: jimr@desnews.com