The Titans, who played evenly with most of their opponents in the first half of games last season, worked hard in the offseason to reverse that trend. They knew they had to get stronger and in better shape to finish games. They did that and gained confidence in various tournaments and camps during the summer.

"Our summer scrimmages really showed us what we could do and what we could be," Blickfeldt said. "If we just kept working hard, we could come out on top."

Tonight marks Syracuse's first chance to take a huge step in getting there.

ANOTHER REGION 6 SHOWDOWN: Cottonwood eliminated Highland from the Region 6 title race last week, and could pretty much clinch the league championship with a win tonight.

Standing in the Colts' way is East, a team they had major problems with until they made an unbelievable fourth-quarter comeback against the Leopards last season. Cottonwood was down 17 points before rallying to beat East, 30-29, in last year's matchup.

Both teams are 4-0 in league play.

MORE KEY GAMES: League-title races will take shape in Regions 3, 4, 9 and 11 tonight. In Region 3, Bingham and Riverton match up in a battle for first place. Pleasant Grove and Spanish Fork are the last unbeaten teams in Region 4 play and square off in Spanish Fork.

The Region 9 4A champion will likely be determined in the Dixie-Pine View game. In Region 11, Logan hosts Morgan in a game that pits teams that are both unbeaten in league play.

---

E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com