Felt’s Facts – Week 9

Just this season, school records for single-game reception yards have been set at nine schools, including three last week. Prep fans have witnessed five of the top 16 all-time receiving performances in the first eight weeks of 2013 alone. So it’s time to list the school records for receivers and they’re found at the end of this week’s edition.

Region Championships
The next two weeks will be crammed with meaningful games for postseason qualifying and seeding and for determining region champions.

No schools have claimed outright titles yet, and only four teams, all undefeated in their respective regions, own at least a share of a league championship: Logan (Region 5), Juan Diego (3AA North), Manti (3A South) and Beaver (2A South).

All but Beaver play non-region games this week, so must wait to grab region honors outright until Week 10.

If Diamond Ranch defeats Kanab in DR’s final region game this week, the Diamondbacks will claim the outright 1A South title. Should Kanab prevail, the Cowboys still have to beat Monticello next week for the outright crown.

Nine others can at least snare a share of their league crown with wins this week: Davis (Region 1), Taylorsville (Region 2), Bingham (Region 3), Herriman (Region 4), East (Region 6), Timpview (Region 8), Dixie (3AA South), and North Summit and the winner of South Summit at Millard (2A North).

(More on these region champions, and potential champs later.)

Region 7, notably absent from the above-mentioned regions, has three one-loss teams at the top and could end in a three-way tie.

Playoff Fever
Of the 103 football teams, 31 have booked tournament tickets leaving 41 berths open for 69 teams. Just three schools – Fremont, Viewmont and Clearfield – have been booted from postseason contention. Another 14 could be eliminated this week.

No Class 5A team has secured a spot. In 4A, five berths are taken and in 3AA, six of 12 are filled.

Class 3A squads have locked up four of eight spots. In 2A, schools have claimed nine of 12 berths and this week’s games will almost determine the final three and seeding for next week’s first round games. “Almost,” because the loser of Summit Academy at Gunnison Valley will tie American Leadership for the sixth and final berth in 2A North and face a region playoff.

Class 1A finds seven of eight berths have been filled with Whitehorse at Monument Valley in Week 10 deciding the final one.

Here’s a region-by-region run down with the teams that have clinched, the number of open berths, projections for which teams will fill those spots and a look at some of the region championship possibilities.

Class 5A
Region 1 – In: none. Open berths (4): Davis, Syracuse, Layton, Northridge. Out: Fremont, Viewmont. Remaining region games: Northridge and Viewmont have one, the others have two.

Davis has secured a tie for a berth and clinches with a win. Although not guaranteed, the likely scenario has the Darts claiming the outright championship, Syracuse in second and the Layton at Northridge battle in Week 10 determining third and fourth.

Weber throws a wrench into that and keeps its playoff hopes alive by knocking off Syracuse this week, thus making Weber at Syracuse this week’s game to watch in Region 1.

Region 2 – In: none. Open berths (4): Taylorsville, Cottonwood, Hunter, Granger. Out: none. Remaining region games: 2.

This week’s game to watch: Taylorsville at Cottonwood. A Taylorsville victory over Cottonwood locks up a berth for the Warriors and a share of the region crown. Even if it loses, T-ville can look forward to postseason action for the first time since 2003 if Hunter defeats Hillcrest. A Cottonwood victory likely results in a three-way tie for the region championship next week.

West sits on the sidelines if the Panthers lose to Granger.

Region 3 – In: none. Open berths (4): Bingham, Brighton, Jordan, Alta. Out: none. Remaining region games: 2.

Barring major upsets, Bingham should claim the top seed and outright region title.

This week’s game to watch: Jordan at Brighton, which likely determines the second and third seeds. Alta will probably finish fourth.

In any event, West Jordan stays home with a loss to Alta.

Region 4 – In: none. Open berths (4): Herriman, and you pick three of American Fork, Lehi, Lone Peak, Pleasant Grove and Riverton. Out: none. Remaining region games: American Fork and Riverton have one, the others have two.

Five teams have two losses in this messy region. The only certainties are that Herriman and/or American Fork claim berths by winning and Westlake is eliminated with a loss to Lone Peak.

