1 / 3

The Skyridge football team takes the field before the start of a high school game against Corner Canyon on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

2 / 3

Springville quarterback Beckett Burton (16) tries to escape Spanish Fork's Kingston Johnson in a Region 7 football game on Thursday, October 8, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

3 / 3

Orem's Tanner Lewis throws a pass against Spanish Fork in a high school football game on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

❮ ❯

Prep football expert Brian E. Preece ranks all 118 Utah football programs in the Preece Power Poll (PPP).

I have been asked why I rank the 8-player rankings among the other teams or not separately and that is because on some occasions these teams will play 11-man football teams and actually beat these teams. However, Max Preps (MP) will rank the 11-player teams separately.

The Preece Power Poll (PPP) also lists the seeding in the UHSAA state tournaments based on the official RPI. So one can look at where teams fit in there also alongside the MP state rankings and the PPP.

Preece Power Poll vs. Max Preps vs. UHSAA RPI Seeds

Right off the bat there is a huge divergence where the PPP has 4A Ridgeline ranked No. 1 but MP sees them at No. 18. Last year Ridgeline finished No. 1 in the PPP and my rule is the top team from last year stays there until knocked off with a loss. Ridgeline is 10-0 and has a 24-game winning streak yet the MP poll isn’t that impressed. In fact, despite the Riverhawks winning all their games, they slid 12 spots in the MP rankings since the last PPP poll after week five. Ridgeline is the top seed in the 4A tourney but MP would have seeded them behind Crimson Cliffs (7-2), who is actually the No. 5 seed.

Meanwhile, MP seems to still hold 6A Bingham in high regard as well as 5A Brighton with MP rankings of 22 and 42 respectively, while the PPP sees Bingham (3-7) at No. 41 and Brighton (1-9) at No. 75. Both programs have national reputations, especially Bingham, that might account for their high ranking in the MP poll despite their actual less than stellar performance on the gridiron in 2026. Let’s just say the UHSAA RPI system generally agreed with the PPP assessment as Bingham is seeded No. 14 in the 6A tournament while Brighton didn’t make the 5A playoff field.

Meanwhile, the MP poll has absolutely no respect for Salem Hills (8-2), ranking the Skyhawks 20 spots lower than the PPP, No. 53 vs. No. 33. The Region 8 co-champs garnered a No. 7 seed, while the PPP would have actually rated them No. 9 among the 4A field. Provo, the other Region 8 co-champ, was rated as No. 32 in the PPP and No. 44 in the MP rankings but was given a very low seed at No. 14 by the UHSAA for the 4A tournament. The PPP would have seeded the Bulldogs at No. 8 and actually hosting a rematch against Salem Hills versus hitting the road to take on No. 3 seed Stansbury, who the PPP would have seeded No. 2. However, the Stallions weren’t seen as strong by the MP who had them No. 27 or the fourth best team in 4A. Still, a very tough draw for both teams that deserved a much easier first-round game.

In regards to Timpanogos, though the PPP viewed the Timberwolves as a better team than MP and the UHSAA RPI, they would have still missed the playoffs even if the PPP were used as they checked in at No. 17 for 4A teams.

In 5A the UHSAA RPI system seeded Timpview (4-6) No. 15, which seems awfully low creating a rematch with Orem (8-2), the No. 2 seed. Orem did beat the Thunderbirds earlier this season but it took a late field goal to notch that 17-14 win. The PPP would seed the Tigers first but has no qualm about West (10-0) receiving the top seed being undefeated. However, the PPP would have seeded Timpview No. 8. Pleasant Grove (6-4) is seeded No. 10 by the UHSAA and will play at No. 7 Spanish Fork (6-4) in an intra-county clash. But the PPP would have made the Vikings the No. 7 seed while Timpview would have hosted Spanish Fork (No. 9 in 4A in the PPP) in a rematch of their week 10 meeting won by the Thunderbirds.

However, I wish the UHSAA would develop a system where playing your own league in first round games is avoided. 5A Region 7, for example, had five teams qualify for the playoffs but four of them are pitted against each other in the first round.

In regards to Springville, seeded No. 5 for the 5A state tourney, the PPP sees the Red Devils as the No. 6 seed while MP would have seeded them fourth behind Orem, West and Bountiful. Actual No. 3 seed Box Elder (9-1) did get love from the PPP and the Bees are ranked No. 12 overall and No. 3 among 5A teams. But the MP sees Box Elder way differently and would have had them ranked at No. 9 for the state tourney. So here the UHSAA RPI seeding and PPP see more eye-to-eye.

