Preece Power Poll: State prep football finalists earned top spots in final power rankings
-
- Lone Peak players run onto the field before the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024.
-
- Timpview junior Jaron Pula runs the ball up the field during the 5A semifinal against Roy at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024.
-
- Spanish Fork senior Brock Jacobson (left) celebrates scoring the game-winning TD during the 4A semifinal game against Ridgeline at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
-
- Zaeden Selu of Skyridge (4) runs the football against Lone Peak in a 6A semifinal game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
-
- Lehi defenders make a tackle during the 6A semifinal game against Corner Canyon at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
Prep football expert Brian Preece ranks all 115 programs that play football in the Beehive State (Utah Valley teams in bold, area teams in italics):
Rank/School/Record/Previous Rank (Change)/Note
1. Corner Canyon (6A) 13-1 1 (NC) Chargers repeat as 6A state champions
2. Lone Peak (6A) 11-3 3 (+1) Knights just fall short in 6A title game
3. Skyridge (6A) 10-3 2 (-1) Falcons lose to rival Lone Peak in 6A semifinals
4. Lehi (6A) 9-3 5 (+1) Pioneer season ends in heartbreaking fashion
5. Morgan (3A) 13-0 6 (+1) Trojans only undefeated team in Utah in 2024
6. Bountiful (5A) 13-1 8 (+2) Redhawks claim 5A title
7. Roy (5A) 12-2 9 (+2) Royals two losses were to rival Bountiful
8. Timpview (5A) 8-3 4 (-4) Thunderbirds fell to Roy in 5A semifinals
9. Brighton (5A) 11-2 12 (+3) Bengals made 5A semifinals
10. Orem (5A) 9-3 10 (NC) Tigers dropped by Timpview in 5A quarterfinals
11. Maple Mountain (5A) 8-3 13 (+2) Golden Eagles pushed Bountiful in 4A playoff game
12. Crimson Cliffs (4A) 12-2 20 (+8) Mustangs make historic comeback to win 4A title
13. Spanish Fork (4A) 11-3 15 (+2) Dons lose heartbreaking 4A championship final
14. Olympus (5A) 7-4 11 (-3) Titans lose rematch to Brighton in 5A quarterfinals
15. Ridgeline (4A) 12-1 7 (-8) Spanish Fork gave RiverHawks only loss
16. Richfield (3A) 12-1 19 (+3) 25-game winning streak snapped by Morgan
17. Green Canyon (4A) 8-3 21 (+4) Wolves gave Crimson Cliffs a scare in 5A quarterfinals
18. Sky View (4A) 8-5 33 (+15) Bobcats upset Provo in 4A quarterfinals
19. Provo (4A) 8-3 14 (-5) Bulldogs win Region 8 title but fall at home in playoffs
20. American Fork (6A) 5-7 18 (-2) Cavemen upset No. 5 seed in 6A tournament
21. Park City (4A) 10-2 16 (-5) Miners have good year with just two losses
22. Viewmont (5A) 8-4 32 (+10) Vikings gave Bountiful its only loss in 2024
23. West (5A) 6-6 18 (-5) Lost a lot of close games in 2024
24. Farmington (6A) 5-6 22 (-2) The Phoenix rose from the ashes in second half of year
25. Fremont (6A) 8-4 23 (-2) Season ended by Skyridge in 6A quarterfinals
26. Davis (6A) 8-4 24 (-2) Darts started better than they finished
27. Stansbury (4A) 8-4 27 (NC) Stallions won Region 10 title.
28. Weber (6A) 7-5 35 (+7) Warriors had nice playoff win against Bingham
29. Northridge (5A) 7-5 31 (+2) Knights gave Maple Mountain a scare in 5A playoffs
30. Mountain Crest (4A) 7-4 34 (+4) Mustangs had solid season
31. Desert Hills (4A) 7-4 36 (+5) Thunder have solid but not spectacular year
