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The American Fork football team prepares to take the field against Lehi on Friday, September 15, 2023.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Timpview players break through the homecoming sign before the Region 7 game against Orem at Provo High on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Lehi players run onto the field before the non-region game against Maple Mountain in Lehi on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Provo players stand for a moment of silence in remembrance of Alycia Weir before the Region 8 game against Timpanogos at Provo on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. Weir died in a car accident earlier in the week.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Skyridge quarterback Jackson Stevens warms up before the start of a high school football game at American Fork on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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The regular season is over and Utah Valley high school football teams are hoping to be at their best as the postseason gets underway.

Here’s prep football expert Brian E. Preece’s breakdown of how the teams stack up as they start their respect state tournaments (Utah Valley teams in bold):

Rank/School (Classification)/Record/Previous Ranking (Change)/RPI Ranking/Next Up

1. Corner Canyon (6A) 9-1 4 (+3) 6A #2 vs. Copper Hills/Layton winner

2. American Fork (6A) 9-1 3 (+1) 6A #1 vs. Fremont/Westlake winner

3. Skyridge (6A) 8-2 2 (-1) 6A #4 vs. Farmington (6A 2nd Round)

4. Lehi (6A) 8-2 1 (-3) 6A #3 vs. Riverton (6A 2nd Round)

5. Pleasant Grove (6A) 8-2 5 (NC) 6A #5 vs. Herriman (6A 2nd Round)

6. Timpview (5A) 7-2 7 (+1) 5A #1 vs. Wasatch/Orem winner

7. Davis (6A) 9-1 9 (+2) 6A #6 vs. Weber (6A 2nd Round)

8. Lone Peak (6A) 4-6 10 (+2) 6A #10 @ Mountain Ridge (6A 2nd Round)

9. Bingham (6A) 5-5 11 (+2) 6A #8 vs. Syracuse (6A 2nd Round)

10. Crimson Cliffs (4A) 9-1 12 (+2) 4A #2 vs. Cedar/Pine View winner

11. Sky View (4A) 9-0 15 (+4) 4A #1 vs. Spanish Fork/Bear River winner

12. Mountain Ridge (6A) 7-2 6 (-6) 6A #7 vs. Lone Peak (6A 2nd Round)

13. Provo (4A) 8-2 17 (+4) 4A #3 vs. Payson/Mountain View winner

14. West (5A) 6-3 19 (+5) 5A #6 vs. Alta/Highland winner

15. Brighton (5A) 7-3 13 (-2) 5A #8 vs. Woods Cross/Taylorsville winner

16. Olympus (5A) 6-3 25 (+8) 5A #5 vs. West Jordan/Northridge winner

17. Springville (5A) 8-2 18 (+1) 5A #2 vs. Kearns/East winner

18. Park City (4A) 9-1 20 (+2) 4A #4 vs. Dixie/Logan winner

19. Timpanogos (4A) 8-2 22 (+3) 4A #5 vs. Mountain Crest/Tooele winner

20. Syracuse (6A) 7-3 8 (-12) 6A #9 @ Bingham (6A 2nd Round)

21. Box Elder (5A) 8-2 14 (-7) 5A #4 vs. Maple Mountain./Viewmont winner

22. Roy (5A) 8-2 24 (+2) 5A #3 vs. Bonneville/Hunter winner

23 Granger (5A) 7-3 52 (+29)5A #7 vs. Bountiful/Cedar Valley winner

24. Herriman (6A) 5-5 23 (-1) 6A #12 @ Pleasant Grove (6A 2nd Round)

25. Salem Hills (4A) 7-3 26 (+1) 4A #9 vs. Uintah

26. Orem (5A) 4-6 30 (+4) 5A #17 @ Wasatch

27. San Juan (2A) 9-0 33 (+6) 2A #1 vs. Judge Memorial/Grand winner

