Logan (9-2) at Juan Diego (11-0)
3A state tournament quarterfinal
Friday, 4 p.m.
Parry's Power Guide: Logan by 5.5 points
All-time series: 0-0
Coach vs. Coach: First meeting between Logan's Mike Favero and Juan Diego's John Colosimo
Last meeting: First meeting

This is the big one in Class 3A, and it doesn't take Columbo to figure out why.

In one corner, we have the defending 3A champs, armed with arguably the state's best quarterback and a number of talented players around him.

In the other corner, we find the classification's only unbeaten team, which features the state's No. 1 defense and a cast of characters that has gelled extremely well throughout the fall.

Add it up, and it's a clear that a fantastic football game should be on tap inside Soaring Eagle Stadium when defending champion Logan faces top-ranked Juan Diego in the quarterfinal round of the 3A playoffs at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon.

"Juan Diego is as good a football team as I've seen in a while," said Logan coach Mike Favero. "They have no weaknesses that I can find."

When Favero, one of the state's brightest football minds, says something like that, it's worth paying attention to. He said he's studied 15 hours of film on Juan Diego and couldn't find any glaring weaknesses that his team will be able to exploit on Friday.

Juan Diego has allowed just 4.1 ppg this fall, which is over three points better than anyone else in Utah. The Soaring Eagle, meanwhile, has plenty of weapons on the offensive side of the ball and will give Logan's defense all it can handle.

That's not to say that battle-tested Logan will be afraid, however. Far from it.

The Grizzlies have an exceptional collection of solid football players, and it all starts with all-everything quarterback Jeff Manning.

The senior star has racked up some insane numbers this fall — 2,901 yards and 40 TDs passing and 832 yards and 12 TDs rushing — and has established himself as the latest in a long line of phenomenal Logan High quarterbacks.

Logan statistical breakdown
Scoring offense: 41.0 ppg
Scoring defense: 17.2 ppg
Passing leader: Jeff Manning (192-319, 60.2%, 2,901 yards, 40 TDs)
Rushing leader: Jeff Manning (140 carries, 832 yards, 12 TDs)