32. East (5A) 6-6 28 (-4) Leopard season never got any traction
33. Bingham (6A) 5-6 25 (-8) 2024 campaign not up to Miner standards
34. Mountain Ridge (6A) 5-6 26 (-8) Sentinels were hoping for more in 2024
35. Woods Cross (5A) 7-5 30 (-5) Wildcats eliminated in 5A second round by Olympus
36. Springville (5A) 6-6 29 (-7) Red Devils took some tough losses in league play
37. Riverton (6A) 3-8 45 (+8) Silverwolves gave Skyridge a serious scare in playoffs
38. Syracuse (6A) 5-6 37 (-1) Titans fell to rival Fremont in 6A second round
39. Beaver (1A) 12-1 42 (+3) Beavers win third consecutive 1A state title
40. Alta (5A) 5-7 57 (+17) Hawks defeated in 5A second round by 5A champs
41. Herriman (6A) 3-8 39 (-2) Mustangs better than their record would indicate
42. Grantsville (3A) 9-3 44 (+1) Cowboys lost in 3A semifinals to Richfield
43. Salem Hills (4A) 6-5 38 (-5) Skyhawks fell to rival Spanish Fork in 5A second round
44. Manti (3A) 8-4 64 (+20) Templars played Morgan real tough in 3A semifinals
45. Westlake (6A) 3-9 50 (+5) Thunder manage to win a 6A playoff game
46. Uintah (4A) 8-4 43 (-3) Utes have good year and win playoff game
47. Wasatch (5A) 3-8 52 (+5) Wasps upset West Jordan in 5A playoffs
48. San Juan (2A) 11-2 56 (+8) Broncos win fourth straight 2A state title
49. Dixie (4A) 4-7 53 (+4) Flyers upset Pine View, lose to Provo in playoffs
50. Layton (6A) 4-7 46 (-4) After early success, six straight losses
51. West Jordan (5A) 6-5 47 (-4) Jaguars won league title but had short playoff run
52. Pleasant Grove (6A) 1-10 51 (-1) Rough season but Vikings nearly won playoff game
53. Granger (5A) 6-6 60 (+7) Lancers won some games this year
54. Juan Diego (3A) 6-6 69 (+15) Soaring Eagles gave Richfield a test in playoffs
55. Box Elder (5A) 4-7 48 (-7) Lost close one to Granger in 5A first round
56. Hurricane (4A) 5-7 54 (-2) Tigers show improvement over past few seasons
57. Cedar Valley (5A) 3-8 55 (-2) Aviators mostly grounded in tough Region 7
58. Bear River (4A) 4-8 70 (+12) Bears picked up nice playoff win over Timpanogos
59. Timpanogos (4A) 6-5 40 (-19) Timpanogos struggled in second half of season
60. Emery (2A) 9-3 62 (+2) Two of their losses were to 2A champs San Juan
61. Snow Canyon (4A) 4-8 66 (+5) Not a great year but won a playoff game
62. Bonneville (5A) 3-8 49 (-13) Lakers take a step back in 2024
63. Highland (5A) 3-7 58 (-5) Early season wins then region struggles
64. Juab (3A) 6-5 61 (-3) After beating Manti Wasps lost to them the next game
65. Layton Christian (2A) 6-4 68 (+3) Not allowed to compete in playoffs
66. Kanab (1A) 9-4 83 (+17) Cowboys finished strong and took second in 1A
67. North Summit (1A) 11-1 41 (-26) Braves were upset by Kanab in 1A semifinals
68. Ogden (3A) 7-4 71 (+3) Tigers had solid season
69. Milford (1A) 8-4 84 (+15) Played Beaver tough twice in 1A gridiron wars
70. Pine View (4A) 4-6 67 (-3) Panther season ended in loss to archrival Dixie
71. Cedar City (4A) 4-7 59 (-12) Reds had tough time in league play
72. Copper Hills (6A) 3-8 65 (-7) Like most years, wins come early, losses come late
73. Hunter (5A) 4-7 73 (NC) Three of four wins came in league play
74. Taylorsville (5A) 4-7 75 (+1) Early season successes weren’t sustained
75. Murray (4A) 6-5 63 (-12) Spartans derailed by Snow Canyon in 4A playoffs
76. Canyon View (3A) 6-6 72 (-4) Falcons win some, lose some
