With the 2021 football regular season having ended, former Provo coach Brian Preece released his postseason power poll, which ranks all the teams in the state of Utah:

Rank/School/Record/Previous Rank (Change)/Next Up:

1. Corner Canyon (6A) 9-1 1 (NC) Bye/vs. Fremont vs. Kearns winner

2. Skyridge (6A) 9-1 3 (+1) Bye/vs. Westlake vs. Roy winner

3. Lone Peak (6A) 6-2 4 (+1) Bye/vs. Herriman vs. Davis winner

4. Timpview (5A) 8-2 5 (+1) Bye/vs. Northridge vs. Bonneville winner

5. American Fork (6A) 6-3 2 (-3) Bye/vs. Cyprus vs. Riverton winner

6. Ridgeline (4A) 10-0 7 (+1) Bye/vs. Cedar City vs. Logan winner

7. Springville (5A) 8-1 22 (+15) Bye/vs. Alta vs. Uintah winner

8. Riverton (6A) 7-3 14 (+6) vs. Cyprus

9. Bingham (6A) 6-4 8 (-1) Bye/vs. Clearfield vs. West Jordan winner

10. Weber (6A) 8-2 10 (NC) Bye/vs. Hunter vs. Layton winner

11. Mountain Ridge (6A) 8-2 12 (+1) Bye/vs. Pleasant Grove vs. Syracuse winner

12. Brighton (5A) 8-2 19 (+7) vs. Orem

13. Lehi (5A) 7-3 32 (+19) Bye/vs. Maple Mountain vs. Wasatch winner

14. West (6A) 7-1 24 (+10) vs. Granger

15. Farmington (6A) 7-3 41 (+26) Bye/vs. Granger vs. West winner

16. West Jordan (6A) 7-2 9 (-7) vs. Clearfield

17. Spanish Fork (5A) 7-2 21 (+4) Bye/vs. East vs. Cedar Valley winner

18. Desert Hills (4A) 9-1 30 (+12) Bye/vs. Pine View vs. Snow Canyon winner

19. Bountiful (5A) 7-2 39 (+20) Bye/vs. Park City vs. Skyline winner

20. Wasatch (5A) 6-3 15 (-5) vs. Maple Mountain

21. Provo (5A) 7-2 16 (-5) Bye/vs. Orem vs. Brighton winner

22. Roy (6A) 7-3 25 (+3) vs. Westlake

23. Alta (5A) 5-4 27 (+4) @ Uintah

24. Sky View (4A) 6-4 18 (-6) vs. Hurricane

25. Davis (6A) 5-5 42 (+17) vs. Herriman

26. Syracuse (6A) 6-4 11 (-15) vs. Pleasant Grove

27. Fremont (6A) 4-6 29 (+2) @ Kearns

28. Layton (6A) 5-4 28 (NC) vs. Hunter

29. Dixie (4A) 6-3 34 (+5) vs. Bear River

30. Orem (5A) 4-5 6 (-24) @ Brighton

31 Green Canyon (4A) 7-2 31 (NC) Bye/vs. Mtn. Crest vs. CrimsonCliffs winner

32. Stansbury (5A) 8-2 40 (+8) Bye/vs. Payson vs. Olympus winner

33. Park City (5A) 4-5 36 (+3) @ Skyline

34. East (5A) 3-6 37 (+3) @ Cedar Valley

35. Olympus (5A) 6-4 13 (-22) vs. Payson

36. Skyline (5A) 6-4 38 (+2) vs. Park City

37. Westlake (6A) 3-7 26 (-11) @ Roy

38. Bonneville (5A) 5-4 46 (+8) vs. Northridge

39. San Juan (2A) 9-1 61 (+22) Bye/vs. So. Sevier vs. Millard winner

40. Kearns (6A) 6-4 17 (-23) vs. Fremont

41. Herriman (6A) 3-7 23 (-18) @ Davis

42. Crimson Cliffs (4A) 6-4 43 (+1) vs. Mountain Crest

43. Timpanogos (5A) 8-2 50 (+7) Bye/vs. Box Elder vs. Tooele winner

44. Tooele (5A) 7-2 47 (+3) vs. Box Elder

45. Snow Canyon (4A) 5-4 48 (+3) vs. Pine View

46. South Summit (2A) 10-0 62 (+16) Bye/vs.Judge vs. Providence Hall winner

47. Logan (4A) 5-4 20 (-27) vs. Cedar City

48. Juab (3A) 9-1 54 (+6) Bye/vs. Ogden vs. Manti winner

49. Juan Diego (3A) 7-2 33 (-16) Bye/vs. Richfield vs. Canyon View winner

50. Morgan (3A) 7-3 51 (+1) Bye/vs. Ben Lomond vs. No. Sanpete winner

