Payson overcame a 33-0 third quarter deficit by scoring 37 straight points for a stunning 37-33 victory against Wasatch. According to Utah prep football prep historian George Felt, it was the biggest comeback in state history.

When Wasatch’s Logan Dunn scored on a 6-yard run with 9:33 left in the third quarter, it certainly didn’t look good for the Lion faithful. But Payson quarterback Trevyn Wall and his teammates weren’t quite ready to give up.

Wall hit Bryson Gull on a 9-yard touchdown connection and after a successful two-point conversion, Payson trailed 33-8. Three minutes later, Wall connected with his brother, Carson, on a 7-yard score and after another successful two-point conversion Payson were down 17 points, 33-16.

This just opened the door for more Lion heroics in the final stanza.

David Fullmer hauled in Wall’s third straight touchdown pass on a 58-yarder. Payson kicked the standard extra point and now trailed by just ten points. Then with 4:40 remaining, the Wall brothers hooked up again on a 22-yard completion which trimmed the lead to 33-30.

Payson’s defense had to stand up strong and get a stop and did just that. Payson drove deep into Wasp territory but instead of going back to the air, Trevyn Wall ran it in the end zone with just 28 ticks left on the scoreboard. The extra point from David Fullmer was critical as it gave the Lions a 4-point lead, requiring Wasatch to get a touchdown to win. But Payson’s defense stood firm one last time and the Lions made history.

The win was just Payson’s second against six losses while Wasatch dropped to 3-5 and 1-4 in league play. Payson will need all the confidence it can muster as it travels to Orem (6-2, 5-0) while hopes to recover when it hosts Maple Mountain (1-7, 1-4).

Delays: While the weather for the West Virginia vs. BYU game was relatively nice with showers, northern Utah got hit pretty hard because of lengthy lightning delays. All of 6A Region 1 action had to finish Saturday as did two games in 5A Region 5 and a non-region clash between West Field and Layton, eventually won by West Field 27-25. Syracuse ended up whipping Weber 33-26, Davis darted past Farmington 21-10, and Clearfield beat Bonneville 35-19.

Other contests had delays but were still able to finish their games Friday night though a source said the game between Kearns and Taylorsville, won by Taylorsville 14-7, finished around midnight.

Provo tops Park City: The Provo Bulldogs took control of 4A Region 8 by beating Park City 17-14. Provo’s last two games will be at home against Uintah and Mountain View respectively so the Bulldogs look good to win their third straight league title trophy.

Latest RPI: Though winning region championships is a nice thing, ultimately it’s the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) that really matters in determining seeds. In 6A Region 3 where teams beat up on each other every week, the RPI system generally works in their favor.

Corner Canyon is back on top of the 6A RPI with Skyridge in second and Davis now in third. Herriman is in fourth while Mountain Ridge is in fifth though the Sentinels just beat Herriman this past week.

Lone Peak and American Fork are sixth and seventh. The Knights have lost two straight including dropping a game to American Fork. Westlake is having a great season and checks in at No. 9 while Lehi, which just beat American Fork, sits at No. 10. Cedar Valley is at No. 17 out of 17 6A schools.

In 5A, Region 7 and two Utah County teams, Orem and Springville, claim the top two positions. West, Fremont and Brighton round out the top five respectively.

One will not find another Utah County team until Timpview at No. 13 followed by Pleasant Grove at No. 14. Spanish Fork is at No. 20, Wasatch, despite losing to Payson, is at No. 23 while the Lions check in at No. 25. Maple Mountain finds itself at No. 27 out of 29 5A programs. The top 24 make the playoffs in 5A so Payson and the Golden Eagles find themselves outside looking in.

Though Orem is No. 1 in the RPI, its last two games are against Payson and Maple Mountain so it will be interesting to see if they can hold on to the top spot, though Springville’s last two contests against Spanish Fork (3-5) and Wasatch might not help the Red Devils enough to overtake Orem. But West (7-1) with games against 7-1 Granger and 4-4 Cyprus could leap both, and Fremont (6-2) isn’t out of the picture yet for a top seed as it ends its season with games against West Field (6-2) and 3-5 Roy.

In 4A, Provo’s tough early schedule has paid off and the Bulldogs, in spite of just being 4-4 overall find themselves at No. 5 in the ratings. Undefeated Ridgeline is No. 1, followed by the defending champs Crimson Cliffs at No. 2. At No. 3 and No. 4 are two other Region 9 teams in Pine View and Snow Canyon. Salem Hills and Timpanogos are at No. 13 and No. 14 respectively, while Mountain View finds itself at No. 18.

American Leadership Academy (ALA) sits at No. 7 in the 2A rankings while Utah Military Academy-Camp Williams (UMACW) is at No. 5 out of 11 schools playing 8-man football. By the way, Escalante decided to bow out of having a team so UMACW didn’t have a game this past week.

Cedar is ranked No. 1 in 3A, South Sevier tops 2A, Duchesne is the top-ranked program in 1A and Rich is No. 1 in the 8-man ratings.

Friday’s Football Scores