Quarters could pit top teams

Be prepared for more scintillating quarterfinal matchups in Class 5A.

So far during the school year, realignment by the Utah High School Activities Association has resulted in a number of the state's top squads from various sports meeting in the second round of the playoffs, rather than the semis or the final.

Adding a fourth region to Class 5A yielded a No. 1 Bingham and second-ranked Brighton quarterfinal game in football. Boys basketball featured second-ranked Davis and No. 3 Alta in the second round.

Boys soccer could be next.

If the higher-seeded teams win during the opening round, which takes place Tuesday afternoon, here's what two of the four quarterfinal games will be on Friday: Third-ranked Layton at No. 1 Brighton and No. 2 Alta at No. 5 Davis.

Brighton, Alta and Davis have occupied 3 of 5 spots in the 5A rankings every week during the season, and Layton enters the tournament as the classification's hottest team. However, two of them will be gone before the semifinals at Juan Diego.

Those two games would be a rematch of last year's quarterfinals when Brighton beat Layton and Alta got past Davis.

While it would be unfair to blame the UHSAA for the quarterfinal quandary, you can't help but wonder what could be done to fix the problem.

Before anyone can look ahead to the quarterfinals, however, teams must take care of business in the opening round.

Here's a quick look at each of the 5A first-round matchups:

BINGHAM AT LAYTON: Since losing its first two Region 1 games, Layton has been on fire. The Lancers have plenty of firepower offensively and are led by sweeper Kellen Christensen. Meanwhile, Bingham has gone through an up-and-down season but certainly knows how to win postseason games.

TIMPANOGOS AT BRIGHTON: Should be a good chance for Brighton to break star midfielder Ryan Ulanch back into the lineup before its massive quarterfinal game. Timpanogos did well to qualify for the postseason.

JORDAN AT MOUNTAIN VIEW: Easily the most intriguing game of the round. Mountain View went 13-1-1 before losing to rival Lone Peak. Meanwhile, can Jordan, the defending 5A champion, make its seventh semifinal appearance in eight years?