Week No. 9 of Utah County prep football saw two league titles sewn up, one thrown in complete chaos thanks to a huge upset, and plenty of superlative individual performances.

Pleasant Grove pulls off dramatic victory at Skyridge: The 6A Region 3 region race got even more exciting and complicated when Pleasant Grove went on the road and picked up a stunning 34-31 win against Skyridge in overtime. Carson Rasmussen had four touchdown passes including the game winner to Bronco Winterton that delivered the Vikings a wild win. Rasmussen also ran for another score.

Even though it was a high-scoring contest, Pleasant Grove’s defense came up big holding the Falcons to a field goal in overtime. Then when the Vikings took over on offense, they scored a touchdown to get the win.

Trevan McClellan caught two touchdown passes from Jackson Stevens for Skyridge in a losing cause.

Now American Fork, Pleasant Grove and Skyridge all sit atop of the Region 3 standings with 3-1 records, and all three teams are 8-1 overall. On Friday, Skyridge will visit American Fork while Pleasant Grove will host Lehi (7-2, 2-2) to conclude league play.

Provo and Timpview lock down league titles: Provo School District only has two high schools that play prep football and both won league titles.

Provo defeated Uintah 42-8 and the Bulldogs are now 5-0 in 4A Region 8 and 7-2 overall. Provo has defeated Timpanogos (4-1, 7-2) head-to-head and thus were presented with the region trophy on Senior Night this past Friday. Kyle Larsen had a big game in the Bulldog victory scoring on a 86-yard scoop and score and then hauling in a 38-yard pass from Soakai Ashton.

Timpview concluded its regular season as it dispatched Maple Mountain, 42-20. Helaman Casuga had three touchdown passes and rushed for another as the Thunderbirds rolled. Timpview will now not have a game for the next two weeks, and where they will host their playoff games has not been determined as of yet as construction continues at its campus.

Payson scores a big win over rival Spanish Fork with back-up quarterback: With senior Kade Edwards out with an injury, Payson turned to sophomore quarterback Trevyn Wall and he delivered as Payson defeated Spanish Fork in a tight 24-21 contest Friday night. Wall connected with Cooper Swasey on all three of his touchdown passes and Logan Russell’s 25-yard field goal provided the winning margin.

Spanish Fork did get a 25-yard pick six from Will Gunther that gave the Dons a 21-17 lead. But Wall then hit Swasey for the third time on a 65-yard bomb with just 1:52 left that put Payson ahead for good.

Mountain View earns a big road victory over Jordan: The Bruins most assuredly clinched a spot in the 4A playoffs by going on the road and dominating Jordan, 55-37. Though it was a non-region contest, the win over the Beetdiggers will only enhance Mountain View’s RPI status.

The Bruins had plenty of offensive stars as Kalvin Floyd had two touchdowns receiving and Dexton Havea had four touchdowns running the pigskin. Floyd opened up the scoring with a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown as Mountain View (3-6, 1-4) put up 35 points in the first half alone.

Timpanogos offense too much for Salem Hills: Timpanogos (7-2, 4-1) lit up the scoreboard and cruised to a 35-14 victory over Salem Hills (6-3, 4-2). The return of Luke Livingston was big for the Timberwolves as he both caught and threw a touchdown pass. Chase Riggs threw for a touchdown, caught another, and ran in another in the big win for Timpanogos.

Salem Hills got two late scores as Jedi Nelson had two short touchdown runs for the Skyhawks.

American Fork, Lehi, Springville and Wasatch all victorious: American Fork (8-1, 3-1) took care of business dismantling Westlake (1-8, 0-4), 38-7. Dylan Storey threw for two touchdowns for the Cavemen.

Meanwhile, Lehi (7-2, 2-2) defeated Lone Peak (3-6, 1-3), 34-24. Lehi’s special teams blocked a kick and Ozzie Williams secured a touchdown. Jett Niu passed for two scores and Gavin Fenn had two field goals for the Pioneers, who led 24-3 at halftime. Adam Connors gave the Knight faithful something to cheer about when he nailed a long 44-yard field goal.

Springville’s Tevita Valeti dominated the action as the Red Devils beat Orem (3-6, 2-3), 28-21. Springville (7-2, 4-1) also got a running touchdown by quarterback Lisate Valeti. Orem sophomore quarterback Branko Hansell-Fotu had his first varsity touchdown pass when he connected with Asher Young on a 15-yard score.

Wasatch’s Jojo Hyer had two touchdowns receiving from Mack Nelson to lead the Wasps to a 35-21 home win over Cedar Valley. Nelson also ran for another as Wasatch improved to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in league play. The Aviators got two touchdown runs from Chevas Gregory, one a 78-yard scamper to paydirt, but it wasn’t enough for Cedar Valley which fell to 2-7 overall and 0-5 in 5A Region 7.

Scheduling quirks for Week 10: Games this week across the state will be played on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. Some leagues will have epic clashes like Skyridge vs. American Fork, but others like 5A Region 7 will have teams playing in non-league tilts, or not playing altogether, as in Timpview’s case.

Maple Mountain and Orem will play Wednesday night as they host 4A Region 11 teams Mountain Crest and Ridgeline respectively. Cedar Valley will host Alta Friday from 5A Region 6.

