Rivalry games, matchups pitting teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2, and of course the Bingham-Alta showdown highlight tonight's Week 2 high school football action.
But none of those games will be as meaningful as the ones played in Region 1, as teams in 5A's northern league open league play tonight. It's the earliest a region has started playing league games since a 2A league did in Week 2 back in 1999.
No one in Region 1 is exactly thrilled that they're starting league play after just one game, but they're comforted by the fact that most of the league's teams are in the same boat. Eight of the league's nine teams kick off region play tonight, with Layton being the only team getting a second preseason game before starting league play. The Lancers host Jordan tonight.
"There's not much we can do about it," said Clearfield coach Jeff Bingham. "I would rather have at least one more preseason game because it feels like you can work some of the mistakes out from your first game. But I guess it's fair for everybody. The nine-team region seems a little bit awkward."
Although the size of Region 1 is odd, the competitively balanced league will provide interesting matchups on a weekly basis. Tonight, two of the league favorites in Davis and Viewmont will try to bounce back from humbling losses last week. Davis plays at Clearfield, which was a winner in coach Bingham's debut, and Viewmont plays at Weber, which trounced Box Elder in its opener.
Bingham expects a difficult game from Davis, which opened the season ranked No. 4 in 5A and was tapped as the league favorite in Region 1 by the league's coaches.
"They'll have some resolve," Bingham said. "They're well-coached. They have good players."
Northridge-Syracuse and Fremont-Roy are the other two matchups. Although Syracuse is only in its third year of existence, the Titans and Northridge have already developed a rivalry. Syracuse beat the Knights in an overtime classic last season.
Syracuse came into the 2009 season with higher expectations than Northridge, which returned little experience from last year. The Knights, however, were one of the surprise teams on opening night, downing Jordan 36-27 behind 304 passing yards from new quarterback Travis Harper.
"I wasn't surprised by the effort, I just didn't know what the effort would produce," said Northridge coach Erik Thompson. "I really like my kids. They have a good attitude and play hard. They'll give it their best shot."
BATTLE FOR THE ROCK RESUMES: For the first time since 2005, Skyline and Olympus will play tonight in the Battle for the Rock rivalry game. The Titans pulled out of the series after 2005, but they are back in now with a new coach in Mike Smith.
"It'll be fun for Olympus and fun for Skyline," said Eagles coach Roger DuPaix. "We've missed it. Olympus has always played us tough. We're looking forward to playing it again."
The two teams have played 43 times with Skyline holding a 26-16-1 edge. The Eagles have won 10 of the last 11 meetings and DuPaix is 14-4 against Olympus. Although the series hasn't been too evenly matched in recent matchups, it's a game that should be played between schools that are separated by just blocks.
With a new coach in Smith and a veteran quarterback in Spencer Harris, Olympus figures to give Skyline a challenge tonight.
"I think it's going to be a very good game," DuPaix said.
NO. 1 VS. NO. 2: Bingham-Alta isn't the only game featuring teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in their respective classification tonight. In 3A, No. 1 Juan Diego travels to play No. 2 Park City in a rematch of a state semifinal game from last season. Both teams were impressive in their openers, as Juan Diego blanked West 42-0 and Park City dominated Canyon View 47-10.
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