Riverton quarterback Jaxson Howard (16) is sacked on third down by Herriman lineman Ngana Leakehe (23) during the first half of a high school football game at Riverton High School in Riverton on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. | Colter Peterson, Deseret News
Tournament time
One hundred years ago, just three teams played in the first state football tournament. That marked a big change from the previous method of choosing a champion: the title went to the team with the best overall record. Perhaps it’s fitting that the 2019 season sees another major change in the state tournament format by expanding to include 103 of 109 teams.
In 1919, 25 schools fielded squads; Box Elder, East, and Payson won their regions. In the semifinals, East thrashed Box Elder, 60-0 and in the finals, tormented Payson, 79-0.
The 2019 tournament doesn’t seed teams by predetermined placement based on region finish as prep squads and fans are used to. And it spans five Fridays. But it’s not the first time for either of those. In 1929, a committee paired teams from week to week. Some of the 10 qualifiers received multi-week byes, but the eventual champion, Tooele, was forced to play five consecutive games. The playoffs began Nov. 8 and the championship game — Tooele 32, Richfield 0 — was played Dec. 4 (two days short of five straight Fridays). That was the only attempt at seeding by committee because of the confusion and controversy created in subjectively matching teams during the playoffs.
This year, nine teams return to the playoffs for the first time in at least five seasons:
- Copper Hills — last appearance in 2004
- Clearfield — 2005
- Payson, Westlake — 2012
- Layton, Timpanogos — 2013
- Uintah, West — 2014
Top-20 tournament appearances (including 2019)
1. Millard — 67
2. Box Elder — 62
3. Delta — 57
4. Orem — 55
5. Grand County — 54
6. Beaver — 53
7. Morgan, North Summit — 52
9. Davis, Logan — 51
11. Kanab — 50
12. Jordan, Springville, Wasatch — 49
15. Monticello — 48
16. Bingham, East, Skyline — 47
19. Dixie, Highland — 46
Most tournament games
Eight teams have competed in at least 100 postseason contests:
1. Millard — 136
2. Skyline — 120
3. Delta — 113
4. Beaver — 110
5. Davis — 104
6. Orem — 103
7. Dixie — 101
8. Timpview — 100
Top-20 tournament victories
1. Skyline — 88
2. Millard — 83
3. Timpview — 71
4. Beaver — 69
5. Delta — 66
6. Bingham, Dixie — 64
8. East — 63
9. Davis — 61
10. San Juan — 59
11. Jordan, Kanab, South Summit — 57
14. Judge Memorial, Orem — 56
16. Highland — 55
17. Morgan — 54
18. Logan — 53
19. North Summit — 51
20. Bountiful — 49
Consecutive years in playoffs
Schools that have advanced to the postseason at least 20 straight seasons, including this year (active streaks in bold):
43 seasons — San Juan, 1977-2019
38 — Delta, 1975-2012
37 — Highland, 1983-2019
35 — Rich, 1985-2019
31 — Bingham, 1989-2019
30 — Beaver, 1990-2019; Timpview, 1990-2019
29 — Hunter, 1991-2019
28 — Skyline, 1985-2012
26 — Bear River, 1981-2006
25 — Millard, 1995-2019; Morgan, 1995-2019
23 — Alta, 1997-2019; Bonneville, 1978-2000; Manti 1997-2019
21 — Davis, 1972-1992; Kanab, 1971-1991; Monticello, 1973-1993; Monticello, 1999-2019
20 — Beaver, 1969-1988; Duchesne, 2000-2019; North Summit, 2000-2019
Opening-round winning streaks
Six schools have won every opening-round game for at least the past five seasons. Bingham has bagged a state-record 15 straight. South Summit has snared 10 in a row. Beaver and Dixie have captured seven consecutive. Juan Diego and Pine View have won five straight.
Home-field advantage
Twelve schools, led by Skyline’s remarkable 38-0 home playoff record, have won every postseason game on their own turf. Five of those 12 host this year: Corner Canyon (6 wins), Parowan (4), Skyridge (4), Ridgeline (1) and Salem Hills (1).
(The “unbeaten at home” that don’t host this season, including Monument Valley, which as an independent didn’t qualify: Skyline (38), Snow Canyon (11), Summit Academy (5), Ben Lomond (2), Canyon View (1), Monument Valley (1) and Timpanogos (1).)