51. Grantsville (3A) 7-3 55 (+4) Bye/vs Carbon vs. Union winner

52. Northridge (5A) 7-3 57 (+5) @ Bonneville

53 Cedar Valley (5A) 6-4 59 (+6) vs. East

54. Pine View (4A) 5-4 35 (-19) @ Snow Canyon

55. Pleasant Grove (6A) 1-9 49 (-6) @ Syracuse

56. Maple Mountain (5A) 3-7 56 (NC) @ Wasatch

57. Beaver (2A) 9-1 44 (-13) Bye/vs. ALA vs. Delta winner

58. Hunter (6A) 3-6 45 (-13) @ Layton

59. Mountain Crest (4A) 2-8 67 (+8) @ Crimson Cliffs

60. Cedar City (4A) 2-7 58 (-2) @ Logan

61. Summit Academy (2A) 6-4 68 (+7) Bye/vs. Grand vs. Emery winner

62. Granger (6A) 2-8 73 (+11) @ West

63. Uintah (5A) 5-5 80 (+17) vs. Alta

64. Payson (5A) 5-5 66 (+2) @ Olympus

65. Box Elder (5A) 3-7 71 (+6) @ Tooele

66. Viewmont (5A) 3-6 52 (+14) Season Over

67. Salem Hills (5A) 1-8 53 (-14) Season Over

68. Clearfield (6A) 1-9 69 (+1) @ West Jordan

69. Cyprus (6A) 1-9 82 (+13) @ Riverton

70. Highland (5A) 1-8 60 (-10) Season Over

71. Kanab (1A) 8-2 78 (+7) Bye/Rich vs. North Summit winner

72. Duchesne (1A) 8-1 77 (+5) Bye/vs. Gunnision vs. Parowan winner

73. Union (3A) 4-6 96 (+23) vs. Carbon

74. Murray (5A) 3-7 64 (-10) Season Over

75. Hurricane (4A) 2-8 75 (NC) @ Sky View

76. Canyon View (3A) 4-5 81 (+5) vs. Richfield

77. Richfield (3A) 4-6 86 (+9) @ Canyon View

78. North Sanpete (3A) 4-6 70 (-8) vs. Ben Lomond

79. Enterprise (1A) 6-3 89 (+10) Bye/vs. Monticello vs. Layton Christian winner

80. Milford (1A) 6-4 79 (-1) Bye/ vs. North Sevier 2nd Round

81. Delta (2A) 4-6 90 (+9) vs. ALA

82. Parowan (1A) 5-5 85 (+3) vs. Gunnison

83. Emery (2A) 5-5 98 (+15) vs.Grand County

84. Manti (3A) 3-7 91 (+7) vs. Ogden

85. Mountain View (5A) 1-9 84 (-1) Season Over

86. Cottonwood (Ind.) 3-6 100 (+14) Season Over

87. Jordan (5A) 2-8 65 (-22) Season Over

88. Woods Cross (5A) 0-10 63 (-25) Season Over

89. North Sevier (1A) 6-4 72 (-17) Bye/ vs. Milford 2nd Round

90. Bear River (4A) 0-9 76 (-14) @ DIxie

91. Ogden (3A) 3-7 83 (-8) @ Manti

92. Providence Hall (2A) 4-6 101 (+9) vs. Judge Memorial

93. Copper Hills (6A) 0-9 74 (-19) Season Over

94. Millard (2A) 3-7 87 (-7) vs. South Sevier

95. Hillcrest (5A) 1-9 93 (-2) Season Over

96. Taylorsville (6A) 0-9 94 (-2) Season Over

97. Layton Christian (1A) 6-4 97 (NC) vs. Monticello

98. North Summit (1A) 4-5 88 (-10) vs. Rich

99. South Sevier (2A) 2-7 95 (-4) @ Millard

100. Carbon (3A) 2-7 99 (-1) @ Union

101. Ben Lomond (3A) 1-9 103 (+2) @ North Sanpete

102. Judge Memorial (2A) 1-8 107 (+5) @ Providence Hall

103. ALA (2A) 1-9 92 (-9) @ Delta

104. Gunnison (1A) 3-7 102 (-2) @ Parowan

105. Rich (1A) 1-7 105 (+1) @ North Summit

106. Monticello (1A) 2-8 104 (-2) @ Layton Christian

107. Grand County (2A) 0-9 105 (-4) @ Emery

108. Monument Valley (Ind.) 0-2 108 (NC) vs. Whitehorse

109. Whitehorse (Ind.) 0-4 109 (NC) vs. Monument Valley

(NC) = No Change in Previous Rankings

Biggest Upward Movers Since Last Poll: 1. Farmington (+26) 2. Union (+23) 3. San Juan (+22) 4. Bountiful (+20) 5. Lehi (+19).

