High school football 4A preview: Orem at Cottonwood

Orem (6-4) at Cottonwood (10-0)

4A state tournament first round

Friday, 3:30 p.m.

Parry's Power Guide: Cottonwood by 19.5 points

All-time series: Series tied 1-1

Last meeting: Regular season, Oct. 19, 1978 — Cottonwood 21, Orem 12

Simply looking at the numbers, it appears the Cottonwood vs. Orem game is a mismatch.

The Colts are undefeated (10-0) and the region champions from a highly regarded Region 6. The Tigers (6-4) struggled against some lightly regarded opponents in what's considered outside of Timpview, not a powerful Region 7 — mainly a loss to Tooele that ultimately cost them a chance at a higher seed and forced them into the No. 4 spot and the unwanted position of having to travel to Cottonwood.

The Colts are the highest scoring team in the classification putting up nearly six touchdowns per game at 41.7 ppg. Orem is in the middle of the pack with a 21.4 ppg average. Cottonwood gives up less that two touchdowns per contest at 13.6 ppg while Orem surrendered 17.8.

Even with all the evidence pointing at a blowout, stranger things have happened in the playoffs.

The Tigers hope they can continue where they left off after shutting out Mountain View in their final region contest. John Huntbach and Tyler Boulter both rushed for over 100 yards in destroying the Bruins. Quarterback Josh Hamblin leads the offense with his eight passing touchdowns and four rushing scores, and Jordan Egbert caught three touchdown passes.

Cottonwood counters with its high-powered attack. Isi Sofele is one of the best backs in the state. Many times a play can look stuffed before Sofele suddenly breaks out of a pack for positive yardage. His 1,172 yards on the season and 22 rushing touchdowns are some impressive numbers, but even those may not give him the proper recognition he deserves. Steve Romero has thrown for 23 scores this season with his favorite targets being Jason Lundquist and Alo Moli.

Realistically, if Orem where to pull the upset it would be one of the biggest in state history, but that is why they step on the field to decide it and not allow people with a keyboard to decide the outcome.

Orem statistical breakdown

Scoring offense: 21.4 ppg

Scoring defense: 17.8 ppg

Passing leader: Josh Hamblin (109-241, 45.2%, 1,603 yards, 8 TDs)