High school football: Tough as ever in Region 11

For Region 11 holdovers like Morgan, Bear River, Grantsville and Ben Lomond, they probably weren't sad to see Logan promoted to Class 4A in the recent UHSAA realignment. Logan's offense is one of the most efficient in the state and a nightmare for opposing defenses to prepare for.

With the Grizzlies no longer in the picture, it would seem logical that the overall landscape of Region 11 is now easier for the rest of the teams. Yeah right.

Logan, which won state titles in 2005 and 2007, and Ogden are being replaced in the Northern 3A region by Juan Diego and Judge.

"Our region gets tougher and tougher, you take Logan and Ogden out and you give us Juan Diego and Judge. It's like wow, how much more difficult can you make it for us," Grantsville coach Tony Cloward.

Juan Diego is the defending 3A state champion following an impressive 14-0 campaign last year that included playoff victories over Wasatch, Logan, Park City and Hurricane.

Judge, meanwhile, is coming off a bit of a down year despite advancing to the quarterfinals. The year before Judge advanced to the 3A title game before losing to Logan.

Both schools are expected to field solid teams in 2009, particularly Juan Diego and its nine returning starters. Soaring Eagle coach John Colosimo loves the competitiveness of his school's new region.

"I think our league is a little better than what we've been in. Teams like Judge Memorial, Bear River and Morgan are good football schools — good tradition. So it'll be a battle in league. So if we can win that league, I'd feel good about our chances in the state tournament," he said.

Only time will tell if Region 11 becomes a top heavy region. Juan Diego and Morgan, both semifinalists from 2008, are expected to be in the hunt for a berth at Rice-Eccles Stadium again this November. After that, Judge has some questions marks at experience and depth, whereas surprisingly Bear River is coming off back-to-back losing seasons following a state title in 2006.

"The main focus has got to be on our region, it's one of the premiere regions in our state. Juan Diego looks like a machine when they play, Judge is always great, Morgan is just getting better and better," said Bear River coach Chris Wise. "If we can survive our region and get into the playoffs I think things are going to go well."

If the Bears can't survive and get decimated by injuries again, the playoffs may allude the program again.