28. East (5A) 4-5 31 (+3) 5A #18 @ Kearns

29. Alta (5A) 7-3 32 (+3) 5A #11 vs. Highland

30. Ridgeline (4A) 8-2 16 (-14)4A #6 vs. Stansbury/Jordan winner

31. Bountiful (5A) 6-4 41 (+10)5A #10 vs. Cedar Valley

32. Morgan (3A) 7-3 45 (+13)3A #3 vs. Ben Lomond/Union winner

33. Woods Cross (5A) 6-4 39 (+6) 5A #9 vs. Taylorsville

34. Richfield (3A) 10-0 50 (+16)3A #1 vs. Ogden/Juan Diego winner

35. Maple Mountain (5A) 5-5 27 (-8) 5A #13 vs. Viewmont

36. Mountain Crest (4A) 5-5 35 (-1) 4A #12 vs. Toeele

37. Green Canyon (4A) 7-3 37 (NC) 4A #8 vs. Salem Hills/Uintah winner

38. Snow Canyon (4A) 7-3 34 (-4) 4A #7 vs. Desert Hills/Hurricane winner

39. Stansbury (4A) 6-4 21 (-18) 4A #11 vs. Jordan

40. Payson (4A) 5-5 61 (+21)4A #14 vs. Mountain View

41. Kearns (5A) 5-5 46 (+5) 5A #15 vs. East

42. Weber (6A) 6-4 51 (+9)6A #11 vs. Davis

43. West Jordan (5A) 5-5 28 (-15) 5A #12 vs. Northridge

44. Bonneville (5A) 5-5 36 (-8) 5A #14 vs. Hunter

45. Dixie (4A) 4-6 44 (-1) 4A #13 vs. Logan

46. Desert Hills (4A) 5-4 43 (-3) 4A #10 vs. Hurricane

47. Spanish Fork (4A) 3-6 29 (-18) 4A #16 vs. Bear River

48. Hunter (5A) 5-4 38 (-10) 5A #19 @ Bonneville

49. Wasatch (5A) 3-6 69 (+20)5A #16 vs. Orem

50. Highland (5A) 3-6 40 (-10) 5A #22 @ Alta

51. Manti (3A) 8-2 59 (+8) 3A #2 vs. Juab/North Sanpete winner

52. Farmington (6A) 2-7 54 (+2) 6A #13 @ Skyridge (6A 2nd Round)

53. Canyon View (3A) 8-2 49 (-4) 3A #4 vs. Grantsville/Carbon winner

54. Northridge (5A) 4-6 47 (-7) 5A #21 @ West Jordan

55. Bear River (4A) 3-7 48 (-7) 4A #17 @ Spanish Fork

56. South Summit (2A) 8-2 64 (+8) 2A #2 vs. Delta/South Sevier winner

57. Riverton (6A) 1-8 42 (-15) 6A #14 vs. Lehi (6A 2nd Round)

58. Copper Hills (6A) 4-6 53 (-6) 6A #15 vs. Layton

59. Viewmont (5A) 4-6 60 (+1) 5A #20 @ Maple Mountain

60. Cedar City (4A) 3-6 69 (+9) 4A #15 vs. Pine View

61. Pine View (4A) 3-6 58 (-3) 4A #18 @ Cedar City

62. Cedar Valley (5A) 2-8 55 (-7) 5A #23 @ Bountiful

63. Westlake (6A) 1-9 56 (-7) 6A #17 @. Fremont

64. Fremont (6A) 2-8 62 (-2) 6A #16 vs. Westlake

65. Beaver (1A) 9-1 65 (NC) 1A #1 vs. Gunnison/Parowan winner

66. Grantsville (3A) 5-5 67 (+1) 3A #5 vs. Carbon

67. Ben Lomond (3A) 6-4 77 (+10)3A #6 vs. Union

68. Juab (3A) 5-5 70 (+2) 3A #7 vs. North Sanpete

69. Mountain View (4A) 3-7 89 (+20)4A #19 @ Payson

70. Logan (4A) 2-7 66 (-4) 4A #20 @ Dixie

71. Enterprise (1A) 9-1 57 (-14) 1A #3 vs. North Summit (1A 2nd Round)

72. Duchesne (1A) 9-1 63 (-9) 1A #2 vs. Milford/North Sevier winner

73. Layton Christian (2A) 5-4 87 (+14)2A #3 vs. Providence Hall/ALA winner

74. Emery (2A) 6-3 73 (-1) 2A #4 vs. Summit Academy (2A 2nd Round)

75. Juan Diego (3A) 3-6 94 (+19)3A #9 @ Ogden

76. Ogden (3A) 4-6 76 (NC) 3A #8 vs. Juan Diego

77. Kanab (1A) 6-4 74 (-3) 1A #4 vs. Millard

78. Millard (1A) 5-5 80 (+2) 1A #5 @ Kanab

79. Delta (2A) 5-5 81 (+2) 2A #7 vs. South Sevier

80. Uintah (4A) 2-8 86 (+6) 5A #24 @ Salem Hills

81. Tooele (4A) 4-6 88 (+7) 5A #21 @ Mountain Crest 82. Jordan (4A) 3-6 84 (+2) 4A #22 @ Stansbury