In 6A, both the PPP and MP have Mountain Ridge (10-0) as the top team though the Sentinels were seeded by the UHSAA RPI as No. 2 behind 8-1 Skyridge who they actually beat head-to-head 41-26. Go figure.

The PPP and MP also see the Region 3 northern Utah County schools American Fork, Lehi, and Lone Peak as being severely underranked by the UHSAA. For example, American Fork (6-4) seeded No. 8 in the 6A tourney actually beat No. 5 seed Davis (7-3) 29-21. Lehi (5-5), as the No. 10 seed who drew Lone Peak in the 6A first round, also beat No. 4 ranked Herriman (8-2) head-to-head 22-20. The PPP and MP would have seeded Lone Peak No. 4, American Fork No. 5 and Lehi No. 6. All three teams did beat each other so there is an argument that any order 4-6 could easily be justified. Herriman and Davis would have been No. 7 and No. 8 respectively according to both the PPP and MP. Again, it would have been great to avoid that clash between Lehi and Lone Peak in the first round.

Westlake (7-3) got the No. 6 seed for the 6A state tournament though both the PPP and MP would have seeded them No. 10. Good news for Thunder fans as they will see their team get a home playoff game to start the 6A tournament against No. 11 seed Syracuse, who both the PPP and MP see as the No. 8 team in 6A. So expect a very tight contest between the Thunder and Titans.

Though Copper Hills (7-3) garnered the 6A No. 9 seed to meet American Fork, neither the PPP, nor the MP poll, is particularly impressed with the Grizzlies as they ranked No. 43 and No. 29 respectively and would have been seeded no better than No. 12 for the 6A tourney. The Cedar Valley (1-9) faithful won’t like the PPP’s or MP’s supposition that they shouldn’t be in the 6A playoffs though the Aviators actually garnered the No. 15 seed, one spot ahead of Riverton (2-8) who beat them 14-7. The 6A has 17 teams so Layton (2-8) got the short straw and missed the playoffs though both the PPP and MP would have had the Lancers seeded at No. 15.

In 2A, ALA (6-4) is seeded No. 5 ahead of No. 6 South Sevier (3-6) who did beat the Eagles soundly 40-6. But both teams will be huge underdogs in their playoff games against No. 4 South Summit (6-4) and No. 3 Summit Academy (7-3) respectively. San Juan (8-1) is the team to beat and is seeking its sixth straight state title.

In 3A, Morgan (8-2) got the top seed though it lost to No. 3 seed Logan (8-2) 32-22. Seeded between them is No. 2 Juab (8-2) who draws No. 7 seed Ogden, who got no respect in the RPI rankings despite beating No. 5 Grantsville 24-21. Both teams have identical 7-4 records.

Utah Military Academy-Camp Williams (5-6) won its first-round playoff in 8-man football taking out Monument Valley 45-6. The Marauders will now travel to southeastern Utah to take on No. 3 Monticello (7-2).

In 1A, Duchesne (9-1) is the deserving top seed but there are some good teams that could challenge such as No. 2 seed and defending 1A champs Kanab (7-3) or No. 3 Beaver (6-4). It is here that the PPP, MP and the UHSAA RPI ratings match up exactly.

Moving on up!: 5A West Field led the way moving up 23 spots from the mid-season PPP. The Longhorns have put together a nice 7-3 season. Moving down to 3A has really helped Logan and the Grizzlies were 8-2 and moved up 20 spots. Other significant upward movement came from 4A Skyline (+17), 5A Roy (+16) and 4A Park City (+15). Lehi led the way for county teams moving up 12 spots from No. 21 to crack the top ten at No. 9.

Sliding downward: 5A Brighton and 3A Grantsville both slid 23 spots while 3A Richfield fell 22 positions. 4A Murray, 5A West Jordan and 5A Bonneville lost 19, 18 and 17 spots respectively, while Payson and Maple Mountain both slid six spots to lead the valley.