77. Tooele (4A) 4-7 74 (-3) Buffs season ends at Salem Hills
78. North Sanpete (3A) 3-8 80 (+2) Generally a rough season for the Hawks
79. Delta (2A) 5-7 81 (+2) Rabbits scurried to 2A semifinal appearance
80. Jordan (4A) 3-8 78 (-2) Beetdiggers trying to fight back to respectability
81. Mountain View (4A) 3-8 77 (-4) Rough second half of season for Bruins
82. West Field (4A) 1-10 78 (-4) Things should get better in 2025 for the Longhorns
83. Logan (4A) 2-8 79 (-4) Grizzlies didn’t make RPI cut for 4A playoffs
84. Payson (4A) 1-9 82 (-2) Lions missed playoffs
85. Clearfield (5A) 1-9 86 (+1) Another tough year for Falcon program
86. Rich (8-man) 10-3 88 (+2) 8-man state champs can win 11-man games too
87. Duchesne (1A) 5-6 87 (NC) 2024 season not as good as others in recent years
88. Skyline (5A) 1-10 89 (+1) 10 losses most in program history
89. Summit Academy (2A) 6-6 90 (+1) Bears win playoff game
90. South Sevier (2A) 5-6 85 (-5) Rams lost to Summit Academy in playoffs
91. South Summit (2A) 4-7 92 (+1) Wildcats had a better second half of season
92. Millard (1A) 4-7 91 (-1) 1A division was tough this year and Eagles suffered
93. Carbon (3A) 3-8 94 (+1) Program actually making incremental improvements
94. North Sevier (1A) 5-7 97 (+3) Wolves put together some wins in 2024 season
95. Judge Memorial (2A) 4-8 98 (+3) Not exactly where proud program wants to be
96. ALA (2A) 5-6 99 (+3) Eagles win 2A playoff game
97. Cyprus (5A) 1-10 93 (-4) Pirates miss playoffs for second straight season
98. Enterprise (1A) 2-9 95 (-3) Wolves took a step back after great season in 2023
99. Monticello (8-man) 8-4 101 (+2) Buckaroos win silver trophy in 8-man tournament
100. Union (3A) 2-9 101 (+1) Cougar program usually better than 2024 record
101. Hillcrest (4A) 1-9 102 (+1) Huskies did beat Cottonwood, otherwise futile
102. Kearns (5A) 0-10 96 (-6) A year to forget for winless Cougars
103. Cottonwood (4A) 0-10 103 (NC) Missing playoffs probably a good thing for the Colts
104. Parowan (1A) 2-9 104 (NC) Rams had a tough year
105. Grand (2A) 1-10 105 (NC) Rough season for the Red Devils
106. Altamont (8-man) 6-5 106 (NC) Longhorn program thriving in 8-man football
107. Water Canyon (8-man) 6-6 107 (NC) Wildcats make semifinals
108. St. Joseph (8-man) 5-5 108 (NC) Jayhawk program getting better and better
109. Ben Lomond (3A) 0-10 109 (NC) Rough times continue for Scot faithful
110. Whitehorse (8-man) 4-5 110 (NC) Raiders put together some wins this season
111. Gunnison (1A) 0-9 111 (NC) Bulldogs had winless campaign in 2024
112. Providence Hall (2A) 0-11 112 (NC) Only team in Utah to lose 11 games
113. UMA-Hillfield (8-man) 2-5 113 (NC) Bettered UMA-Camp Williams in 2024
114. UMA-CW (8-man) 2-7 114 (NC) Beat Monument Valley in back-to-back games
115. Monument Valley (8-man) 0-7 115 (NC) Cougars went winless in 2024 campaign
(NC) = No Change since the last rankings done prior to the playoffs starting
Utah County Rankings: 1. Lone Peak #2 2. Skyridge #2 3. Lehi #4 4. Timpview #8 5. Orem #10 6. Maple Mountain #11 7. Spanish Fork #13 8. Provo #19 9. American Fork #20 10. Springville #36 11. Salem Hills #43 12. Westlake #45 13. Pleasant Grove #52 14. Cedar Valley #57 15. Timpanogos #59 16. Mountain View #81 17. Payson #84 18. ALA #96 19. UMA-Camp Williams #114.