A Lehi victory over Herriman could mean as many as five teams with 3-2 records all tied for first place heading into the final week.

Games to watch: Herriman at Lehi and American Fork at Pleasant Grove. The Vikings invade Herriman next week, so a loss to AF forces PG into a must-win situation in Week 10.

Class 4A
Region 5 – In: Logan (has clinched tie for region). Open berths (3): Sky View, Box Elder, Roy. Out: none. Remaining region games: Bonneville and Logan have one, the others have two.

If favored Box Elder, Roy and Sky View win this week, the four berths are filled and next week’s games determine seeding. Bonneville and Ogden skip the playoffs by losing, and Mountain Crest is out if it falls to Box Elder and Roy beats the Lakers.

Game to watch: Mountain Crest at Box Elder. The Mustangs are in danger of missing the postseason after nine straight appearances stretching back to 2004.

Region 6 – In: East, Woods Cross. Open berths (2): Bountiful, Highland. Out: Clearfield. Remaining region games: Clearfield and Woods Cross have one, the others have two.

The most promising scenario places East first as outright region champ, Woods Cross second (with only a game in region against Cyprus remaining), and the Highland at Bountiful battle to determine third and fourth in Week 10. A monumental upset by Bountiful over East likely results in a three-way tie for the region crown.

Game to watch: Cyprus at Highland. The Pirates are out with a loss to the Rams and then so is Kearns if it loses to Clearfield.

Region 7 – In: Corner Canyon. Open berths (3): Olympus and two of Orem, Skyline and Timpanogos. Out: none. Remaining region games: Corner Canyon and Mountain View have one, the others have two.

Olympus and Orem clinch with a win, while Skyline secures at least a tie for a berth by defeating the Tigers. Mountain View and Murray are eliminated by losing.

Game to watch: Orem at Skyline. The Eagles’ 28-year run of postseason appearances could be jeopardized with losses to Orem and Olympus.

Region 8 – In: Timpview. Open berths (3): Salem Hills, Springville, Spanish Fork. Out: none. Remaining region games: Springville and Wasatch have one, the others have two.

Timpview grabs the top seed with a win and a share of the region crown. If the other favored teams win, the Week 10 games will be for seeding. If Spanish Fork defeats Provo, the Bulldogs are out and then so are Maple Mountain and Wasatch if they lose.

Game to watch: Spanish Fork at Provo, but only because a Don victory likely ousts three clubs from the playoffs.

Class 3AA
North – In: Juan Diego, Stansbury, Park City. Open berths (3): Bear River, Uintah and the winner of Tooele at Ben Lomond in Week 10. Out: none. Remaining region games: Juan Diego and Stansbury have one, the rest have two.

Game to watch: Stansbury at Park City. A Stallion win results in a first round bye in the tourney, while a Miner triumph gives PC a shot at upsetting Juan Diego next week for a share of the region crown.

Bear River (vs. Ben Lomond) and Uintah (at Tooele) wrap up berths by winning. For the Utes, a victory means postseason action for the first time since 2007.

South – In: Dixie, Pine View, Snow Canyon. Open berths (3): Desert Hills, Cedar, Hurricane. Out: none. Remaining region games: Hurricane and Pine View have one, the rest have two.

Dixie has the inside track for the league title. But even with a win at Cedar, the Flyers could be headed for a showdown with Snow Canyon next week and a possible three-way tie with Pine View for region honors.

Game to watch: Desert Hills at Snow Canyon. The winner likely gets the third seed behind Dixie and Pine View, while the loser probably takes fourth. The Thunder have taken the last four over SC after the Warriors blasted Desert Hills 48-0 in 2008, DH’s first year.

Class 3A
The teams in this classification all play non-region games this week, postponing league championship and playoff-determining clashes until Week 10.

North – In: Judge Memorial, Morgan. Open berths (2): Grantsville, Emery. Out: none.

Week 10 games to watch: Morgan at Judge decides the outright, undefeated region champion, and Grantsville at Union, which is likely an elimination game for the Cougars. A Union victory results in a three-way tie for the final two berths.