A dozen more hosting this week — or next in case of a first-round bye — have a decided home-field postseason advantage. By percentage:
- San Juan — .919 (34-3)
- Milford — .909 (10-1)
- Beaver — .897 (26-3)
- North Summit — .893 (25-3)
- Timpview — .886 (39-5)
- Juab — .882 (15-2)
- Bingham — .864 (38-6)
- Fremont — .857 (18-3)
- Mountain Crest — .857 (24-4)
- Brighton — .840 (21-4)
- Manti — .833 (15-3)
- Millard — .830 (44-9)
Teams that have won at least 30 home playoff games and their playoff record at home:
- Millard, 44-9
- Timpview, 39-5
- Bingham, 38-6
- Skyline, 38-0
- San Juan, 34-3
- Delta, 33-10
- Morgan, 33-9
- Dixie, 32-8
Notably, just seven programs have hosted the first game of the playoffs for more than 10 consecutive seasons:
- Millard — 19 from 1997-2015
- Timpview — 18 from 1994-2011
- Juan Diego — 18 from 2002-19 (current)
- Bingham — 15 from 2005-19 (current)
- San Juan — 15 from 2005-19 (current)
- South Summit — 13 from 2006-18
- Jordan — 11 from 1981-91
First-time encounters (10)
Class 6A:
Cyprus at Syracuse
Taylorsville at Pleasant Grove
West at Fremont
Westlake at Davis
Class 5A:
Bountiful at Maple Mountain
Hillcrest at Wasatch
Mountain Ridge at Highland
Class 4A:
Canyon View at Cedar Valley
Hurricane at Ridgeline
Uintah at Mountain Crest
Season rematches
This week also sees 11 season rematches; the eight games in bold are region rematches. (Two more games next week are season and region rematches: Snow Canyon at Desert Hills and Tooele at Mountain View — those four teams received first-round byes.)
Class 6A:
Northridge at Roy (opposite field)
Layton at Weber (same field)
Class 5A:
Skyline at Murray (opposite field)
Timpanogos at Timpview (same field)
Class 4A:
Crimson Cliffs at Cedar City (same field)
Class 3A:
Emery County at North Sanpete (opposite field)
Richfield at San Juan (same field)
South Summit at Morgan (opposite field)
South Sevier at Juab (same field)
Class 2A:
Rich at Duchesne (same field)
North Sevier at North Summit (same field)
Class 6A first-round games
(series record and last meeting; year of the host team’s last home playoff game and last home playoff win)
- Clearfield at American Fork — American Fork leads 1-0 by defeating the Falcons 39-20 in a 1996 first-round game; AF last hosted a playoff game in 2014 and its last playoff win at home was in 2014.
- Copper Hills at Hunter — Hunter leads 10-1 and won 31-14 in 2013; Hunter last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2014.
- Cyprus at Syracuse — first meeting; Syracuse last hosted a playoff game in 2017 and its last playoff win at home was in 2017.
- Granger at East — East leads 8-5 and won 48-7 in 2008; East last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2017.
- Jordan at West Jordan — Jordan leads 13-7 and prevailed 41-35 in 2016; West Jordan last hosted a playoff game in 2005 and its last playoff win at home was in 2005.
- Layton at Weber — Layton leads 27-17. Weber won 48-14 on Sept. 20 (week 6) at Weber; Weber last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2018.
- Lone Peak at Riverton — Lone Peak leads 7-2 and won 48-0 in 2016; Riverton last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2014.
- Northridge at Roy — Northridge leads 8-7. Roy won 38-23 on Sept. 27 (week 7) at Northridge; Roy last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2018.
- Taylorsville at Pleasant Grove — first meeting; Pleasant Grove last hosted a playoff game in 2008 and its last playoff win at home was in 2008.
- West at Fremont — first meeting; Fremont last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2018.
- Westlake at Davis — first meeting; Davis last hosted a playoff game in 2016 and its last playoff win at home was in 2009.
Class 5A first-round games
(series record and last meeting; year of the host team’s last home playoff game and last home playoff win)
- Bountiful at Maple Mountain — first meeting; Maple Mountain last hosted a playoff game in 2016 and its last playoff win at home was in 2016.
- Box Elder at Alta — Alta leads 1-0 by defeating the Bees 34-13 in a 1983 Class 4A quarterfinal; Alta last hosted a playoff game in 2016 and its last playoff win at home was in 2016.
- Hillcrest at Wasatch — first meeting; Wasatch last hosted a playoff game in 2016 and its last playoff win at home was in 2010.
- Mountain Ridge at Highland — first meeting; Highland last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2017.