Rank/School/Record/Previous Ranking (Change)/Max Preps Rank/RPI Seed

1. Ridgeline (4A) 10-0 1 (NC) 18 4A #1

2. Mountain Ridge (6A) 10-0 3 (+1) 1 6A #2

3. Skyridge (6A) 8-1 6 (+3) 2 6A #1

4. Corner Canyon (6A) 8-2 2 (-2) 3 6A #3

5. Orem (5A) 7-2 7 (+2) 4 5A #2

6. West (5A) 10-0 9 (+3) 5 5A #1

7. Lone Peak (6A) 5-5 5 (-2) 6 6A #7

8. American Fork (6A) 6-4 8 (NC) 7 6A #8

9. Lehi (6A) 5-5 21 (+12) 9 6A #10

10. Herriman (6A) 8-2 4 (-6) 10 6A #4

11. Davis (6A) 7-3 10 (-1) 8 6A #5

12. Box Elder (5A) 9-1 11 (-1) 31 5A #3

13. Stansbury (4A) 8-2 12 (-1) 27 4A #3

14. Bountiful (5A) 7-2 18 (+4) 11 5A #4

15. Alta (5A) 7-3 24 (+9) 19 5A #6

16. Springville (5A) 7-2 25 (+9) 12 5A #5

17. Hurricane (4A) 9-1 13 (-4) 24 4A #2

18. Crimson Cliffs (4A) 7-2 15 (-3) 14 4A #5

19. Syracuse (6A) 5-4 23 (+4) 17 6A #11

20. Snow Canyon (4A) 6-3 31 (+11) 30 4A #4

21. Pleasant Grove (5A) 6-4 28 (+7) 16 5A #10

22. Timpview (5A) 4-6 17 (-5) 13 5A #15

23. Spanish Fork (5A) 6-4 32 (+9) 23 5A #7

24. Westlake (6A) 7-3 30 (+6) 15 6A #6

25. Layton Christian (2A Ind) 8-2 19 (-6) 33 No playoffs

26. Pine View (4A) 5-4 16 (-10) 28 4A #11

27. Logan (3A) 8-2 47 (+20) 39 3A #3

28. Morgan (3A) 8-2 14 (-14) 20 3A #1

29. West Field (5A) 7-3 55 (+27) 60 5A #9

30. Fremont (5A) 6-4 20 (-10) 32 5A #8

31. Skyline (4A) 7-3 48 (+17) 36 4A #6

32. Provo (4A) 6-4 34 (+2) 44 4A #14

33. Salem Hills (4A) 8-2 35 (+2) 53 4A #7

34. Farmington (6A) 4-6 26 (-8) 21 6A #12

35. Olympus (5A) 5-5 49 (+14) 25 5A #12

36. Mountain Crest (4A) 7-3 46 (+10) 41 4A #10

37. Bear River (4A) 6-4 41 (+4) 57 4A #9

38. Sky View (4A) 5-5 45 (+7) 46 4A #13

39. San Juan (2A) 8-1 36 (-3) 26 2A #1

40. Copper Hills (6A) 7-3 43 (+3) 29 6A #9

41. Bingham (6A) 3-7 40 (-1) 22 6A #14

42. Highland (4A) 7-2 42 (NC) 52 4A #8

43. Weber (6A) 5-5 37 (-6) 48 6A #13

44. Ogden (3A) 6-4 58 (+14) 61 3A #7

45. Grantsville (3A) 6-4 22 (-23) 43 3A #4

46. Woods Cross (5A) 4-6 33 (-13) 35 5A #14

47. Juab (3A) 8-2 51 (+4) 40 3A #2

48. Park City (4A) 5-5 63 (+15) 62 4A #15

49. Richfield (3A) 8-2 27 (-22) 37 3A #5

50. Green Canyon (4A) 3-7 29 (-21) 45 Season Over

51. Cedar City (3A) 5-5 39 (-12) 59 3A #9

52. North Sanpete (3A) 6-4 38 (-13) 66 3A #8 (E)

53. Delta (2A) 8-2 50 (-3) 51 2A #2

54. Mountain View (4A) 6-4 64 (+10) 69 4A #16

55. Timpanogos (4A) 5-5 56 (+1) 71 Season Over

56. Summit Academy (2A) 7-3 77 (+21) 47 2A #3

57. Roy (5A) 4-6 73 (+16) 74 5A #16

58. Desert Hills (4A) 3-7 54 (-4) 38 Season Over

59. Hillcrest (5A) 8-2 69 (+10) 65 5A #11

60. Northridge (5A) 4-6 65 (+5) 76 Season Over

61. South Summit (2A) 6-4 61 (NC) 50 2A #4

62. Duchesne (1A) 9-1 66 (+4) 34 1A #1

63. Murray (4A) 7-3 44 (-19) 68 4A #12

64. Layton (6A) 2-8 53 (-11) 49 Season Over

65. Payson (5A) 3-7 59 (-6) 73 Season Over

66. Maple Mountain (5A) 2-8 60 (-6) 55 Season Over

67. Kanab (1A) 7-3 71 (+4) 54 1A #2

68. Riverton (6A) 2-8 62 (-6) 58 6A #16

69. Beaver (1A). 6-4 78 (+9) 56 1A #3