That assumes Emery takes care of Carbon. If the Dinos win, there could be a three-way tie for the final spot.

South – In: Manti, Juab. Open berths (2): Delta, Richfield. Out: none.

Manti has clinched a tie for the region crown and only a loss Canyon View can prevent the Templars from claiming their third straight outright title.

Week 10 games to watch: North Sanpete at Delta, which is an elimination game, and Richfield at Juab, as the winner gets the second seed. A Wildcat loss drops Richfield to fourth if Delta wins.

Class 2A
This classification plays its final region contests this week and opens tournament action in Week 10.

North – In: North Summit, South Summit, Millard, Layton Christian. Open berths (2): two of Summit Academy, Gunnison and American Leadership. Out: none.

Game to watch: South Summit at Millard. The winner claims at least part of the region title and the outright crown if LCA knocks off North Summit. If SS prevails, a NS victory propels the Braves to the top seed.

A close second: Summit Academy at Gunnison. The winner gets fifth seed, while the loser faces a region playoff with American Leadership for the final berth.

Millard and South Summit can end up as first seed, but no worse than third. NS can finish anywhere from first to fourth and LCA, anywhere from second to fourth.

In more detail: If North and South Summit win, the order is NS, SS, Millard, LCA. If NS and Millard prevail, it’s Millard, NS, SS, LCA. Should SS and LCA triumph, the seeding is SS, Millard, LCA, NS. And finally, Millard and LCA victories mean Millard gets first and a coin flip determines second through fourth.

Incidentally, South Summit last won a region championship in 2000, while North Summit’s last crown came in 2007.

South – In: Beaver, Grand, San Juan, Enterprise, Parowan. Open berth (1): South Sevier. Out: none.

Beaver has grabbed the top seed and a share of first region title since 2002. The Beavers snag an outright championship by winning at Enterprise. Parowan is locked into fifth.

Game to watch: North Sevier at South Sevier. If SS wins, the Rams get sixth and NS is finished. But if the Wolves halt their 23-game losing streak, they’d tie the Rams for the final berth and force a region playoff.

Close second: Grand at San Juan as the winner snares second and a first-round bye.

Class 1A
North – In: Duchesne, Rich, Altamont, Milford. Open berths: none. Out: none. Remaining region games: Altamont has two, Duchesne and Rich have one and Milford is done.

Game to watch: Altamont at Rich, the sole region contest this week, most likely determines second and third place. Duchesne visits Altamont next week in the last region game.

South – In: Kanab, Diamond Ranch, Monticello. Open berth (1): Monument Valley. Out: none. Remaining region games: Kanab has two, the rest have one.

Game to watch: Diamond Ranch at Kanab, the only league battle this week. A DR victory grants the Diamondbacks the outright region title, while Kanab gains the inside track with Monticello on the docket in Week 10.

Next week, Whitehorse at Monument Valley is an elimination game.

Hot Starts
Davis last started 7-0 in 2010, but the Darts haven’t seen 8-0 since 1985 when they won their first 12 before losing in the 4A championship game.

The other five undefeated teams – Bingham, Duchesne, East, Juan Diego and Logan have posted 9-0 or better starts at least once since 2010.

Most-Improved
Weber enjoys the biggest turnaround of 2013, improving 6.0 games. The Warriors went from 0-10 in 2012 to 5-3 so far this season. Another group of Warriors, from Taylorsville, have improved 5.5 games from 1-9 to 5-2 so far. A victory over Cottonwood or West will assure T-ville at least a share of a region title for the first time since 1999, when the school claimed its only region crown.

East has also improved 5.5 games over last year, but the Leopards’ 5-8 record in 2012 included six forfeits.

North Summit (2-8 to 6-2), Salem Hills (3-7 to 7-1) and Springville (2-8 to 6-2) are all 5.0 games better.

First-time Matchups (9)
Region 7, a mashup of Salt Lake and Utah County schools, has five teams involved in first-time parings: Olympus at Mountain View, Murray at Timpangos in region games and Corner Canyon, hosting Woods Cross in a non-region battle.

