Beky Beaton and Jared Lloyd

Daily Herald

1. With Lone Peak's win over Brighton and Brighton's win over Alta, football in Region 4 has been full of surprises. How does this affect the hierarchy in the new region?

• LLOYD: The main thing it does in my mind is prove that Alta is in the pack, not in front of it. The Knights could really put the Hawks in a precarious situation if they can go up to Alta and get the win Friday night. Pleasant Grove might be the class of the league but the Vikings will have to prove it down the stretch as they have road games at Brighton and Lone Peak before the region finale at home against Alta.

• BEATON: Region 4 teams now occupy four of the top seven spots in the 5A rankings, and two more teams from the league remain in the top 20. The region games were expected to be intense with so many good programs fighting for the four available playoff berths. They have been, and I expect they will remain so. The outcome of those two Brighton contests mainly serves to underscore the high level of talent in the region -- and the old coach's truism that no team can safely be overlooked.

2. Spanish Fork and Uintah were forced to postpone last Friday's football game because of a fly outbreak in Vernal. Is this a big deal?

• Beaton: This isn't the first time that school officials have faced this dilemma, and I predict it won't be the last. It's unfortunate that an athletic contest was affected, but given the circumstances, it would have irresponsible to do anything else.

• LLOYD: I think this is a very big deal because it really changes the way the season plays out. Unlike baseball or softball when teams face each other multiple times, football is a game where teams work a full week to get ready for a single contest. Now both the Utes and the Dons have to tell their kids, "Hey, don't forget what we worked on because we'll need it again three weeks down the road." Officials did the right thing here but it could change how things shake out in Region 8.

3. Springville and Maple Mountain are both unbeaten in Region 8 girls soccer and meet twice in the next couple of weeks. Which team is going to emerge at the top of the standings?

• LLOYD: I love what head coach Carolyn Swenson and her young, talented Golden Eagles have done this year. Other than a single contest against Bear River, Maple Mountain has been streaking through the competition. That said, I don't think they get the Red Devils this season. I think Springville has a lot of firepower and it will be a lot to ask for the Golden Eagles to stop the Red Devils. Springville better be ready for a challenge, something it needs as the state tournament nears.

• BEATON: These two teams are clearly the class of Region 8 this year -- no one else is even close. The Golden Eagles have the better record but the Red Devils have scored nearly twice as many goals in league games as Maple Mountain against the same competition, so I'd have to give Springville the edge.

4. The Lone Peak volleyball team ended up with a tough loss at Brighton on Tuesday. How much does that defeat tell you about where the young Knight team is right now?

• BEATON: Actually, the scoring spread in the three games the Knights lost tells you more -- 10 points total, and no margin was greater than four. Just two weeks ago, the Bengals had an eight-point victory over Lone Peak in a tournament played on their home court, so the Knights are clearly progressing. With about six weeks left to the state tournament, they've got plenty of time to develop into what they have been for the past six years -- a very dangerous playoff team.

• LLOYD: This result indicates that the Knights are still progressing. They are a half-step behind the top teams (Brighton and Pleasant Grove) at the moment but they certainly have to believe they haven't peaked yet. Lone Peak and the rest of the state still have a month and a half to prepare for the tournament -- and betting against the Knights and head coach Deanna Meyer when the playoffs roll around isn't a good idea.

5. Cross country runners from around the Valley -- and the state -- will be at the Nebo Invitational this weekend. How important are these big invitational meets to cross country teams?

• LLOYD: The most important thing for every runner and every team is to qualify for the state meet. Other than that, these meets are basically just glorified practices as athletes try to drop their times and prepare for the big events to come. Coaches will be keeping a close eye on how their top competition does to be able to strategize on how to get the most runners across the line the fastest.

• BEATON: These big meets provide the opportunities that most closely resemble state competition. Accordingly, they not only give individual harriers a chance to test their competition, they also give teams a chance to see where they rank among their peers.