70. Viewmont (5A) 3-7 57 (-13) 64 Season Over

71. Manti (2A) 3-8 75 (+4) 67 3A #11

72. Canyon View (3A) 7-4 68 (-4) 63 3A #6 (E)

73. Granger (5A) 5-5 86 (+13) 80 5A #13

74. Hunter (5A) 4-6 85 (+11) 81 Season Over

75. Brighton (5A) 1-9 52 (-23) 42 Season Over

76. Dixie (4A) 2-8 70 (-6) 78 Season Over

77. Cedar Valley (6A) 1-9 74 (-3) 77 6A #15

78. Union (3A) 3-6 80 (+2) 83 3A #10 (E)

79. Uintah (4A) 3-7 81 (+3) 84 Season Over

80. North Summit (1A) 6-4 87 (+7) 72 1A #4

81. Millard (1A) 5-5 93 (+12) 75 1A #5

82. East (4A) 3-6 96 (+14) 87 Season Over

83. Enterprise (1A) 5-5 88 (+5) 70 1A #6

84. Bonneville (5A) 2-7 67 (-17) 85 Season Over

85. Jordan (4A) 4-6 89 (+4) 94 Season Over

86. South Sevier (2A) 3-6 94 (+8) 79 2A #6

87. Rich (1A-8) 7-3 92 (+5) NR 1A-8 #1

88. ALA (2A) 6-4 95 (+7) 92 2A #5

89. Clearfield (5A) 2-8 76 (-13) 90 Season Over

90. West Jordan (5A) 3-7 72 (-18) 88 Season Over

91. Wasatch (4A) 1-9 82 (-9) 86 Season Over

92. Tooele (3A) 3-7 79 (-3) 82 Season Over

93. Cyprus (5A) 2-8 83 (-10) 97 Season Over

94. Emery (2A) 2-8 84 (-10) 91 2A #8

95. Deseret Peak (4A) 0-10 90 (-5) 96 Season Over

96. Carbon (3A) 1-9 99 (+3) 98 3A #12 (E)

97. Juan Diego (4A) 1-9 100 (+3) 103 Season Over

98. Deer Creek (4A) 0-10 91 (-7) 102 Season Over

99. Gunnison (1A) 4-5 101 (+2) 89 1A #7

100. Milford (1A-8) 5-4 107 (+7) NR 1A-8 #2

101. Parowan (1A) 2-9 105 (+4) 93 1A #9

102. Monticello (1A-8) 7-2 106 (+4) NR 1A-8 #3

103. Grand (1A-8 Ind.) 6-3 110 (+7) NR No Playoffs*

104. Water Canyon (1A-8) 7-3 114 (+10) NR 1A-8 #4

105. North Sevier (1A) 3-7 98 (-7) 99 1A #8 (E)

106. Providence Hall (2A) 2-8 109 (+3) 95 2A #7

107. Judge Memorial (2A) 1-8 102 (-5) 100 2A #9 (E)

108. Whitehorse (1A-8) 6-4 108 (NC) NR 1A-8 #5

109. Ben Lomond (3A) 1-10 103 (-6) 101 3A #13 (E)

110. St. Joseph (1A-8) 4-6 111 (+1) NR 1A-8 #8

111. Taylorsville (5A) 1-9 97 (-14) 104 Season Over

112. UMA-CW (1A-8) 5-6 112 (NC) NR 1A-8 #6

113. Panguitch (1A-8) 4-6 115 (+2) NR 1A-8 #10

114. UMA-HF (1A-8) 3-7 113 (-1) NR 1A-8 #7 (E)

115. Kearns (5A) 0-9 104 (-11) 105 Season Over

116. Cottonwood (4A) 0-10 117 (+1) 106 Season Over

117. Altamont (1A-8) 1-9 116 (-1) NR 1A-8 #9 (E)

118. Monument Valley (1A-8) 1-8 118 (NC) NR 1A-8 #11 (E)

Utah County teams in bold print.

(NC) = No Change from Previous Ranking

NR = Not Rated in the Max Preps Top 11-man football programs

No Playoffs = Team played independent schedule and no playoff bid available

Season Over = Season Completed with no playoff bid

(E) = Eliminated in First Round of Playoffs on October 23

Utah County Rankings: 1. Skyridge (#2) 2. Orem #5 3. Lone Peak #7 4. American Fork #8 5. Lehi #9 6. Springville #16 7. Pleasant Grove #21 8. Timpview #22 9. Spanish Fork #23 10. Westlake #24 11. Provo #32 12. Salem Hills #33 13. Mountain View #54 14. Timpanogos #55 15. Payson #65 16. Maple Mountain #66 17. Cedar Valley #77 18. ALA #88 19. UMA-Camp Williams #112.