High school football: Felts facts

In 2007, the four Class 5A region champions advanced to the semis, just the second time in 10 seasons that four region champs — and top seeds — in any classification made the semifinals. This year, the Class 4A region winners, Cottonwood, Mountain Crest, Pine View and Timpview, and the Class 3A No. 1 seeds, Hurricane, Juan Diego, Morgan and Park City, all made the semifinal round.

In Class 5A, the last three state champions, Skyline ('05), Bingham ('06) and Alta ('07) are in the semifinals. In Class 4A, three of last year's four semifinalists are back (Cottonwood lost in the '07 quarterfinals). Class 3A has a completely new slate of semifinal teams (Union, Judge, Logan and Wasatch were in last year).

TITLE HUNT: Of the 16 teams still playing, six have yet to win a state football championship: Park City (101st season), Hurricane (60th), North Sevier (50th), Cottonwood (39th), Pine View (26th) and, of course, Syracuse (2nd).

FAST STARTS: Juan Diego will try to match its best-ever start, 13-0, set in its undefeated, 2004 championship season. Cottonwood is 12-0 for the first time ever and trying to advance to the finals for just the second time.

Meanwhile, Morgan (10-2) last won 10 games in 2003, the Trojans' last semifinal appearance. Manti (10-1) also hasn't had a 10-win season since 2003, the year the Templars last took state. Mountain Crest (10-1) last enjoyed a 10-win season in 2005. North Summit (10-2) hasn't experienced back-to-back 10-win seasons since '75 and '76.

Syracuse (10-2) is the just the fourth school in its second year to win double-digit games. Hunter (10-2 in '91), Layton (11-2 in '69) and Snow Canyon (11-1 in '95) were the others and those three advanced to the finals, but Hunter and Layton lost to Skyline while Snow Canyon lost to Delta.

North Sevier (9-3) has won nine games for just the second time in school history; the Wolves went 9-1 in 1996.

STATE RECORD SET: Cottonwood's Isi Sofele has now carried the ball 741 times in his career, smashing the old mark of 722 set by North Summit's Andy Carlsen from 2000-02. Sofele has rushed for 4,502 career yards, eighth-most all-time.

PLAYER WATCH: Logan's Jeff Manning accumulated exactly 4,000 yards of total offense this season, just the fourth player on record to reach that mark. He joins Riley Nelson, (5,815, Logan, 2005), Ryan Zimmerman (4,283, Mountain Crest, 2001) and Lance Pendleton (4,023, Dixie 1998).