- Payson at Lehi — Payson leads 30-18-2 — this is their 51st meeting since 1921 — and in their last meeting, Lehi triumphed 52-17 in 2012; Lehi last hosted a playoff game in 2017 and its last playoff win at home was in 2017.
- Skyline at Murray — Skyline leads 10-3. Murray won 24-17 on Sept. 20 (week 6) at Skyline; Murray last hosted a playoff game in 2004 and its last playoff win at home was in 1995.
- Spanish Fork at Bonneville — Bonneville leads 1-0 by nipping the Dons 6-0 in a 1968 nonregion game; Bonneville last hosted a playoff game in 2017 and its last playoff win at home was in 2009.
- Timpanogos at Timpview — Timpview leads 8-1 (Timpview forfeited in 2011). Timpview prevailed 52-23 on Oct. 16 (week 10) at Timpview; Timpview last hosted a playoff game in 2017 and its last playoff win at home was in 2016.
- Viewmont at Orem — Viewmont leads 5-2 and won 34-28 in 2008; Viewmont last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2018.
Class 4A first-round games
(series record and last meeting; year of the host team’s last home playoff game and last home playoff win)
- Ben Lomond at Bear River — Bear River leads 37-16 and won 29-7 in 2016; Bear River last hosted a playoff game in 2016 and its last playoff win at home was in 2016.
- Canyon View at Cedar Valley — first meeting; Cedar Valley’s first home playoff game. Cedar Valley is just the fourth team in its inaugural season to host a tournament contest. The others: Mountain View (1980), Corner Canyon (2013) and Ridgeline (2016) and those three all won.
- Crimson Cliffs at Cedar City — Cedar City leads 1-0. The Reds won 42-14 on Oct. 11 (week 9) at Cedar City, but both teams had a bye during week 10; Cedar City last hosted a playoff game in 2016 and its last playoff win at home was in 2015.
- Hurricane at Ridgeline — first meeting; Ridgeline last hosted a playoff game in 2016 and its last playoff win at home was in 2016.
- Ogden at Logan — Logan leads 41-26-4 — this is their 72nd meeting since 1920 — and in their last meeting, Logan won 48-26 in 2018; Logan last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2013.
- Uintah at Mountain Crest — first meeting; Mountain Crest last hosted a playoff game in 2017 and its last playoff win at home was in 2017.
Class 3A first-round games
(series record and last meeting; year of the host team’s last home playoff game and last home playoff win)
- Delta at Juan Diego — Juan Diego leads 6-0 and defeated Delta 35-21 in the 2016 Class 3A finals at SUU; Juan Diego last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2018.
- Emery County at North Sanpete — Emery County leads 25-22. North Sanpete prevailed 43-6 on Aug. 23 (week 2) at Emery; North Sanpete last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2018.
- Grand County at Manti — Grand County leads 14-10. Manti won 58-15 in a 2012 Class 2A semifinal at SUU; Manti last hosted a playoff game in 2014 and its last playoff win at home was in 2014.
- Richfield at San Juan — San Juan leads 19-4 and won 42-17 on Oct. 4 (week 8) at San Juan; San Juan last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2017.
- South Sevier at Juab — Juab leads 13-11 and won 49-7 on Sept. 6 (week 4) at Juab; Juab last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2018.
- South Summit at Morgan — Morgan leads 35-24-1 — this is their 61st meeting since 1942. Morgan won 47-7 on Oct. 11 (week 9) at South Summit; Morgan last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2018.
- Summit Academy at American Leadership Academy — Summit Academy leads 5-0 and won 35-7 in 2016; American Leadership last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2017.
- Union at Grantsville — Union leads 16-14-3 and Grantsville prevailed 38-17 in 2018; Grantsville last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2011.
Class 2A first-round games
(series record and last meeting; year of the host team’s last home playoff game and last home playoff win)
- Gunnison Valley at Parowan — Parowan leads 7-1 and won 52-14 in 2010; Parowan last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2018.
- Kanab at Monticello — Kanab leads 19-5 and triumphed 33-21 in 2018; Monticello last hosted a playoff game in 2014 and its last playoff win at home was in 2014.
- Layton Christian at Enterprise — Enterprise leads 2-1 and prevailed 55-14 in a 2014 Class 2A first-round game; Enterprise last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2018.
- North Sevier at North Summit — North Summit leads 8-3, but North Sevier won 47-20 on Aug. 30 (week 3) at North Summit; North Summit last hosted a playoff game in 2016 and its last playoff win at home was in 2016.