Other first-time meetings: Lone Peak at Westlake, Wasatch at Timpview, Manti at Judge, North Summit at Layton Christian, Summit Academy at Gunnison and Diamond Ranch at Kanab.

Most-played Rivalries (min. 50 games)
Dixie and Cedar hold their grudge match for the 83rd time in an uninterrupted series that stretches back to 1949. The Flyers have claimed two straight and five of the last six to up their series lead to 49-33.

American Fork and Pleasant Grove duke it out for the 79th time. PG has stymied the Cavemen four of the last five meetings, but AF retains a 48-28-2 series advantage.

San Juan faces Grand for the 68th time and controls the series 40-27. Spanish Fork and Provo also meet for the 68th time, but haven’t clashed since 2004. The Bulldogs dominate the series which began in 1916, 45-21-1.

Two series celebrate their 50th meeting: Bear River has won eight straight over Ben Lomond and leads the series 33-16, while Bonneville holds a 34-15 margin over Roy in an uninterrupted series that began in 1965.

Howdy Stranger
Nearly a third of this week’s contests – 15 of 50 – pair teams that haven’t met for at least three seasons, highlighted by Uintah at Tooele, who last squared off in 1980. Their series is tied 2-2.

Clearfield last battled Kearns and Payson last met Pine View in 1998. PV leads the series 3-2…. Orem and Skyline tangle for the first time since 1999. These two fought for the state championship four times in their nine previous encounters, all of which came in the state playoffs. Skyline has a 6-3 series lead and won three of those four state title games.

Other games in this category: Hillcrest-Hunter (2002), Cottonwood-Taylorsville (2004), Hurricane-Logan (2005 – their only meeting, a 3A semifinal won by Logan, 59-29), Delta-Grantsville (2008) and Morgan-North Sanpete (2008).

These six pairs haven’t met on the gridiron since 2010: American Leadership-Parowan (their only meeting, which Parowan won, 41-21), Canyon View-Emery (CV holds a 6-5 series lead), Carbon-Richfield (Dinos lead 9-5-1), Fremont-Viewmont (Silver Wolves lead 7-4), Herriman-Lehi (their only meeting, which the Mustangs won, 41-20) and Ogden-Sky View (the Bobcats have won four straight in this series and lead 18-9).

Series Streaks
Mountain Crest has captured six straight over Box Elder going back to 2007…. Duchesne has defeated Monticello the last six times they’ve battled, but the Buckaroos own a 26-15 series lead…. South Sevier increased its series margin to 31-10 by snaring four of the last five over North Sevier.

Region 3 also sees several long series winning streaks by one team: Bingham has taken nine straight from Copper Hills to go up 15-1 vs. the Grizzlies…. Alta has snatched eight in a row from West Jordan and controls the series 13-2 … Jordan is also on an eight-game tear over Brighton, but the Bengals hold an 18-10 lead.

Milestone Games
Grand and Park City both gun for their 400th victory while Juab goes for its 250th.

Granger, in its 56th season, plays its 550th game.

Spanish Fork narrowly avoided being shut out in a 55-7 loss to Timpview two weeks ago. This week, the Dons look to score in a game for the 100th consecutive time. SF hasn’t been shut out since August 2005.

Dixie’s Blaine Monkres tries to pick up his 175th career victory, including stops at Morgan and Fremont. Mountain Crest’s Mark Wootton hopes for his 150th career win and Juab’s Mike Bowring works for his 75th win with the Wasps.

At Grantsville, Tony Cloward directs his 100th contest with the Cowboys and at Payson, Jeremy Chapman coaches his 50th game with the Lions.

From Last Week
Salem Hills (7-1) has earned its most victories in its six-year history… Milford scored its most points ever by silencing Whitehorse 74-0. Previously, the Tigers had put up 66 against Panguitch in 1974.

Record Rushing
In these days of wide open passing offenses, Riverton and East have turned to the ground game and accumulated the top-two, single-game rushing totals in Utah prep history – on the same day, Sept. 6. East’s achievement – 640 yards – was noted at the time, but Riverton’s wasn’t.

Game reports originally credited the Silverwolves with 549 rushing yards against Dixie and 602 total yards. But stats reported to the media by Riverton corrected those to 657 rushing yards and 721 total yards.