On Thursday, the ALA Eagles will visit Judge Memorial in a 2A North clash. Meanwhile, 6A Region 3 and 4A Region 8 will play Friday night. Salem Hills from 4A Region 8 will have a non-region game against Bear River.

There are two main reasons for this complicated scheduling. First, many coaches would like extra time to prepare for the playoffs so they might schedule games on Wednesday and Thursday, and the other factor is when some school districts are having their fall breaks.

RPI rankings after Week 9: Even though teams do battle for region trophies, ultimately it’s the RPI that will determine the seeding for state tournaments. And there were some shake-ups in the latest RPI.

In 6A, American Fork sits atop of the RPI rankings while Corner Canyon is second. But Pleasant Grove, thanks to a big victory over Skyridge, jumped to No. 3 while the Falcons fell to No. 5. Sandwiched between them at No. 4 is fellow Region 3 rival Lehi. Lone Peak finds itself in the No. 9 position and Westlake sits at No. 16 and would have a first-round game based on these latest rankings.

In 5A, Timpview is ranked No. 1 while Springville moved up one position to No. 3. Maple Mountain, with two straight losses, has fallen to No. 15, one ahead of Wasatch at No. 16. Orem is No. 19 and Cedar Valley, at No. 23, is within the playoff threshold which is 24 teams.

In 4A, Provo is ranked No. 3 and will hope to hold off Ridgeline and Park City, which are just barely behind the Bulldogs. With its big win Friday over Salem Hills, Timpanogos moved up to No. 6 but Salem Hills fell one spot to No. 9. If that seed held, that means Salem Hills would have a first-round game. Payson moved up two spots to No. 15 as it beat rival Spanish Fork, which dropped two spots to No. 17. Mountain View is No. 19 while Uintah, which competes in 4A Region 8, is at No. 22. A total of 24 5A programs will participate in the playoffs.

In 2A, ALA is No. 10 out of 11 2A programs and all 2A schools are invited to the playoffs.

Big game of the week No. 1: American Fork (8-1, 3-1) hosts Skyridge (8-1, 3-1) in a game for at least a piece of the Region 3 title. And perhaps more importantly, critical RPI rankings are at stake. With a win, American Fork probably stays at the No. 1 position in the 6A RPI, but if the Cavemen lose, who knows. Both teams probably would like to be on the opposite side of the bracket from Corner Canyon, which sits at No. 2 currently and could move up to No. 1 if American Fork loses.

Big game of the Week No. 2: All Pleasant Grove (8-1, 3-1) needs to do is beat Lehi (7-2, 2-2) at home to earn a piece of the Region 3 title. But that won’t be an easy task as Lehi has won 28 of its last 30 games. The Vikings sit at No. 3 in the 6A RPI, while Lehi is just one behind them at No. 4. Skyridge, by the way, is right behind both teams at No. 5. If Pleasant Grove loses to Lehi, the American Fork vs. Skyridge winner will be the league champion outright.

Big game of the Week No. 3: The last four teams in the 2A RPI have one win each. This means ALA (1-8, 0-4) could really help itself out if it could defeat Judge Memorial (1-7, 0-4) on the road Thursday. A win could vault the Eagles to perhaps a No. 8 ranking, meaning they could actually host a first round game in the 2A playoffs. Two other teams with just one win also play in 2A this week when South Sevier hosts Grand County, so picking up this win is vital for ALA.

Extra Points: 5A Region 7 and 4A Region 11 have concluded league play so Orem will host Ridgeline this Wednesday. Though the contest has no ramifications in league standings, it’s sure a big game in regards to RPI. Ridgeline finds itself No. 4 in the 4A RPI right behind Provo with its 8-1 overall record. Provo is likely to finish 8-2 on its season, so a win by the Riverhawks could move them up past the Bulldogs. Even though Ridgeline is a 4A program, a win by Orem will only enhance its RPI … In another non-league contest that could have a huge impact on the RPI standings is Springville (7-2 and No. 3 in the 5A RPI) visiting Park City (9-0 and No. 5 in the 4A RPI). A loss by the Red Devils could hurt them as they are fractions ahead of No. 4 Box Elder, which also boasts a 7-2 overall record. The Bees host Bonneville (5-4) so a win by Springville over an 9-0 team should lock up the No. 3 seed, and who knows? It might push them ahead of No. 2 Roy, who also has a 7-2 overall mark and is hosting 4-5 Northridge … In the most bizarre match-up of Week 10, Green Canyon, 6-3 and a 4A RPI ranking of No. 7, will take on a team from Raymond, Canada. After a little research, Raymond is just a bit over the border and is a town of nearly 4,000 people. The school has just under 300 students or what would be a 2A school in Utah. They will drive about ten hours and 660 miles to get to Cache Valley, which is less distance and drive time then what it took Provo to get to the Fresno area to take on Clovis East High School. How this game is viewed in regards to the RPI is anyone’s guess. Timpanogos sits just one spot above Green Canyon in the RPI … There were just four games that pitted Utah County teams against programs outside the valley. The results were two wins against two losses, and Utah County programs are now 39-22 against competition outside the valley.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

Marcia Harris, Special to the Herald

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