Published on Sep 6, 2010 12:57PM
Who was it that first came up with the term “power rankings”? And why wasn't simply “rankings” good enough? I suppose if you put “power” in front of something it makes sound more impressive. Like “Powerade,” “PowerBar,” and “Power Rangers.” Seriously, would you have watched a show about powerless rangers in geeky little costumes?
Regardless of where the term came from, here are the power rankings of the football regions in Utah. This is an occasional series that will be updated when I realize that in some regions parity is merely mediocrity in disguise.
1. Region 6
The deepest region in 4A appears to have no fewer than five legitimate contenders. That will mean heartbreak city for at least one of those teams come playoff time. But really, consider this: East and Olympus are both undefeated through three games and have quality wins against 5A programs; Woods Cross's only loss came in a heartbreaker to state favorite Mountain Crest; Bountiful, like Woods Cross, lost a close game against a top-tier opponent, 5A Lone Peak. That's the same Lone Peak team, by the way, that 1-2 Highland knocked off last week. How do you make sense of all of it? You don't.
2. Region 11
The only 3A state contender not in Region 11 is Hurricane. That means Judge Memorial, Morgan, Juan Diego and Bear River can beat up on each all season long, then take the lessons learned into the playoffs where they will wreak havoc on everyone else. Through three weeks, those four teams are a combined 9-2.
3. Region 1
Davis is clearly the star of the class, but the 5A region also has seen strong showings this season from Fremont, Northridge and Syracuse. Again, this is another region that has a ton of parity. It will likely be to Davis's benefit at the end of the year, but the ride there should be pretty fun to watch.
4. Region 4
You're not going to see a state champion come out of this region — but you're not going to see one out of any 5A region other the Bingham's Region 3. So embrace this for a group that just has oodles of talent and the luxury of being one that could be won by any of several teams. Lone Peak was outstanding in its first two games, before being tripped up by Highland last week. Alta was the preseason favorite, but after an 0-3 start, who knows? Behind those two teams is a perceived second tier that, quite frankly, might not be second tier at all. Hillcrest and Jordan are both surprises at 3-0, and Brighton, which entered with moderate expectations, knocked off 2009 state semifinalist Hunter last week.
5. Region 7
The problem with Region 7 is that we think there are a lot of good teams, but there really is only performance against bad teams to base it on. Regardless, it looks like four-time defending state champion Timpview might have some competition this season. The Thunderbirds are 3-0, but so too are Timpanogos (which has a new coach and offense) and second-year school Westlake. After that, the talent drops way off, but the top three more than make up for it.
6. 2A East
What's fun about this region is that it lumps together the two teams that are head and shoulders above the rest of 2A. San Juan and South Summit clashed in the state title game last season and are the favorites to do so again this time around. First, they must play Sept. 17 at South Summit.
The rest of 'em:
7. Region 3 —Bingham will win, but Kearns and Riverton are on the rise.
8. Region 9 —We don't gaze south that often, but Hurricane and Desert Hills both look great early.
9. Region 2 — Cottonwood and Hunter should slug it out for the title, but look out for Skyline.
10. 1A North —Rich and Duchesne are both favorites to win the 1A title.
11. Region 5 —Remains to be seen if anyone other than Mountain Crest will be in the mix at end of the year.
12. Region 12 —Manti and Richfield both could be 3A sleepers.
13. 2A West —This looks like Beaver's year to go into the playoffs with a No. 1 seed.
14. Region 8 —Doesn't look like there will be much competition for Springville.
15. 1A South — Whitehorse is the early favorite.
16. Region 10 —Not a lot good is happening here this year. No team has won more than one game.
— Bill Oram
Bill Oram writes about all aspects of high school sports for the Tribune. He finally made varsity when he was given his very own blog.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogs/preps/50230829-52/region-teams-state-power.html.csp
Banner-Sidebar
