In 2006, Sky View's football team emerged as one of the major surprises of the season.
With star quarterback Jase Hill at the controls, the Bobcats went 11-1, won the Region 5 championship and advanced to the quarterfinals.
However, with Hill and his talented supporting cast gone, the Bobcats entered 2007 with only four returning starters and a bunch of question marks.
Among them, could the team replace Hill? Could the few returning guys step up and be leaders? Could the new varsity players fill in for the departed supporting cast? And, perhaps most importantly, could Sky View possibly pick up where it left off?
It's still very early and everything could change, but — so far — the answers to those questions have been yes, yes, yes and definitely yes.
Sky View has come flying out of the gates, recording dominant shutout wins over Clearfield and Bear River en route to an early 2-0 record.
Asked whether he thinks those preseason questions have been answered, third-year coach Craig Anhder says the jury's still out. But, he does add, there is no question that things are looking up for his bunch.
"I can't say we've answered that, to be honest. It's still so early," says Anhder. "But I can say there is a currency going through this team, more than any other team I've ever coached.
"Our kids," he adds, "have come out really eager. There's an eagerness, an urgency with this group."
That has particularly manifested itself on defense, as Sky View has opened with back-to-back shutouts.
"Our defense has been awesome. There's no other word for it," says Anhder.
The third-year coach heaped praise on safeties McKade Brady and John Hortin, as well as D-lineman Jared Erickson, for providing outstanding leadership.
All three will be counted on for big performances this Friday, a day that should yield an even better indication of just where Sky View stands.
The Bobcats' Week 3 opponent? Bitter Cache Valley rival Logan, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A.
Sky View has enjoyed some recent success against its neighbor, and Anhder says the intensity of the rivalry has ratcheted up since two Sky View players, who have since graduated, bolted the Smithfield school for Logan two years ago.
Add to that the fact that veteran wide receivers coach Clint Fulmer left Logan for Sky View during the offseason — "He came over to our side," says Anhder — and there should be plenty on the line inside Logan's picturesque stadium on Friday.
NEIGHBORS TRADE SWORDS: Aside from Sky View at Logan, a host of other neighbors will square off in non-region action this week.
Among them will be Bear River at Box Elder; Clearfield at Bonneville; Highland at Skyline; San Juan at Monticello; Spanish Fork at Payson; Taylorsville at Murray; and Viewmont at Bountiful.
TOP 25 WATCH: Perhaps stunningly, considering how early it is, all six of the top teams in last week's Deseret Morning News top 25 rankings held onto their spots in the third installment.
Bingham has been at No. 1 since Week 3 of last year, and it remains there following a tight 23-20 win over No. 2 Alta, which did enough in its loss to retain the second spot. Timpview, Fremont, Davis and Jordan also kept their spots behind the top two.
In fact, except for Highland, which plummeted from seventh to 19th, all of the top 10 teams stayed the same from Week 2 to Week 3.
Though there was surprisingly very little movement at the top, there was plenty of action in the bottom-half of the rankings, with Riverton (No. 18), Logan (No. 20), Timpanogos (No. 21), Cyprus (No. 24) and Dixie (No. 25) all making their debut appearances in this year's rankings.
MORE RANKINGS: Partially on the strength of its narrow Week 2 win over Alta, Bingham has cracked the maxpreps.com National Top 25 rankings. The Miners checked in at No. 17 on the site, which ranks 14,555 varsity teams across the country.
Interesting, the next-best Utah-ranked team is 99 spots below Bingham, as Fremont is ranked 116th.
Alta is below both teams at No. 170, while Class 4A-favorite Timpview is at No. 280.
E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com