- Rich at Duchesne — series tied 22-22. Duchesne won 52-0 on Oct. 11 (week 9) at Duchesne; Duchesne last hosted a playoff game in 2018 and its last playoff win at home was in 2018.
Drum game
Monument Valley and Whitehorse clash in The Battle of the Drum, which includes a traveling trophy, a custom-made drum, to commemorate the rivalry of these two Navajo Nation schools. They collide for the 39th time overall with Whitehorse holding a 20-18 series lead.
Undefeated regular seasons
Three teams, Beaver, Corner Canyon and Park City completed the 2019 season with perfect 10-0 records. It marks Beaver’s sixth (also 1969, ’70, ’73, ’79 and ’87), Corner Canyon’s fourth (also 2014, ’17 and ’18) and Park City’s ninth (also 1908, ’09, ’33, ’34, ’36, ’61, ’81 and 2006).
Beaver is off to its best start since 1987 when the Beavers went 11-1, losing in the championship game.
Corner Canyon heads to the playoffs undefeated for a third straight year. In the history of Utah high school football, two teams have gone unbeaten four seasons in a row: Millard (1978-81) and Orem (1965-68). In addition to Corner Canyon, three others have posted “three-peat” undefeated regular seasons: Duchesne (2011-13), Millard (1957-59) and San Juan (2010-12).
Park City has matched its best-ever starts of 1981 and 2006 and most wins since 2009 when the Miners finished 11-2.
Winning streaks
Corner Canyon enters the playoffs on a 22-game winning streak, the longest active streak and tied for the 16th longest in state history. Beaver and Park City have won 10 straight and Sky View, eight. Juab, Olympus and Pine View have won seven in a row.
Most wins since …
- American Leadership Academy (6-4) has its most victories and first winning season in its 14-year history, since 2006.
- Mountain View (8-2) has its most wins since 1999 (10-1).
- North Sanpete (9-1), its most since 2002 (11-1).
- Copper Hills (4-6), its most since 2008 (4-6); the Grizzlies last won five games in 2004.
- Hunter (7-2), its most since 2012 (7-3); the Wolverines last won eight games in 2009.
- Monticello (6-3), its most since 2012 (7-5).
2019’s most-improved teams
Farmington leads the state as this year’s most-improved squad, going from 2-9 in 2018 to 8-1 so far, an improvement of 7.0 games. (The NCAA calculates this by taking the difference in victories and the difference in losses, adding the two numbers and dividing by 2.) North Summit (0-10 to 6-3) is 6.5 games better. Brighton (2-8 to 8-2) and Woods Cross (both 2-8 to 8-2) have improved by 6.0 games.
Shutouts
Hillcrest posted its first shutout since Sept. 4, 2009, a span of 108 games. Only Canyon View has gone longer (112 games).
Beaver and Sky View lead the state with four shutouts each this year.
Career stat update
Here’s this week’s update on players who rank in the top-20 in all-time career performances that Felt’s Facts has been tracking this season. The list is alphabetical by school and then by player.
American Fork’s Devin Downing:
- Touchdown receptions — 18th, tied (30) and two short of the top-10.
- Receiving yards — 19th (2,471) and 171 yards away from the top-15.
Corner Canyon’s Cole Hagen:
- Touchdown passes — 16th, tied (73) and six away from the top-10.
- Total offense — 17th (7,859 yards) and 363 shy of the top-15.
- Touchdowns responsible for — 17th (91) and three short of the top-15.
Corner Canyon’s Noah Kjar:
- Receptions — 11th (170) and five short of the top-10.
- Receiving yards — 15th (2,652) and 255 yards away from the top-10.
Hunter’s DaiSean Cash:
- Completions — 15th (491) and 24 away from the top-10.
- Passing attempts — 16th (848) and needs six more to reach the top-15.
Lone Peak’s Nate Ritchie:
- Field goals — 17th, tied (20) and three short of breaking into the top-10.
Milford’s Bryson Barnes:
- Touchdown passes — State record (131).
- Touchdowns responsible for — second (176), but 37 short of the state record (held by Jordan’s Austin Kafentzis, 2011-14).
- Passing yards — fourth (10,776) and 175 yards away from third.
- Total offense — fourth (12,582 yards) and 336 yards from overtaking third place.
- Passing completions — fifth (606) and 36 short of fourth.
- Passing attempts — fifth (1,055) and 48 shy of fourth.
Park City’s Mark McCurdy:
- Touchdown receptions — 20, tied (29) and four away from the top-10.
Felt’s Facts welcomes questions and comments at utahprepfb@gmail.com
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