83. Summit Academy (2A) 6-4 64 (-19) 2A #5 @ Emery (2A 2nd Round)

84. Providence Hall (2A) 6-4 82 (-2) 2A #6 vs. ALA

85. Cyprus (5A) 2-8 75 (-10) 5A #25 Season Over

86. Cottonwood (4A) 2-8 95 (+9) 4A #25 Season Over

87. North Sanpete (3A) 2-8 91 (+4) 3A #10 @ Juab

88. Union (3A) 1-8 85 (-3) 3A #11 @ Ben Lomond

89. Murray (5A) 1-9 96 (+7) 5A #26 Season Over

90. Layton (6A) 0-9 71 (-19) 6A #18 @ Copper Hills

91. North Summit (1A) 6-4 83 (-8) 1A #6 @ Enterprise (1A 2nd Round)

92. Milford (1A) 4-6 90 (-2) 1A #7 vs. North Sevier

93. Hurricane (4A) 2-8 79 (-14) 4A #23 @ Pine View

94. Hillcrest (4A) 1-9 93 (-1) 4A #27 Season Over

95. Gunnison (1A) 5-4 100 (+5)1A #8 vs. Parowan

96. Clearfield (5A) 0-10 93 (-3) 5A #27 Season Over

97. Skyline (5A) 0-10 78 (-19) 5A #26 Season Over.

98. Taylorsville (5A) 1-9* 98 (NC) 5A #24 @ Woods Cross

99. Rich (1A-8) 5-4 105 (+6) 1A-8 #1 BYE

100. Judge Memorial (2A) 2-7 99 (-1) 2A #8 vs. Grand

101. Monticello (1A-8) 5-4 106 (+5)1A-8 #2 vs. Monument Valley

102. Altamont (1A-8) 6-2 108 (+6)1A-8 #3 vs. St. Joseph

103. Carbon (3A) 1-9 98 (-5) 3A #12 @ Grantsville

104. Grand (2A) 2-8 104 (NC)2A #9 @ Judge Memorial

105. ALA (2A) 1-9 101 (-4) 2A #11 @ Providence Hall

106. Parowan (1A) 1-9 107 (+1)1A #9 @ Gunnison

107. North Sevier (1A) 1-9 103 (-4)1A #10 @ Milford

108. Water Canyon (1A-8) 4-4 110 (+2)1A-8 # vs. Whitehorse

109. South Sevier (2A) 1-9 102 (-7) 2A #10 @ Delta

110. Whitehorse (1A-8) 3-4 109 (-1)1A-8 #5 @ Water Canyon

111. St. Joseph (1A-8) 1-7 112 (+1)1A-8 #6 @ Altamont

112. Monument Valley (1A-8) 1-4 111 (-1) 1A-8 #7 @ Monticello

113. USDB (1A-8) 0-2 113 (NC)1A-8 Season Over

* A win was awarded to Taylorsville when Chatfield, Colorado used ineligible players in their game

NC = No Change since last rankings

Utah County Rankings: 1. American Fork #2 2. Skyridge #3 3. Lehi #4 4. Pleasant Grove #5 5. Timpview #6 6. Lone Peak #8 7. Provo #13 8. Springville #17 9. Timpanogos #19 10. Salem Hills #25 11. Orem #26 12. Maple Mountain #35 13. Payson #40 14. Spanish Fork #47 15. Cedar Valley #62 16. Westlake #63 17. Mountain View #69 18. ALA #105.

Playoff Notes: While the Preece Power Poll (PPP) is based on who I believe are the best teams, the RPI rankings are what are actually used for seeding for the state tournaments. Below is a classification breakdown.

6A Notes: Utah County teams dominate both the PPP and the RPI, but there are a couple of critical differences in how each views the power of the top teams. American Fork (9-1) received the No. 1 seed in the RPI while Corner Canyon (9-1) is No. 2. With Lehi (8-2) getting a RPI ranking of No. 3, they will be on the same side of the bracket as Corner Canyon. Meanwhile, Skyridge (8-2) and Pleasant Grove (8-2) will be at No. 4 and No. 5 seeds respectively, or on the same side of the bracket as American Fork.

The rationale of choosing Corner Canyon as No. 1 over American Fork in the PPP is that the Cavemen lost to Lone Peak (4-6), who doesn’t have a winning record though obviously is still a dangerous team, while the Chargers lost to nationally ranked Bishop Gorman out of Las Vegas.