Those 657 rushing yards are a state record and the total yardage ranks fourth all-time.

Individual Accolades
Manti’s Kamren Fowles ran for 411 yards last week, the fourth-most on record, and had 438 all-purpose yards, the sixth-most for a Utah prep gridder.

Three players have joined the 5,000-yard club in career passing: Alta’s Chipper Lucero has thrown for 5,398 yards, Sky View’s Braxton Godderidge for 5,240 and Pine View’s Kody Wilstead for 5,109.

Two more have surpassed the 4,000-yard career passing mark: Spanish Fork’s Jason Money (4,191) and Roy’s Tyler Skidmore (4,012).

Orem’s standout receiver Nolan Gray has jumped into sixth in career receiving yards with 2,464, just three yards shy of fifth place, but about 1,000 yards away from the state record (3,445). Logan’s Taylor Compton has climbed into 14th on the same list with 2,104 receiving yards.

Compton has 179 career receptions, the fourth-most all-time and Gray has 147 catches, good for the eighth-most.

In career extra points, Duchesne’s Braxton Spencer ranks eighth (134 PATs) and Juan Diego’s Andrew Montoya trails him by just one kick in ninth (133).

Reception Records
As mentioned, receivers set single-game reception records at three schools last week. Pine View’s Jack Bangerter had 268, the eighth-best performance all-time. Sky View’s Logan Miller totaled 249 reception yards and Maple Mountain’s Jake Mafi amassed 203. Bangerter caught 17 passes, which ties for the second-most all-time and three off the state record.

Kafentzis Update
Last week, Jordan’s Austin Kafentzis topped the 12,000-yard threshold for career offense (12,027). Mountain Crest’s Alex Kuresa (2007-10) holds the record with 12,917 yards.

In other career marks, Kafentzis is third in TDs-responsible-for (126, record is 130 by two players), fourth in completions (521, record is 751) and attempts (897, record is 1,154) and is tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns (58, record is 70) and 100-yard games (22, record is 24).

He’s eighth in carries (590, record is 782), tied for ninth in touchdowns scored (58, record is 77), 13th in TD passes (68) and 14th in rushing yards (4,140).

(It must be noted that his stats on maxpreps.com are not correct as they include a 2012 game against East, which was determined by the UHSAA to not count as a game, nor the statistics included for either team or their players. However, only Jordan can submit corrected numbers to MaxPreps.)

Region Champs II
For the teams that have secured at least a share of a league crown, here are the number of region championships and the last year won for each school.

Beaver – 15th, 2002.
Juan Diego – 11th, 2012 (11th straight).
Logan – 26th, 2011.
Manti – ninth, 2012 (third straight).

By winning this week, these schools get at least a portion of a region championship – and, for the successful, here are the number of region titles and last year won for each.

Bingham – 21st, 2012.
Davis – 29th, 2009.
Diamond Ranch (can win outright) – second, 2012.
Dixie – 23rd, 2009.
East – 33rd, 2011.
Herriman – second, 2012.
Millard – 41st, 2010 (outright champ if North Summit loses).
North Summit – 22nd, 2007.
South Summit – 11th, 2000 (outright champ if North Summit loses).
Taylorsville – second, 1999.
Timpview – 18th, 2010.

School-record Receivers
As promised, here’s the list of school-record holders for single-game receiving yards. Apologies that Felt’s Facts has a minimum 200-yard threshold in the records that are kept. Thus, records are only available for 52 schools. Verifiable records for receivers under that limit are welcomed.