Biggest Downward Decliners Since Last Poll: 1. Logan (-27) 2. Woods Cross (-25) 3. Orem (-24) 4. Kearns (-23) 5. Olympus (-22).

Utah/Wasatch/Juab County Rankings: 1. Skyridge (#2) 2. Lone Peak (#3) 3. Timpview (#4) 4. American Fork (#5) 5. Springville (#7) 6. Lehi (#13) 7. Spanish Fork (#17) 8. Wasatch (#20) 9. Provo (#21) 10. Orem (#30) 11. Westlake (#37) 12. Timpanogos (#43) 13. Juab (#48) 14. Cedar Valley (#53) 15. Pleasant Grove (#55) 16. Maple Mountain (#56) 17. Payson (#64) 18. Salem Hills (#67) 19. Mountain View (#85) 20. ALA (#103).

Preece Power Poll (PPP) vs. Rating Percentage Index (RPI)

6A: PPP RPI

Corner Canyon 1 1

Skyridge 2 3

Lone Peak 3 2

American Fork 4 8

Riverton 5 9

Bingham 6 7

Weber 7 4

Mountain Ridge 8 5

West 9 11

Farmington 10 6

Westlake 17 19

Pleasant Grove 20 21

West Jordan 11 10

5A: PPP RPI

Timpview 1 2

Springville 2 1

Brighton 3 12

Lehi 4 7

Spanish Fork 5 6

Bountiful 6 4

Wasatch 7 10

Provo 8 5

Alta 9 17

Orem 10 21

Timpanogos 17 8

Cedar Valley 20 11

Maple Mountain 21 23

Payson 23 19

Salem Hills 26 25

Mountain View 29 31

Stansbury 11 3

Tooele 18 9

4A PPP RPI

Ridgeline 1 2

Desert Hills 2 1

Sky View 3 5

Dixie 4 4

Green Canyon 5 3

3A PPP RPI

Juab 1 1

Juan Diego 2 2

Morgan 3 4

Grantsville 4 3

Union 5 6

North Sanpete 6 5

2A PPP RPI

San Juan 1 1

South Summit 2 2

Beaver 3 3

Summit Academy 4 4

Delta 5 6

Emery 6 5

1A PPP RPI

Kanab 1 2

Duchesne 2 1

Enterprise 3 3

Milford 4 4

Parowan 5 8

North Sevier 6 5

Let’s take a look at each classification’s brackets and where the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) might have messed things up a bit.

6A Notes: It’s hard to argue that Corner Canyon should not be the No.1 seed, though Lone Peak did beat them handily. But the Knights lost to Skyridge who lost to Corner Canyon creating a 3-way tie for the Region 4 title. So the 3-time defending state champions get the top seed while Lone Peak and Skyridge are on a collision course to meet in the semifinals, so definitely the Chargers cut a break there.

Who got hosed?

Well since the RPI has been used, it has been extra cruel to Riverton. Two years ago, the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) “punished” Lone Peak for having an illegal player for several games by giving it the No. 20 seed. That meant Riverton got to host the Knights and were dispatched in the first round as Lone Peak made it out to the semifinals.

This year, Riverton, though it tied for Region 3 title, was seeded lower than two teams it beat, Bingham and Mountain Ridge. On top of that, it got the No. 9 seed. Riverton should win its first game but will likely get No. 8 American Fork, who also got snubbed in the RPI system. The Cavemen beat Weber and Bingham, two teams ranked ahead of them. So now Riverton and American Fork are likely to meet in the second round with the survivor of that meeting getting top-ranked Corner Canyon in the quarterfinals. Riverton vs. American Fork is a game that should have been a quarterfinal match-up in my opinion.

