So much for the theory that everything is decided on the field.
League play officially wrapped up this past weekend for six football regions across the state, but the state tournament pairings are as muddled as they were before Week 9.
Of the six regions that finished up this past week, four required some sort of the three-way tiebreaker procedure to determine state tournament seeding. Upset victories Friday night by Olympus, Woods Cross and Fremont were the primary culprits for the chaos.
Fremont's upset victory over Layton created a three-way tie for the final two playoff spots in Region 1. Woods Cross' first victory over Bountiful since 1989 created a three-way tie for second place in Region 6, while Olympus' fourth-straight victory over Skyline produced a three-way tie for the Region 7 championship.
A coin flip was also needed in the 2A South region, after Beaver's anticipated victory over Grand forced a three-way tie for second place.
The coin flips were kind to some, while others await their fate next week.
Grand was arguably the most fortunate of all the teams whose playoff bracket was decided by a heads or a tails. Despite losing to Beaver 41-13 on Friday night, the Red Devils finished first in the three-way coin flip between Grand, Beaver and Richfield to claim the No. 2 seed and the corresponding first-round bye.
Richfield heads into next week's 2A playoffs as the No. 3 seed, with Beaver claiming the fourth seed.
While a Beaver team that hoped to challenge for a region title is definitely disappointed about its No. 4 seed, Fremont is thrilled to be a fourth seed.
The 5A runner-up the past two years, Fremont was in danger of missing the playoffs entirely before Friday's 20-0 upset victory over Layton. The victory created a three-way tie for third place between Fremont, Layton and Davis.
The Silver Wolves won Saturday morning's coin flip to claim the region's No. 4 seed. Layton and Davis will play for the No. 3 seed at Layton on Tuesday, Oct. 23. When the teams met on Sept. 28 the Lancers rolled to the 41-21 win.
Herriman, Olympus and Skyline will hold a coin flip Monday morning to determine the top three spots in Region 7.
Bountiful, Highland and Woods Cross finished tied for second in Region 6, but they'll wait to determine state tournament seeding until a final ruling regarding East's status for using an ineligible player. That hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
Region 5 and the 2A North region were the only two regions whose seeding was straightforward after Friday's regular-season finales.
jedward@desnews.com
Prep football rankings
Class 5A
Team Rec. Pv.
1. Jordan 7-1 1
2. Syracuse 9-0 2
3. Alta 7-2 3
4. Northridge 8-1 4
5. Bingham 7-2 5
Class 4A
Team Rec. Pv.
1. East 8-0 1
2. Timpview 8-1 2
3. Mtn. Crest 7-2 3
4. Logan 7-2 4
5. Herriman 7-2 —
Class 3A
Team Rec. Pv.
1. Juan Diego 9-0 2
2. Stansbury 9-0 3
3. Desert Hills 5-3 —
4. Hurricane 7-1 1
5. Spanish Fork 8-1 4
Class 2A
Team Rec. Pv.
1. San Juan 9-0 1
2. Manti 8-1 2
3. S. Summit 7-2 3
4. Millard 7-2 4
5. Beaver 7-2 —
Class 1A
Team Rec. Pv.
1. Duchesne 8-0 1
2. D. Ranch 6-3 3
3. Rich 5-3 2
4. Altamont 4-5 4
5. Monticello 5-4 5