Prep football: Friday night primer | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Games of the Week

Alta at Brighton • This is where Region 3 gets fun. The Hawks (2-2) played one of the toughest preseason schedules in the state and are coming off a bye week. Can Chipper Lucero and Mack Richards chip away at what has been a hardened Brighton defense? The Bengals are 5-0 but haven't played the same level of as competition Alta. This game, by all predictable measures, has potential.

Desert Hills at Pine View • The Panthers are coming off a disheartening loss to rival Dixie, but they don't have time to fret because the Thunder (5-0) roll their way to Pine View. Desert Hills allows a measly 5.2 points per game, while quarterback Kody Wilstead and his spread offense puts up more than 37 per outing. If Desert Hills can put pressure on Wilstead and come out with a win, the Thunder are well positioned to win the Region 9 crown.

Riverton at Pleasant Grove • A week after Lehi had Pleasant Grove on the ropes, could Riverton be the team to hand the Vikings their first loss of the season? The Silverwolves (4-1) have been staunch this preseason and lost a nail-biter against American Fork in Week 4. The task for Riverton will be simple: Slow down Jeremiah Evans, Spencer Romney and Co. The Pleasant Grove offense puts up nearly 40 points per game.

Players to Watch

Tanner Redding, sr., Bountiful, WR • His 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame makes him a pesky matchup for any opposing defense. He's caught six touchdowns in five games for Bountiful and will play a key part in the rivalry game against Woods Cross.

Braxton Godderidge, sr., Sky View, QB • The Bobcats are off to a 4-1 start and are dynamic offensively, in large part due to Godderidge. He has thrown for 1,228 yards and 14 touchdowns in five games. While he spreads around the ball as well as any quarterback in the state, he also creates with his feet. He's rushed for more than 200 yards and six touchdowns. Mountain Crest's job will be to bother Braxton.

Big Number

Number of sacks Cottonwood junior defensive end T.J. Fehoko has racked up in just four games this season. That's an average of 3.8 sacks per game. Fehoko has been a nuisance against talented offensive lines and will continue to do so. The state record for sacks in a season is 27, held by San Juan's Duane Brown in 1991. If Fehoko's trajectory continues northward, that could change.

Dozens and dozens

Per noted Utah high school history buff George Felt, there are 12 teams with unblemished records heading into Week 6 and 12 teams looking to gut out their first victory of the season. If Bingham and Brighton head into Week 7 undefeated, that would be the only regular-season matchup of undefeated programs until playoff time.

Cowboy up

The Grantsville defense has collared opposing offenses through the first five weeks of the season. Outside of its 34-33 victory over Manti at home in Week 3, the Cowboys have given up seven points in its four other games. They've shut out three teams, their best defensive start to a season since 2000, when they shut out four teams. —

Friday's schedule

All games start at 7 p.m.

Alta at Brighton

American Fork at Lone Peak

Beaver at San Juan

Box Elder at Roy

Carbon at Morgan

Clearfield at Highland

Cottonwood at Hunter

Desert Hills at Pine View

Diamond Ranch at Altamont

East at Cyprus

Emery at Union

Enterprise at Grand

Fremont at Kearns

Granger at Taylorsville

Hurricane at Dixie

Jordan at Copper Hills

Juab at Canyon View

Judge at Grantsville

Kanab at Duchesne

Layton Christian at American Leadership

Logan at Bonneville

Manti at Delta

Maple Mountain at Timpview

Milford at West Wendover, Nev.

Monticello at Rich

Mountain Crest at Sky View

Mountain View at Skyline

Newcomb, N.M. at Monument Valley

North Sanpete at Richfield

North Sevier at Parowan

North Summit at South Sevier

Ogden at Ben Lomond

Olympus at Orem

Provo at Salem Hills

Riverton at Pleasant Grove

Sequoia, Calif. at Cedar City

Shiprock Northwest, N.M. at Whitehorse

Snow Canyon at Payson

South Summit at Gunnison

Spanish Fork at Lehi

Springville at Wasatch

Stansbury at Bear River

Summit Academy at Millard

Syracuse at Layton

Timpanogos at Corner Canyon

Tooele at Juan Diego

Uintah at Park City

Viewmont at Davis

West at Hillcrest

West Jordan at Bingham

Westlake at Herriman

Woods Cross at Bountiful