School-record Single-game Receiving Yards (minimum 200 yards) (52 schools)
Alta – 256, Mack Richards, 8/30/2013 vs. Lone Peak
Bear River – 283, Colton Jensen, 9/13/2013 vs. Tooele
Box Elder – 222, Kevin Welch, 8/26/1988 vs. Logan
Cedar – 200, James Platt, 10/15/1999 vs. Hurricane
Copper Hills – 305, Dallin Barnes, 10/3/2002 vs. Riverton
Cottonwood – 250, Inoke Lotulelei, 9/2/2011 vs. Brighton
Cyprus – 210, Anthony Johnson, 9/11/1992 vs. Hillcrest
Delta – 200, Kevin Bunker, 9/23/1988 vs. Emery
Desert Hills – 208, Jordan Hokanson, 9/20/2013 vs. Payson
Dixie – 260, Cody Fonnesbeck, Dixie 9/18/1998 vs. Hurricane
Emery – 270, Dell Stilson, 10/23/1987 vs. Union
Enterprise – 266, Tim Shurtliff, 9/17/1999 vs. Parowan
Fremont – 266, Jake Brian, 8/24/1995 vs. Skyline
Grand County – 201, Aaron Englebright, 9/4/1998 vs. Cedaredge (Colo.)
Gunnison – 261, Jacob Hatch, 9/6/2013 vs. North Summit
Highland – 200, Nate Fakahafua (Orchard), 11/19/2010 vs. Mountain Crest
Hillcrest – 242 Brad Schultz, 8/31/2001 vs. Layton
Hunter – 216, Cory Grow, 8/25/1995 vs. American Fork
Jordan – 222, Mitch Berg, 9/14/1990 vs. West
Juan Diego – 202, Keegan Andersen, 10/30/2009 vs. Juab
Kanab – 217, Jason Hafen, 9/29/1989 vs. North Sevier
Kearns – 204, Colton Grossaint, 8/24/2012 vs. Copper Hills
Layton – 209, Thomas Bryson, 10/24/2008 vs. Weber
Layton Christian – 224, Malik Sawyer, 9/11/2009 vs. White Pine (Nev.)
Logan – 270, Richie Geertsen, 11/3/1989 vs. Springville
Maple Mountain – 203, Jake Mafi, 10/9/2013 vs. Provo
Milford – 255, Derrick Bradshaw, 10/17/2002 vs. Duchesne
Monticello – 240, Tanner Dowell, 9/24/1993 vs. Palisade (Colo.)
Monument Valley – 267, Devin Wauneka, 9/1/2011 vs. Newcomb (N.M)
Mountain Crest – 215, Alex Knowles, 9/25/2009 vs. Box Elder
Mountain View – 242, David Gaffney, 10/1/1999 vs. Hillcrest
Murray – 224, John Madsen, 9/9/1983 vs. Ben Lomond
Northridge – 227, Christian Schlicte, 10/28/2011 vs. Cottonwood
Ogden – 220, Blake Newman, 8/19/2011 vs. Bonneville
Orem – 311, Chris Hale, Orem, 9/11/1998 vs. Mountain View
Park City – 251, Jono Schettler, 9/30/2011 vs. Uintah
Pine View – 268, Jack Bangerter, 10/10/2013 vs. Hurricane
Pleasant Grove – 237, Spencer Romney, 8/23/2013 vs. Orem
Provo – 221, Nate Hutchings, 9/12/1997 vs. Pleasant Grove
Roy – 222, Nathaniel Jones, 9/20/2013 vs. Logan
San Juan – 212, Carl Gutke, 11/7/1992 vs. North Summit
Sky View – 249, Logan Miller, 10/10/2013 vs. Box Elder
Skyline – 217, Brian Orr, 9/25/2009 vs. Cottonwood
South Sevier – 288, Brett Wallace, 9/19/1997 vs. Parowan
Springville – 239, Jaylon Miyasaki, 9/30/2011 vs. Salem Hills
Timpanogos – 200, Grant Jiminez, 10/5/2007 vs. Spanish Fork
Timpview – 239, Mark Ercanbrack, 9/28/2007 vs. Orem
Union – 224, David Gilbert, 9/28/2007 vs. Uintah
Wasatch – 314, Keefer Babbitt, 11/5/2010 vs. Judge Memorial
West Jordan – 204, Cameron Peacock, 9/17/2010 vs. Pleasant Grove
Westlake – 232, Brandon Aldstadt, 9/3/2010 vs. Payson
Woods Cross – 262, Garet Burningham, 10/24/2002 vs. Highland

Felt’s Facts welcomes questions – email [email protected]

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