Notes: For the first time since 2016, no team from Utah County won a state title but it was still a great year for Utah County teams as they went 62-44 against teams outside the valley. Lone Peak and Spanish Fork finished just short of their ultimate goal by three and two points respectively. So close. But Utah County was definitely the dominant county in the state again with a total of five programs in the top 10 and a total of nine in the top 20 in the Preece Power Poll (PPP). 6A Region 3 was particularly dominant, producing three of the four 6A semifinalists and five of the eight teams in the quarterfinals.
Corner Canyon is definitely deserving of the top spot again in the PPP. And the Chargers did face some major adversity losing its starting quarterback Helaman Casuga and their star running back Bryton Brady during the season. But for Corner Canyon it was “next man up”, or in reality in the running back department, “next men up” as the Chargers showed off their incredible depth avenging their only loss on the season by downing Lone Peak 30-27 in a well-played 6A final. Corner head coach Eric Kjar won his fifth state title at the school, sixth overall, and the victory over Lone Peak was his 100th in his career with the Charger program.
6A provided the top four teams in the PPP but it could be argued from top to bottom that perhaps the 5A classification was deeper. The 5A classification has seven teams in the top 20 while 6A has five. And Region 1 champion Farmington didn’t even have a winning record this year.
4A was the chaotic classification. Crimson Cliffs will carry a 12-game winning streak into next year but the Mustangs were actually beaten up by eventual 3A champion Morgan, 41-13. Spanish Fork, the other finalist, lost to Provo 46-42 and also to 5A Maple Mountain. But the Dons certainly had the Mustangs on the ropes. Provo’s only losses were to 5A teams Brighton and Olympus and then being upset by Sky View in the quarterfinals. Green Canyon gave Crimson Cliffs all it wanted down in St. George, falling 28-25. And why the Wolves are ranked ahead of Sky View who made the semifinals is they beat the Bobcats head-to-head and played the eventual champs much closer. Park City lost just twice this year, once to Stansbury in region play and then a close one to Spanish Fork in the quarterfinals, 30-24.
As one can see it was a razor’s thin edge from winning the title or not even making it to the semifinals, so it wasn’t surprising the epic 4A championship game between Crimson Cliffs and Spanish Fork needed extra football for the Mustangs to eventually prevail 57-55 in triple overtime. Crimson Cliffs also pulled off the biggest comeback in state history when it overcame a 21-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime. The previous was a 20 point deficit overcome by San Juan in 1998 when it came back to defeat South Summit for the 2A title.
If the No. 5 PPP ranking for Morgan seems shocking, well, it shouldn’t be. The 3A Trojans beat two of the 4A semifinalists (Crimson Cliffs and Sky View), and beat them up badly. Morgan beat the 2-time 4A champs 41-13 and then shutout Sky View 34-0 in successive weeks. The Trojans were the only undefeated team in the state this year and they snapped Richfield’s 25-game winning streak by beating the Wildcats 13-2 in the championship final.
2A was a pretty weak classification this year. Since Layton Christian couldn’t compete in the state tournament only San Juan and Emery actually had winning records, and the Broncos easily took state. San Juan beat everyone so handily, including Emery, that the running clock came into play.
