High school football: Today's playoff preview for 4A and 3A

After a week of excitement and build-up, it's time to settle the debate between the lines as the 4A and 3A semifinals get under way at Rice-Eccles Stadium Thursday.

Two intriguing 4A games get the festivities started, beginning with Region 5 champion Logan taking on Region 6 runner-up Bountiful at 11 a.m.

The afternoon game at 2:30 p.m. features Region 6 champion East against Region 8 champion Timpview.

The nightcap is the first 3A semifinal at 6:30 p.m. between Region 9 champion Hurricane and Region 12 runner-up Spanish Fork. The second 3A semifinal between Desert Hills and Cedar will be played at Dixie State College on Friday at 5 p.m.

For those unable to attend any of the games in person, deseretnews.com will be streaming all three games live online, along with live play-by-play and live stats.

Also at deseretnews.com are in-depth breakdowns of all eight high school football playoff games this weekend, including Thursday's 4A semifinals and 3A semifinal.

The first game at the U. today pits very familiar faces with each other. Back on Week 3 this year Logan trounced Bountiful 56-31 behind a typical dominant performance from quarterback D.J. Nelson.

The Utah State-bound Nelson has rushed for 2,939 yards and 43 touchdowns this year while adding 1,383 rushing yards and 21 TDs.

If Bountiful hopes to upset No. 1 Logan, it must figure out a way to slow Nelson, something nobody's been able to do all year.

Bountiful, 7-1 since a 1-3 start to the season, won't be a pushover.

The second game today pits a pair of region champs who took different paths to the semifinals.

Unlike past Timpview teams, this year's team hasn't been as dominant, but it gutted out a lot of close games to advance to the semis, including a nail-biter over Westlake last week.

East has blown out the majority of its opponents this year, but it had to sweat out last week's quarterfinal victory over Skyline, holding on for a 20-13 win in the final minute.

The final game of the day certainly isn't the matchup anyone expected.

When the pairings were finalized, everyone naturally assumed that Hurricane and Juan Diego were headed for a semifinal showdown.

Spanish Fork had other plans, rallying for a 21-14 upset victory over Juan Diego in last week's quarterfinals.

The Dons' reward is a date with No. 1 Hurricane, a snake-bit team the past three years who many believe will finally get over the championship hump this year.

Playoff pairings

Today's games

At Rice-Eccles Stadium

Class 4A

Bountiful (8-4) vs. Logan (12-0), 11 a.m.

Timpview (10-2) vs. East (11-1), 2:30 p.m.

Class 3A

S. Fork (8-3) vs. Hurricane (11-0), 6:30 p.m.