High school football 4A preview: Bonneville at Mountain View

Bonneville (4-5) at Mountain View (4-5)

4A state tournament first round

Friday, 2 p.m.

Parry's Power Guide: Bonneville by 4 points

All-time series: Bonneville leads 3-1

Last meeting: Regular season, Sept. 10, 2004 — Bonneville 42, Mountain View 7

It may not be two of the favorites to win the 4A title, but the Bonneville versus Mountain View football game on Friday has the potential to be one of the fiercest, most closely contested battles of the opening round.

The two teams have identical 4-5 records, but having an overall losing record can be a bit deceiving.

Bonneville lost to two 5A schools in the preseason, including the Region 1 champs from Layton. The Lakers then had to face three of the toughest 4A teams in the state not named Timpview or Cottonwood in Mountain Crest, Bountiful and Sky View, all teams ranked in the Deseret News Top 20. After surviving those early setbacks, the team reeled off three consecutive Region 5 wins to wrap up the season and claim the No. 4 playoff spot.

Mountain View suffered through a miserable 0-3 preseason before putting it together in the Region 7 season going 4-2 to claim the No. 2 seed.

Bonneville is led by its defense. The Lakers give up just over two touchdowns per game at 14.89 points. Coach Matt Williams said much of the credit for the defensive success goes to his coordinator Jantz Afuvai and his scheming. Linebacker John Hughes said that Afuvai has a knack for getting the guys in the right position.

Offensively the Lakers have had games where they struggled. Adam Farnsworth leads the team with four rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Todd Aubrey has thrown for four scores and ran for another, and Hughes has chipped in with three rushing touchdowns.

The Bruins have an offensive machine in Anthony Heimuli. Every opponent knows he is going to get the football — a lot. But just because you know where it is going doesn't mean you can stop it. Heimuli averages 149 yards per game on the ground and has over 1,000 yards on the season. He has scored seven rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Dustin Thacker, T.J. Mounga and Nat Stroshine are all players to keep an eye on as well.

Bonneville statistical breakdown

Scoring offense: 16.3 ppg

Scoring defense: 14.9 ppg

Passing leader: Todd Aubrey (79-170, 46.5%, 838 yards, 4 TDs)