In 1A, Beaver didn’t get to avenge its only loss to North Summit as the Braves were beat by Kanab in the semifinals. But the Beavers downed Kanab to win the title. 1A was much better than 2A from top to bottom and provided its fans a great tournament.
It looks like 8-man football will expand to 12 programs next year as Panguitch will start up a program and Milford, due to low numbers, will go from 1A to 8-man level. The Utah School for the Deaf and Blind looks to have a program again in 2025. Rich again won the state tournament and put together a 10-win season with most of their wins coming in traditional 11-player football.
It should be noted that In five of the seven classifications, schools repeated as state champions.
RPI and PPP much closer aligned in 2024: The RPI seeds for the playoffs were generally pretty tight. Though the formula for RPI seeding hasn’t changed, perhaps coaches have figured out how to best augment their RPI ranking but also prepare for state competition when scheduling.
In 6A, both the RPI and PPP predicted the top four teams. The only discrepancy was the PPP saw American Fork as the fifth best team in 6A and the Cavemen were seeded No. 12. American Fork then defeated No. 5 seed Farmington 21-17 in a second round game.
In the 5A, the PPP saw Timpview as the top team but the RPI seeded the Thunderbirds No. 4, which proved to be a good seeding as No. 1 Roy knocked off the defending champs 29-19 in the semifinals. The PPP did rank Bountiful ahead of Roy and the No. 2 seed Redhawks defeated Roy for the state title 42-25, the very identical score they beat them in the regular season. The PPP would have had Roy and Bountiful meeting in one semifinal and Timpview vs. Brighton in the other based on its poll going into the tournaments, so the RPI got this one right.
In 4A, the PPP and RPI had similar views on the seeds and were a tad off. Both saw Ridgeline as the team to beat but the RiverHawks lost to Spanish Fork in the semifinals. The PPP had the Dons as the third best 4A team going into the tournament behind Ridgeline who they beat and Provo, the latter ended up getting upset by Sky View. Crimson Cliffs, the No. 3 seed, but No. 5 in the PPP, ended up taking state going through Sky View in the semifinals.
In 3A and 2A, the PPP were pretty much exactly the same as both saw Morgan and San Juan taking state respectively which they did.
In 1A, based on North Summit’s win earlier in the season over Beaver, the PPP put the Braves as the team to beat, while the RPI had Beaver as the top seed. The Beavers did take state but over No. 3 seed Kanab, who upset North Summit.
In the 8-man tournament both the RPI and PPP predicted/seeded the same outcome, Rich defeating Monticello for the championship and Altamont and Water Canyon as semifinalists.
Your weird factoid: Usually only the state champions will carry winning streaks into the next season. But so will Layton Christian and Cyprus. Layton Christian was not allowed to compete in the 2A playoffs because of their use of foreign exchange players but went 6-4 and defeated Summit Academy in its last game. Cyprus, who went 1-9, won its last game of the season against Taylorsville but didn’t qualify for the 5A playoffs due to its poor RPI rating.
Biggest Climbers in the Final Poll: The last PPP was before the playoffs started and Manti made the biggest move surging up 20 positions. The Templars made the 3A semifinals and really gave Morgan a good test before losing by 14 points. Kanab, with its big upset of North Summit, moved up 17 spots while its 1A rival Milford improved 15 positions. Alta also sprung forward 17 spots. Juan Diego also jumped up 15 positions, as did Sky View thanks to its upset win over Provo in the 4A quarterfinals. Westlake led Utah County, improving five spots.
Biggest Decliners in the Final Poll: It was up and down for North Summit, who made the biggest gain from the mid-season poll to the playoff poll, but slipped the most from playoff poll to the final poll losing 26 positions. Timpanogos had a rough end of its season including being upset in the first round of the 4A playoffs and slipped 19 spots to lead the valley. Also seeing significant slippage was Bonneville (13 spots), Cedar City (12 spots) and Murray (12 spots).