Of course, when any team gets the shaft, there are other teams that are beneficiaries, and that is no doubt Mountain Ridge, who despite finishing third in its league got the best seed from its region at No. 5 and should have a good look to at least make the quarterfinals. Farmington is probably overrated with its sixth seed getting a favorable draw picking up the winner of the Granger vs. West contest.

Upset Specials First Round: Look for Region 4 to pull off an upset. Though the RPI and PPP (Preece Power Poll) have Roy ranked ahead of Westlake, I think the Thunder could pull off another first round “upset” and make the final 16 showing that there are some good elements of expanding the playoffs. And perhap No. 21 seed Pleasant Grove could stun No. 12 Syracuse. Though the Vikings are 1-9, they have played a rugged schedule and Syracuse has been reeling a bit in recent weeks. If Pleasant Grove can look at the playoffs as a new life and a building block for the next season, look out Titans!

Also, don’t be shocked to see No. 18 seed Herriman beat No. 15 Davis. The Mustangs are much better than their 3-7 record.

And as Yogi Berra reportedly said, “it’s deja’ vu all over again.” Granger and West played last week but they’ll meet again in the first round of the playoffs. I have a solution for this, stay tuned!

5A Notes: No classification gets more messed up than 5A. Springville being the top seed isn’t that big of an issue. At 9-1 the Red Devils arguably deserve it, though Timpview is probably the favorite to win the title. But the RPI being so messed up has made for some intriguing match-ups in the first round which will carry over into the second round.

Who got hosed?

Well, there are a lot of candidates for this. Lehi head coach Ed Larson excoriated the RPI system after his team’s victory against Orem last week. In the PPP, I would rank Lehi at No. 4 and they could easily be No. 3. But the RPI put them as the No. 7 seed meaning that they could meet Timpview in the quarterfinals. And the Pioneers deserve better than that.

And so did Lehi’s potential second-round opponent Wasatch, who beat Provo in their season finale but still got seeded No. 10 in the 5A tournament, while Provo checks in at No. 5. Brighton, who was ranked No. 3 in the 5A in the PPP, got the No. 12 seed, and even worse, drew No. 20 Orem in the first round. So even though Provo got a nice seed at No. 5, being that Brighton and Orem are badly underranked, the Bulldogs will get all they can handle in their second round game, whether it be the Bengals or the 2-time defending 5A champs Orem Tigers.

Even though Springville got the No. 1 seed, they will get a tough opponent early in the tourney. I’m going out on a limb saying No. 17 Alta “upsets” No. 16 Uintah and the Hawks have plenty of firepower to make Springville nervous.

Region 7 teams generally benefited from the RPI as league champion Stansbury received the No. 3 seed. The Stallions will likely draw Olympus (No. 14) in the second round and the Titans looked tough in their thrashing of Skyline, 27-7. Skyline (No. 13) got a higher ranking than Olympus, go figure. It should be noted that after going independent last year, Payson went 5-5 and earned the No. 19 seed and a first-round contest at Olympus.

Timpanogos at No. 8 will get a bye and a possible game vs. league rival Tooele (No. 9), that’s if the Buffalos can get past No. 24 Box Elder. Let’s just say Box Elder got as good of an opening round match-up that a No. 24 seed could hope for. Timpanogos did beat Tooele 48-34 in their region game.

Cedar Valley, as the No. 11 seed, will host No. 22 East, and something tells me that East is a bit better than that seeding. The Leopards had some struggles this season but played a tough schedule. And the Leopards have won two games in a row crushing Olympus along with Murray and Highland in successive weeks. This game will be a good barometer on the strength of the regions.

The winner of this game will play Spanish Fork, who got the No. 6 seed, as the Dons tied for the Region 9 title with Springville but actually would own the tiebreaker in the old system with a head-to-head win over their rivals. But the Dons being ranked five places lower than Springville is a testament of how important every game is in this new RPI system, as an early-season loss to 4A Crimson Cliffs led to a slippage in the RPI and Spanish Fork’s eventual seed.

