SALT LAKE CITY — Week 8 was messy across Utah high school football, and not just because of the severe thunderstorms, lightning and flooding in parts of the Wasatch Front.
Mother nature didn't always cooperate with Week 8, with several games delayed until late Friday night, and as many as five finished on Saturday afternoon. But that wasn't the only chaos from the weekend.
The list of undefeated teams is dwindling, including the last 6A team without a loss falling via Mountain Ridge's 24-8 win over crosstown rival Herriman. A day earlier, Skyridge handed Lone Peak a 37-34 loss on senior night in Lehi — the second straight loss by the only team from the Beehive State to beat Corner Canyon.
Add in Lehi's 26-3 thumping of American Fork, and the transitive property — Team X beat Team Y, but lost to Team Z which beat Team X — starts to get complicated, especially in Region 3, where three of the five teams are tied for second at 1-1 in region play.
It should make for a really exciting end to the regular season, plus playoffs. So who stacks up at the top? Your guess is as good as the rest of us.
1. Corner Canyon (6-1, 1-1 6 A Region 3)
The Chargers responded well to their first loss by thumping Skyridge 49-14, then watched as the Falcons did work for them during an off week. Thursday night against American Fork provides another chance at a statement.
2. Davis (7-1, 2-0 6A Region 1)
Tradon Bessinger threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns spread out over two days due to weather, both to newly named four-star recruit Bode Sparrow to go with 163 receiving yards, as the Darts rallied from 10-7 down to a 21-10 win over Farmington.
3. Ridgeline (8-0, 5-0 4A Region 11)
We've heard your arguments about doing it in 4A. But the Riverhawks keep rolling, with BYU commit Graham Livingston scoring his 11th and 12th touchdowns of the year in a 40-6 rout of Stansbury.
4. Skyridge (6-2, 2-1 6A Region 3)
Lincoln Tahi officially ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns, and Kaneal Sweetwyne threw for 231 yards and two scores as the Falcons topped off a brutal five-week stretch with a 37-34 overtime win over Lone Peak that makes Skyridge the first team to two wins in the SEC of Utah high school football.
5. West (7-1, 5-0 5A Region 4)
Kamden Lopati has the Panthers rolling since their 6-point loss to American Fork, scoring six touchdowns (not a typo!) in West's fifth straight win, a 63-0 result over West Jordan. The Panthers' defense has allowed 27 total points in region play.
6. Lone Peak (5-3, 1-2 6A Region 3)
The Knights have been on a roller coaster ride over the past three weeks, and should hope to stabilize Thursday at home against Lehi and in next week's regular-season finale at Bingham.
7. Mountain Ridge (6-2, 4-0 6A Region 2)
Move over, Mustangs; the Sentinels proved the dominant team in Region 2, wrapping up their fifth straight win after midnight after starting the season 1-2 with losses to Skyridge and Davis.
8. Orem (6-2, 5-0 5A Region 7)
Alabama commit Tayden Ka'awa threw for five touchdowns, including two to BYU commit Kaue Akana, as the Tigers showed why they are the top-rated 5A team in the UHSAA's RPI ratings with a 50-7 win over Pleasant Grove.
9. Lehi (4-3, 1-1 6A Region 3)
After losses to Skyridge and Herriman by a combined 5 points, BYU commit Devaughn Eka and the Pioneers have something to say after holding the Cavemen without a touchdown in a game called with 9:40 left in the fourth quarter due to lightning.
10. American Fork (6-2, 1-1 6A Region 3)
The Cavemen can send a message of their own. All they have to do is send it against ... *checks notes* ... Corner Canyon and Skyridge. But things have been know to change quickly around here.
Here's the rest of the Top 20, plus one team that caught our attention this week:
- 11 - Herriman (7-1, 3-1 6A Region 2)
- 12 - Fremont (6-2, 4-0 5A Region 5)
- 13 - Springville (7-1, 4-1 5A Region 7)
- 14 - Crimson Cliffs (7-1, 4-0 4A Region 9)
- 15 - Syracuse (6-2, 2-1 6A Region 1)
- 16 - Morgan (7-1, 3-0 3A North)
- 17 - Granger (7-1, 5-0 5A Region 4)
- 18 - Brighton (4-4, 3-0 5A Region 6)
- 19 - Cedar (8-0, 4-0 3A South)
- 20 - Westlake (6-2, 3-1 6A Region 2)
Plus-1. Payson (2-6, 1-4 5A Region 7)
The Lions won't go winless in Region 7 play after an extraordinary 34-point comeback victory to beat Wasatch 37-34.
Ben Brand and Jay Bradley combined for 303 yards and two touchdowns on the ground as the Wasps jumped out to a 34-0 lead with 9:33 left in the third quarter. But Payson was just getting started.
Trevyn Wall threw four touchdown passes, including two to Carson Wall, then cashed in the go-ahead score on a 1-yard dive with 28 seconds left to cap a comeback for the ages.
Utah prep historian George Felt called it the largest comeback in Utah high school football history, and local videographer Jackson Bybee called it a comeback "straight out of a Kevin Bacon film."
Everybody cut footloose.
