Millard (8-2) at South Summit (8-1)

2A state tournament quarterfinal

Saturday, Noon

Parry's Power Guide: South Summit by 3 points

All-time series: Tied at 4-4

Coach vs. Coach: Millard's Marshall Sherriff leads South Summit's Jerry Parker, 2-0

Last meeting: 2A semifinal, Nov. 3, 2007 — Millard 31, South Summit 0

Of the four 2A quarterfinal games this weekend, the Millard at South Summit game seems to be the most intriguing. Both teams have won eight games this year, and both have legitimate state title aspirations.

Unfortunately, one of their seasons will come to a close this Saturday at 1 p.m.

"We're feeling pretty good," said South Summit coach Jerry Parker. "We're chomping at the bit to play."

Millard is coming off a 51-6 first-round victory over Gunnison last week, whereas South Summit enjoyed a first-round bye for finishing second in the 2A East region.

South Summit's coaching staff was onhand to watch the Gunnison dismantling last Friday, and Parker said he was impressed by the running of Kade Wilcox and Pancho Alcala. The two have combined for 25 rushing touchdowns this year, with Wilcox leading 2A with 17 rushing scores.

"Millard's always tough, especially in the playoffs," said Parker.

With that said, South Summit's defense led 2A by only allowing 10.3 ppg this year and should be up to the challenge against the Eagles.

The bigger challenge for South Summit will be on offense. Even though it finished second in 2A in scoring offense at 34.0 ppg, it has struggled hanging onto the football at key moments this year.

"We can't turn the ball over. We've had a problem with that all year, we're putting the ball on the ground too much," said Parker.

Unlike some opponents this year, Millard will make South Summit pay if it coughs the ball up. Coach Marshall Sheriff's team is on a five-game winning streak since losing to South Sevier 21-0 back on Sept. 18.

This is the first meeting between these schools since the 2007 semifinals at Juan Diego High School. It's a game Millard would love to duplicate and South Summit would just assume forget.