Bingham may be the best team in the state, but there's no doubt that Region 4 is the best league in the state. Looking at the playoff brackets, I wouldn't be surprised to see three teams make the semifinals. The league is that good.

How good?

Consider this: With Lone Peak's win over Pleasant Grove, it's a certainty that the third seed from this region will be either Pleasant Grove or Alta. I'll pause and let that sink in a bit.

Imagine being the second seed from another league and scratching out homefield advantage. Hey, congrats on the season!!!!!......go play Alta or Pleasant Grove. Hey, at least it's at home, but good luck with that.

I was soooooo impressed with Tannon Pedersen tonight. He really tore Pleasant Grove apart. He looked like a college quarterback tonight. He's also taller than I remember him, a legit 6-3, might even be 6-4. I can't imagine him not playing somewhere on the next level. He's got a gun, he's got touch, he can move and he's a leader. He's definitely one of the best quarterbacks in the state.

Pleasant Grove had better get Dallas Lloyd healthy quick. The Vikes were simply lost without him tonight. They were ok last week against Brighton when Lloyd went out with a shoulder injury. But with a week to prepare, Lone Peak's defense schemed perfectly and the Vikings simply couldn't move the ball.
Tony Jones

This is why high school football is important from week to week. All it takes is one loss to change the course of a season. Bountiful had spent most of the year ranked atop the Tribune power poll in Class 4A. Now, with the loss to Highland on Friday, the Braves are second in their own region. This means a likely road trip in the second round of the playoffs. This means a much harder road for Bountiful than the one it would've encountered as the region champion. Now it's time to see how this team reacts to adversity. The toughest teams, the best teams, are the ones that bounce back. We're going to see what Bountiful is made of.

Tony Jones

On Saturday, Weber's Mary Anne Macfarlane will aim for her third straight Class 5A No. 1 singles championship. Even if she doesn't end her senior at the top, which there is very little chance of that happening, she has had a dominant high school career. She has won four Region 1 championships and she has competed for a state title every season since she was a freshman.
It's an exciting time for Macfarlane but a somewhat bittersweet moment for her mom and Weber coach Carolyn. Carolyn, who has three girls, has coached a daughter since 1999. In fact, the last 11 region titles have been won by a member of the Macfarlane clan.
"There's just one more day [of matches] left," Carolyn said. "It's awful. It's the end of a whole era for me."
Macfarlane will play last year's Class 4A No. 1 singles state champion, Cottonwood's McKenzie Davis, in the semifinals on Saturday at Liberty Park.

--Maggie Thach

This is it...well not really it, but we're getting there. These next three weeks are going to be fun. Really fun. These next three weeks are going to determine who wins district championships, who qualifies for the playoffs, who bombs out at the end of the season. Therefore, you KNOW the football in these next three weeks is going to be high quality. Teams are going to hit a little harder. Run a little faster, run their offense a little more crisp, make things a little more difficult defensively. Coordinators and coaches are going to be up a little later at night, drawing up schemes. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the time of year where everything starts to come a little better.
The weather has changed, and now the heat is a lot less sweltering. The agony of training camp has been replaced by the anxiety of a postseason push. Players reputations will be made and confirmed. In other words, this is going to be fun.
Tony Jones

Before this week's game, only six teams across the state were undefeated: Juan Diego, Wasatch, Pleasant Grove, Bountiful, South Sevier and Rich.
For one school, the streak came crashing down but for the five others, the winning continued. Here's a look at how those school fared.

3A Juan Diego
The Soaring Eagles' 20-game winning streak came to a halt when Juan Diego took on Highland of Idaho on Thursday. Juan Diego struggled on both sides of the ball for the first time in a long time and only managed to score 3 points as Highland took the game 28-3.

3A Wasatch
The Wasps remained unscathed and they did it in dominating fashion with a 47-0 win over Union. Quarterback Payton Davis completed 11 of 19 passes for 210 yards and five touchdowns.

5A Pleasant Grove
Pleasant Grove, the only undefeated team in 5A, will stay that way after a 35-14 win over Jordan. But the Vikings streak may be in danger as they will face a tough Brighton team next week. Brighton has surprised many this year, especially with its win over Alta.

4A Bountiful
Mitch Johnson had three touchdowns for Bountiful and the Braves beat East 24-3 to become 7-0 on the season. With Highland, Stansbury and Olympus left, it's possible the Braves could go undefeated until the end of the regular season.

2A South Sevier
Beaver came close to knocking of the Rams but they pulled out a 26-20 win to remain perfect on the season.

1A Rich
Rich picked up an easy win with a 43-7 drubbing of Milford last Wednesday. But it won't be so easy this week when they play Duchesne, who is 6-1 and right on the Rebels' heels in the 1A North race.

--Maggie Thach

Three quarterbacks have been exceptional this season and those three - Jordan's Alex Hart, Sky View's Kyler Carlsen and Mountain Crest's Alex Kuresa - are all chasing a spot in the record books as all three have more than 5,000 career yards.
Here are the break downs for each QB:

Sky View senior Kyler Carlsen
*6,550 career yards of total offense, ranking fourth all-time.
*He has thrown for 5,611 carrer passing yards, good for 12th all-time.
* Tied for 10th in career touchdowns-responsible-for (74).

Jordan senior Alex Hart
*Leads the state in total offense with 2,699 yards, 2,385 passing yards and 25 touchdowns.
*Accumulated 6,490 yards of total offense, good for eighth all-time.

Mountain Crest junior Alex Kuresa
*Has 5,148 career total offense yards with 5,039 of those coming through the air.
*Completed 346 passes, ranking 18th all-time.

Kuresa is the only player of those three who has a shot at catching Ryan Zimmerman or Riley Nelson in career total offense yards. Zimmerman and Nelson have 9,947 and 9,869 yards, respectively.

Even though his numbers career-wise don't quite compare, Ogden's Nik Allred should get a shout-out. He is second behind Hart this season in total offense yards with 2,366. He has 1,878 passing yards and 22 touchdowns this season.

--Maggie Thach

Class 5A
1. Pleasant Grove (12-1)
Beat Jordan easily
2. Brighton (6-6)
Record is deceiving
3. Lone Peak (7-4)
Lost to the Bengals on Thursday
4. Skyline (20-2)
Can it hold on to top spot in region?
5. Layton (17-4)
Looking to rebound after Davis loss

Class 4A
1. Snow Canyon (12-3)
Ciara Parker leading the way
2. Springville (18-5)
Off to good start in region
3.Olympus (11-1)
In driver's seat in Region 6
4. Dixie (6-4)
Has some strong, seasoned hitters
5. Lehi (9-8)
Has shown potential in preseason tourneys

Class 3A
1. Hurricane (14-9)
Breezing through region
2. Richfield (14-2)
Has been just as tough in 3A
3. Morgan (6-4)
On three-match winning streak
4. Juan Diego (8-1)
Was tested by Grantsville
5. North Sanpete (9-5)
Holding its own in Region 12

Class 2A
1. South Sevier (9-4)
Preparing to take on rival North Sevier
2. Enterprise (10-3)
Been dominant in last four wins
3.Grand (11-1)
Trailed but rallied to beat North Sevier
4. North Summit (9-5)
Braves finding their rhythm
5. Layton Christian (5-1)
Started region off right

Class 1A
1. Panguitch (12-1)
Experience is on Bobcats' side
2. Piute (7-4)
Trying to give Panguitch a run for its money
3. Rich (2-2)
Surprising 5-game loss to Duchesne
4. Monticello (8-5)
Shoo-in for Region 19 title
5. St. Joseph (7-1)
Jayhawks are balanced