And speaking of every game mattering, after Week 9 of the regular season Maple Mountain was outside the Top 24 in the 5A rankings. But the Golden Eagles scheduled Mountain Crest in a non-league tilt while many teams took the week off and got an important win against the Mustangs to improve their RPI enough to make the 5A field as the No. 21 seed. Maple Mountain will hope to upset region rival Wasatch, the No. 10 seed, in the opening round of the playoffs.

4A Notes: Ridgeline is one of two undefeated teams left in the state. And like South Summit in 2A, that only led to a No. 2 seed. The Riverhawks look really strong and have been building to this moment as they are a relatively new program in Cache Valley that has plenty of athletes and good coaching.

Desert Hills is actually the No. 1 seed and the Thunder have great tradition. Sky View is the 2-time defending 4A champs but lost four games this year and drew the No. 5 seed. Green Canyon, in just its fourth year of existence, is the No. 3 seed, but it seems like Desert Hills and Ridgeline are the class of this classification. Incidentally, Sky View did beat Green Canyon head-to-head 20-7 in league play. But always keep an eye on traditional power Dixie. The Flyers are seeded fourth and definitely a threat.

3A Notes: Juab is the defending champions with just one early-season loss to Salem Hills when the Skyhawks had Luke DeGraffenreid as their quarterback. But the Wasps won’t have it easy as No. 4 seed Morgan won the state title two years ago beating Juab. The two met last year and Juab got some revenge, but this year the two rivals find themselves on the same side of the bracket.

That’s because private school powerhouse Juan Diego nailed down the second seed while Grantsville is the third seed. Morgan, Juan Diego and Grantsville all beat each other and shared the 3A North region title. And these 3A teams are good, Juan Diego thrashed two 5A schools in East and Skyline and Grantsville put a scare into No. 5 5A seed Provo, losing just 7-2. The Soaring Eagle did beat Grantsville in a 17-14 thriller, so the Cowboys will want revenge. And No. 5 North Sanpete shouldn’t be overlooked into the top side of the bracket.

There will also be another one of those deja vu games in the first round as No. 7 Canyon View will host No. 10 Richfield. The two teams met just last week at Richfield with the Falcons eeking out a 19-14 win. All in all, the 3A tourney should be a lot of fun!

2A Notes: Undefeated South Summit is the No. 2 seed but San Juan got the No. 1 seed with its 9-1 record. The Broncos one loss was to 4A powerhouse Desert Hills in the first week of the season. These two teams look to be the class of 2A this year. Beaver (No. 3) has won the last two 2A titles, but the Beavers aren’t as dominant this year. Still, Beaver has to be considered a threat with a 9-1 record, their only loss being to San Juan. One team looking to upset things will be charter school Summit Academy as the No. 4 seed.

ALA, seeded at No. 11, will visit traditional small-school powerhouse Delta, the No. 6 seed, for its first round game.

1A Notes: Utah’s smallest classification should have a fun tournament, and there might not be a clear favorite.

Duchesne gets the top seed with an 8-1 overall record, but the one game it lost was to the No. 2 seed Kanab Cowboys. Kanab’s only losses came early in the season to 2A programs Beaver and Millard, but the Cowboys have had some close games with the likes of third seed Enterprise and No. 5 North Sevier, the latter being just a one point win, 28-27. Milford is the No. 4 seed and is the last team to win a 1A title, as the classification didn’t exist the last few years. Throw in dangerous Parowan, who got seeded at No. 8 but is definitely capable, and the 1A tourney is as wide open as it could be.

Despite what some people think, not all the teams make the playoffs with the new RPI format. Two teams (Copper Hills and Taylorsville) didn’t make the 24-team 6A field and with 32 teams in 5A, eight schools, plus independent Cottonwood, will not participate. Two Utah County programs will sit out the playoff fun as Mountain View and Salem Hills didn’t make the Top 24 teams in 5A. But in all the other classifications, every team qualified for the playoffs including winless Bear River (0-9) and Grand County (0-9).

One suggestion I might have is for winless teams to NOT make the playoffs. Yes, it might create one more bye on the bracket but it also means one less blowout game. There should be a minimum of winning a game to make the playoffs.

Two other winless schools will have a chance to pick up a win Friday. After not playing at all last year because of COVID-19, Navajo Nation schools Monument Valley (0-2) and Whitehorse (0-4) got to play some games this year. The Raiders will host Monument Valley in a game that means a lot to these programs. Both teams play independent schedules and will not participate in the UHSAA playoffs.

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