High school football 4A preview: Sky View at East

Sky View (7-3) at East (8-2)

4A state tournament first round

Friday, 2 p.m.

Parry's Power Guide: Sky View by 2 points

All-time series: East leads 2-0

Last meeting: 4A playoffs, Nov. 3, 2006 — East 51, Sky View 34

The big question may be which Sky View team will show up?

Will it be the Bobcats who opened the season 6-0 with a couple of impressive wins? Or will it be the group that went on a three-game slide — two of which were Region 5 games and made them fall to the No. 3 seed from the region behind Mountain Crest and Bountiful.

The hiccup in the middle of the season also came at a time when quarterback Kyler Carlsen was suffering through an injury. One could also look at the last of the losses, a three-point overtime loss to Mountain Crest, as a game that can be a positive. After all, the Bobcats had a 28-14 lead over the Mustangs at the half.

One thing to keep an eye on for Sky View is J.D. Falslev. That is, if you can. The explosive senior is a playmaker. He is one of those players that anytime he touches the ball, whether it be running it, catching it or on a kick return, he could take it the distance. There are very few players that generate the type of excitement that Falslev does when he is involved in a play.

Carlsen has shown that when healthy, he is a top quarterback as he has thrown for 17 touchdowns and rushed for six more. Brayden Compton is another player to watch, and on defense, Eric Bernsten is a pass-rushing machine. He has 18 sacks on the season and can really wreak havoc on an opponents offense.

East had a summer of turmoil. It lost its head coach with only a couple of weeks to opening night, still had some hazing issues lingering over the program and had a lot of young players stepping in to starting roles. The Leopards have responded just fine.

Danny Tuai is a playmaker at quarterback. He is a dual threat and very athletic. He's thrown for 14 scores and run for three more. Sunia Tauteoli is a beast to bring down, and Jacob Morrison is a terrific receiver. If the offense can get rolling, this game could turn into a real shootout.

Sky View statistical breakdown

Scoring offense: 38.7 ppg

Scoring defense: 18.0 ppg

Passing leader: Kyler Carlsen (83-144, 57.6%, 1,416 yards, 17 TDs)