Lone Peak might be slightly undervalued in the RPI. They did defeat No. 8 seed Bingham (5-5), though they lost to No. 7 Mountain Ridge (7-2), who Bingham beat. Don’t be shocked to see the Knights pull off a second round upset and get that revenge win over the Sentinels in the 5A second round. Then a meeting with Corner Canyon could await in the quarterfinals.

If the top five seeds play up to their seeds, you could see a Pleasant Grove vs. Skyridge quarterfinal where Skyridge will want to avenge that overtime loss to the Vikings. Then the other team that beat the defending champs could be waiting in the semifinals in American Fork. No. 17 seed Westlake (1-9) will visit No. 16 Fremont (2-8) in a first round game with the winner moving on to take on top-seeded American Fork.

5A Notes: The 5A classification always has the most questionable seeding but not necessarily at the top. Timpview (8-2) at No. 1 and Springville (8-2) at No. 2 does make as much sense as anything.

Region 5 had some interesting results and Roy (8-2) won the league title and will be the No. 3 seed, though one of the teams that beat Roy is Box Elder (8-2) at No. 4. But the Bees lost to No. 9 seed Woods Cross (6-4) two weeks ago and No. 10 Bountiful (6-4) three weeks ago.

The two teams that are grossly under-seeded are Orem (4-6) at No. 17 and East (4-5) at No. 18. The Tigers did take some losses but they played a very tough schedule and had a lot of injuries. But when some of these injured players returned we saw what they could do when they thrashed 4A Ridgeline (8-2) last week, 59-14.

I’m sure Timpview fans weren’t exactly thrilled to see Orem on the No. 17 line. Orem will play at No. 16 Wasatch (3-6), a team they beat 44-0 missing some of their key players. And wouldn’t it be nice if the UHSAA could adjust seeds slightly to prevent teams from the same region playing in the first round? The fun part of going to state is seeing how your league stands up to the others.

East (4-5) will visit No. 15 Kearns (5-5) with the winner of that game taking on Springville. Any match-up will feature run-heavy teams. Springville has been able to win some close games while East has struggled in the close ones. Kearns has won three in a row and four of their last five games.

West (6-3) is probably under-seeded, and though they won their league and beat Olympus (7-3) head-to-head, the Panthers find themselves as the No. 6 seed while Olympus will be the No. 5 seed. West lost to two out-of-state teams and American Fork. But sometimes taking a lesser seed is beneficial as they avoided the top half of the bracket where Timpview looms.

No. 13 Maple Mountain (5-5) will host No. 20 Viewmont (4-6), who has won their last two games and gave Box Elder a scare losing by just three points. And the winner of this game will play at Box Elder.

Cedar Valley (2-8), as the No. 23 seed, will be a huge underdog when they visit traditional powerhouse Bountiful (6-4), who was the team that initially ruined Box Elder’s quest for a perfect season.

There is one absurdity in the 5A tournament and that was Taylorsville (1-9*) earning the No. 24 seed. The Warriors didn’t win a game on the field but received a forfeit victory over Chatfield, Colorado because that team used ineligible players. That gave Taylorsville enough RPI points to move to No. 24 leapfrogging Cyprus (2-8). The Pirates beat the Warriors handily 48-26 and won two games on the actual field of play.

The proper thing would be for Chatfield to vacate that win but not credit Taylorsville a victory. That’s what was done when USC won the national championship in football but had to vacate the title because of the Reggie Bush situation. But Oklahoma was not declared the national champion, the championship was simply vacated. Cyprus shouldn’t be penalized because of Chatfield using ineligible players and common sense needs to prevail when we actually have a result of the two teams playing each other.

There is no defending state champion in 5A as Lehi moved up to the 6A classification.

4A Notes: It’s hard to argue that undefeated Sky View (9-0) doesn’t deserve the No. 1 seed. But perhaps No. 2 Crimson Cliffs (9-1), their only loss coming to 6A Bingham by three points, is the team to beat.

But how about those Provo Bulldogs, who put together an 8-2 season, its best since the 1980s? The Bulldogs earned the No. 3 seed and will play the winner of the No. 19 Mountain View (3-7) vs. No. 14 Payson (5-5) game.

Payson did play Provo very tight, though if there is a rematch, the Lions will have to go on the road. Since the RPI format has been used for seeding, Provo has suffered some excruciating losses at home in the second round, but the Bulldog faithful have high hopes that this year will be different.

