Northridge, Syracuse, Davis, Clearfield and Weber have no time to gloat after big wins in Week 1. And Viewmont, Fremont and Roy have no time to lick their wounds.
League play is already here for eight of Region 1's nine teams tonight. That's the price the northern teams pay for being in the state's largest league.
"I'm sure I feel the same way as all the coaches in the region — I don't like it," said Northridge coach Erik Thompson. "I guess the good thing is that we're all in the same boat — none of us like it. We just go play."
They'll certainly play tonight, with two of the league's games being among Week 2's top attractions.
Syracuse travels to Northridge in a matchup of teams that have Region 1 title hopes. And in what wouldn't have been considered a showdown before the season started is a showdown now, as Clearfield travels to Davis. The Falcons, who haven't had a winning season since 2004, appear to be much improved after thumping Taylorsville, 40-0, in their opener.
There is no greater litmus test in Region 1 than Davis, which also started the season impressively with a 35-0 win over Brighton. The Falcons didn't return a handful of star players like the Darts did, and they'll quickly find out where they stand in league play.
Playing Davis in an important league game in just the season's second week isn't the ideal way for the Falcons to build confidence. It would be better to play a few more games, find their identity and get some more experience.
"That's why it would be nice to have a couple preseason games — give these kids more varsity experience," said second-year Clearfield coach Jeff Bingham. "It is what it is. You jump right into region. It makes it kind of tough, but everybody's in the same boat in our region."
Northridge is in an entirely different boat than it was a couple of seasons ago. In 2008, the Knights' sophomores went 0-9, and in the process made 2010 look like a bleak season for them. They insisted that record was misleading because they had sophomores playing up on the varsity level that season.
Northridge appears to be correct and built some confidence with an impressive 34-17 victory over Sky View last week.
"In any sport, I'd rather my kids be confident," Thompson said. "That's what they lost as sophomores. We had kids injured and brought them (the sophomores) up. They never really had a chance to play together, and they got a good group behind them."
The Knights figure to be one of the state's most improved teams. They went 5-5 last season and missed the playoffs.
"It could be one of the great stories of the year," Thompson said of his seniors, who went 0-9 two years ago. "This is one of the strongest groups of leaders I've had, which is ironic when you consider they went 0-9. I'm real excited for them. This is a group I really want to have success. They deserve it because of how hard they've worked."
The other two games in Region 1 feature Roy at Fremont and Weber at Viewmont. Weber squeaked out a tough 19-18 win over Box Elder last week, while Viewmont and Roy suffered blowout losses. Viewmont opened against Bingham, one of the most talented teams in state history, and lost 51-0. Roy lost to Woods Cross, 42-0.
But this week offers a clean slate for Region 1 teams. Last year, Davis lost to Brighton, 24-0, to open the season and rebounded with a 37-0 victory over Clearfield. That result — along with the other scores in Region 1 — should be a lot closer tonight.
No other league in the state features the balance that Region 1 has.
"Region 1 is different from the rest of the state," Thompson said. "With open enrollment, you have the teams that are good and players gravitate toward them and they become superpowers.
"Region 1 has a lot of tradition, and the kids don't bounce around as much. The bottom can beat the top. That's why I got into coaching, to be in competitive, hard-fought games until the end. Now you get nine in a row."
TEACHER VS. PUPIL: Tonight's East-West Jordan game lost a little luster when Jaguars quarterback Adam Boelter broke his collarbone in the season-opener against Granger last week. But one important story line remains, and that's the relationship between East coach Brandon Matich and his West Jordan counterpart, Mike Morgan.
Morgan was Matich's offensive coordinator when Matich played quarterback at Brighton. Matich also coached under Morgan at West Jordan, working as his defensive coordinator for three seasons.
"Coach Morgan has been my biggest supporter and is my most influential mentor," Matich said. "He is my dear friend, someone I greatly admire and the best football coach I have ever known."
RIVALRY GAMES: There aren't any games this weekend that are as important as the league contests in Region 1. But there will be plenty of bragging rights on the line tonight and tomorrow.
Of course, there's the big Black and Blue rivalry game between Bingham and Alta at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday night. There's also the Battle for The Rock between Skyline and Olympus. The two neighborhood rivals got off to opposite starts last week, as Olympus routed Snow Canyon and Skyline was upset by Hurricane. Olympus currently holds The Rock after beating the Eagles 28-14 last season.
Other rivalry games tonight include Grand-Monticello, Orem-Payson and South Sevier-North Sevier.
e-mail: aaragon@desnews.com