Week 7 of the high school football season is in the books, and here’s a quick look back at some of the top games and their impact on the region races around the state.
Class 6A
Bingham, Kearns and East each took a major step toward winning their respective region titles on Friday, while Syracuse upset Fremont in a major jolt to the playoff races.
Weber now sits in sole possession of first place in Region 1 after Syracuse’s victory, but next week’s game at Fremont is no less important. Fremont still controls its own destiny as the No. 1 seed from Region 1. It faces a big uphill battle though against a Weber team that is absolutely rolling.
The Warriors rolled past Davis 42-9 for their sixth straight victory. Weber hasn’t had a winning record since a 7-4 record in 2009, and not that long ago the program suffered through back-to-back winless seasons in 2011 and 2012.
A win at Fremont next week would lock up its first shared region title since 1996 and its first outright region title since 1964.
As a side note, Davis’ loss to Weber means the Darts are in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
Kearns is also trending toward its first region championship in over two decades. It moved to 2-0 in Region 2 with a 52-36 win over Hunter on Friday night, and with wins over Hillcrest and Granger the next two weeks it would claim a region title for the first time since 1993.
In Region 3, Herriman’s win over West Jordan was the most noteworthy as it gives Herriman the inside track at the region’s No. 2 seed heading into the playoffs. It’s currently tied with West Jordan and Riverton with 2-1 records, but both those teams still have to play East.
Bingham clinched a share of the Region 4 title with Friday’s 28-10 win over Lone Peak, thanks to four interceptions defensively, including two pick-sixes. Before it can claim the outright title and the No. 1 seed for the playoffs, the Miners must win at American Fork in Week 9. An American Fork upset could conceivably create a three-way share for the region title — though unlikely.
Class 5A
Timpview’s 19-17 win over Alta in Week 7 creates a bunch of interesting storylines for the rest of the season.
Suddenly Alta’s Week 9 game with Corner Canyon isn’t shaping up to be for the region title. Perhaps it will be the Eric Kjar Bowl in Week 10, as Corner Canyon coach Eric Kjar faces his old team at Jordan High. They’re the last two undefeated teams in region play, and both dominated their games on Friday.
Jordan still needs to beat Alta and Timpview over the next two weeks to set up that meaningful showdown, but with the way the offense is playing, it’s looking like a good bet.
There’s plenty of potential drama in Region 5 as well after Viewmont’s 35-28 win over Roy and Bountiful’s 13-10 win over Woods Cross on Friday.
Viewmont is in the driver’s seat after Cameron Brown rushed for 243 yards and four touchdowns on Friday. It still has to play rivals Woods Cross and Bountiful over the next two weeks, and that Week 9 game at Bountiful could be epic.
The schools are just two miles apart, and the rivalry is one of the best in Utah, but they haven’t been in the same region since 1996. Imagine the intensity of the rivalry game if a region title is on the line.
In Region 6, Highland and Lehi both won easily as expected, setting up a virtual region championship next week when they meet at Highland.
In Region 8, Skyridge survived a major scare from Timpanogos to improve to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in region. Springville also sits at 2-0 after edging Wasatch 26-24.
Skyridge hosts Springville next Friday, and the winner has the inside track on the region title.
Class 4A
Cedar’s 34-28 win over Snow Canyon in Week 7 was the most noteworthy win in 4A. It improved to 3-1 in Region 9 with the victory, and even if it loses to Pine View and Dixie in its final two games in Weeks 9 and 10, it likely will still be the playoffs.
It also creates some interesting drama for teams like Snow Canyon, Pine View and Hurricane. In the past few years, every team from the southern region made the playoffs, so region games always kind of lacked that do-or-die feel to them.
That’s not the case this year, and there’s going to be some big tension in upcoming region games between Cedar-Pine View and Snow Canyon-Hurricane.
In Region 12, top-ranked Sky View showed no sign of a letdown as it rolled past Logan 50-13 a week after beating Mountain Crest. The Bobcats have one more big test in Week 9 against Ridgeline. A win would likely clinch an outright region title, but a Ridgeline upset could create a three-way champion.
In Region 11, Stansbury rallied past Park City in the second half for a 22-14 win to take a big step toward the league title. Its last real hurdle is Week 9 when it hosts Bonneville.
Orem and Spanish Fork both rolled to Week 7 wins, and they’re on a collision course for a region title showdown in Week 10 as they’re the only undefeated teams remaining in the region.
Class 3A
Juab’s impressive 27-7 win over Summit Academy sure changes the complexion of the 3A South landscape.
Each week it was looking like Summit Academy’s Week 9 game with Juan Diego would be for all the marbles. Turns out that game will be in Week 8 as Juan Diego hosts Juab with both teams sporting 3-0 region records.
Juan Diego has won eight straight games against Juab, including the last four games in the playoffs. Last year, Juan Diego beat Juab 61-36 in the 3A semifinals. Is this the year Juab finally gets the big breakthrough?
Anything is possible after Juab completely shut down Summit Academy’s vaunted offense this weekend.
The other win of note in 3A was Union’s 53-24 triumph over Judge. It keeps the Cougars’ region title hopes alive as they improved to 2-1 in league play with a game at region front-runner Morgan in Week 9.
Class 2A
South Summit’s 56-21 dismantling of Delta in Week 7 makes it hard to believe that anyone will be able to beat the Wildcats this year. South Summit's last two region games will be walks in the park, and it will head into the playoffs with three-touchdown wins over Beaver and Delta.
There’s plenty of drama in the 2A South region though, as Beaver and Grand are both 3-0 in region play heading into a Week 8 showdown at Beaver.
Grand is 7-0 overall this season and hasn’t really been tested, while Beaver is 6-1 with that lone loss coming against South Summit.
Class 1A
With only eight teams in 1A, the first seven weeks are all preseason games. Those games are all in the rearview mirror. Now is when the games really start to count — even though everyone makes the playoffs.
Parowan and Milford both had great preseasons, but Kanab still can’t be overlooked despite some sluggish performances lately.
Duchesne looks poised to run away with the 1A North title with Rich, Layton Christian and Altamont.