Prior to the start of the 2015 prep season, much was made of the top 5A powers in Bingham and Brighton. Many pegged one of the two teams as the eventual champion in that classification, and even the Deseret News had them comfortably sitting at No. 1 and 2 respectively in our statewide rankings.
But after an exciting Friday night of high school football action, it may be time for a re-evaluation. The Miners couldn’t get the ball in the end zone in week two, using two field goals to squeak by Herriman 6-0, while the Bengals also struggled in their narrow 28-26 victory over Fremont.
Meanwhile down in Provo, Lone Peak, a team that started Friday a full eight spots below Brighton in the rankings, handed No. 3 Timpview its first loss in the last 28 games in impressive fashion, and maybe, just maybe, the race for the 5A crown is closer than many believe.
“I feel like we have a pretty decent shot (of winning 5A),” Lone Peak running back Jackson McChesney said. “We just have to play our game, and if we do that, we’re going to be hard to beat.”
The Thunderbirds, who boast one of the top recruits in the state in quarterback Kahi Neves, experienced the strength of the Knights firsthand on Friday night. McChesney and Neves are set to play at rival schools BYU and Utah respectively come next fall, but the Lone Peak running back believes his teammates on the defensive side of the ball proved how tough they can be with their performance against Neves.
“(Neves) did well, but our defense shut him down, so there was nothing he could really do about it,” McChesney said. “I think that says that we can take on just about anybody.”
It’s safe to assume that Lone Peak will not be overlooked for the rest of the season.
Mixed results in out-of-state games
In an effort to ready their troops for postseason play, coaches in Utah have been exploring options outside the state in terms of playing tougher competition this season. According to Felt’s Facts, there were 13 contests in week two that saw Utah teams play against out-of-state opponents.
In that second week of action, Desert Hills, Park City, Cedar, Altamont and Dixie all concocted wins on Friday night over opponents not residing within the Beehive State. But while those teams saw success, it wasn’t all good news for Utah teams when taking on foreign squads.
Grand, East, Pleasant Grove and San Juan all took on out-of-state opponents, but dropped all three, and it wasn’t pretty. The Vikings had an especially rough outing in Del Oro, California, after being blanked by the Golden Eagles 41-0 to hand Pleasant Grove its first loss of the year.
No Kafentzis, no problem for Jordan
Last year, Jordan graduated one of the most prolific playmakers in the state of Utah in quarterback Austin Kafentzis. Many wondered just how the Beatdiggers would make up for the loss of that production, but apparently they have already figured it out just two weeks into the season.
Only a week after totalling 618 yards of total offense, Jordan quarterback Drew Lisk followed that up by completing 22 of 37 passes for a total of 345 yards through the air. Though he did surrender two interceptions, Lisk made up for that by tossing two touchdown passes and gaining an additional 55 yards on the ground to help lead the Beatdiggers to a 2-0 start to the 2015 campaign.
Lisk may not be able to clear the bar that Kafentzis set for four seasons at Jordan, but the senior quarterback has done more than enough to allow Beatdigger fans to believe in him.
Twitter: @GriffDoug