No. 5 Timpanogos (8-2) got a huge win to finish their regular season against Spanish Fork (3-6) and actually moved up a spot from Week 9 to the No. 5 seed. Timpanogos will play the winner of No. 21 Tooele (4-6) vs. No. 13 seed Mountain Crest (5-5).

The Mustangs have a lot of tradition and played 5A Maple Mountain very tough last week. If Timpanogos can get past the second round, a possible rematch with No. 4 Park City (9-1) could happen. One of the Timberwolf losses came to Park City by just two points.

Salem Hills (7-3) finished as the No. 9 seed meaning the Skyhawks won’t get a first round bye. In another intra-region contest Salem Hills will host No. 24 Uintah (2-8). The Utes did play Salem Hills close losing by just seven points, but that game was in Vernal and now Salem Hills will get this game on its home turf.

Though Spanish Fork went 3-6, it did enough to earn a No. 16 seed and a home game against No. 17 seed Bear River (3-7). If the Dons can get past the Bears, they would head north to Cache Valley to go up against top-seeded Sky View.

The RPI did a decent job seeding the 4A tournament, though there will always be some upsets. There just isn’t a huge difference between teams toward the top all they way through, say to Bear River at No. 17.

And by the way, five of the eight first round games have teams playing another team from their own league. I think the UHSAA should get this fixed.

Desert Hills (5-4) is the defending 4A champion but aren’t a realistic threat to win the state title this season.

3A Notes: Richfield is 10-0 and earned the top seed in the 3A tournament, while Manti (8-2) will be the No. 2 seed. But the team to beat will be the returning state champions Morgan Trojans (7-3). Though Morgan has three losses, all of them came to teams in higher classifications including one to Crimson Cliffs.

No. 7 seed Juab (5-5) will host No. 10 North Sanpete (2-8) with the winner taking on No. 2 seed Manti (8-2). Juab lost to Manti just last week 35-17, though the Templars led just 21-17 after three quarters.

2A Notes: San Juan (9-0) hasn’t tasted defeated since the 2020 season and will be tough to dethrone this year. The Broncos have gone over 60 points in six of their 10 games with their closest game being a 66-43 win against Layton Christian (5-4) in week one. The Eagles are seeded No. 3 by the way.

In a battle of charter schools, No. 11 seed ALA (1-9) out of Spanish Fork will visit No. 6 seed Providence Hall (6-4) with the winner taking on the aforementioned Layton Christian.

1A Notes: No. 1 Beaver, No. 2 Duchesne and No. 3 Enterprise are all 9-1 having beat each other. Enterprise took a loss to Beaver just last week. Meanwhile, Duchesne gave Beaver its only loss early in the season, while Enterprise topped Duchesne.

Beaver and Duchesne have impressive traditions while Enterprise is a program that has come on strong the past few seasons. This classification doesn’t have a defending state champion as Layton Christian went 2A this season. They defeated Kanab last year in the championship game and the Cowboys, also having a great tradition on the gridiron, shouldn’t be taken lightly. Kanab has a 6-4 record and will be the No. 4 seed in this year’s tournament.

1A 8-player Notes: Gunnison (5-4) moved up to 1A 11-player football so this classification will also not have a defending state champion.

Rich (5-4) plays in a Wyoming league for most of its schedule but is undefeated in its three games in the 8-player format. The Rebels will be the No. 1 seed. Monticello (5-4), who also plays a mixture of 8-player and 11-player games, will be the No. 2 seed, while Altamont (6-2) will be the No. 3 seed.

These teams seem to be a cut above the other four teams in the tournament. For No. 6 seed St. Joseph (1-7), this will be their first ever state tournament. The Utah School for the Deaf and Blind (USDB) just played two games, losing both, and chose not to participate in the playoffs for the second straight season so Rich will have a bye in the first round and take on the Whitehorse (3-4) vs. Water Canyon (4-4) winner.

Biggest climbers in the PPP: There were three Utah County/area programs that moved up significantly in the poll led by Payson and Mountain View moving up 21 and 20 positions respectively. Wasatch also improved 20 spots. Granger (7-3), who won the 5A Region 4 title, made the biggest jump in the state going up 29 spots since the mid-season poll.

Biggest decliners in the PPP: Three teams lost 19 spots in Layton (0-10), Skyline (0-10) and Summit Academy (6-4). Spanish Fork slipped the most of the Utah County programs, regressing 18 positions, while Stansbury (6-4) saw the same slippage.