5A high school football playoffs: Viewmont at Cottonwood

Viewmont (6-4) at Cottonwood (7-3)

5A state tournament first round

Friday, 4 p.m.

Parry's Power Guide: Cottonwood by 7

All-time series: Viewmont leads 5-4

Coach vs. Coach: Viewmont's Brad Lloyd and Cottonwood's Cecil Thomas, first meeting

Last meeting: Oct. 13, 2000, — Viewmont 35, Cottonwood 28

It's not often high school fans are bestowed with tantalizing first round football brackets. However, this year's bracket is brimming with must-see games, including Region 2's second seed Cottonwood (7-3) and Region 1's third-place finisher Viewmont (6-4).

Cottonwood have enjoyed a seemingly effortless transition to 5A play. The Colts were the "lockdown" pick to win Region 2, however, with the recent emergence of Hunter, Cottonwood settled for second place.

Viewmont on the other hand, was part of the chaotic play that was Region 1. The Vikings handed Davis its first loss in region – propelling them into a prime position to have a legitimate shot of garnishing the No. 1 seed. In the ensuing game against Fremont, the Vikings gave up two early touchdowns and could never recover, resulting in the third seed.

Needless to say, both of these teams aren't typical second and third place qualifiers, and were a few plays short of being No. 1 seeds in their respective regions.

Both coaches are fully aware that this matchup has all its cards lining up to be a royal flush.

"We're gonna come after Cottonwood, and we're gonna battle them," said Viewmont coach Brad Lloyd, "They're a very good team, and I'm very impressed with them on film. They're well coached, so we're gonna get a game plan together and have our guys do the best they can."

Cottonwood over the course of the season has developed a highly prolific offense – in large part to the cohesive play between quarterback Crosby Jensen (1,982 passing yards, 27 touchdowns) and Tim Glenn (54 receptions, 746 yards, 10 touchdowns).

Although Glenn stands out in the pack, he doesn't stand alone.

Jason Lundquist, Spencer Larsen and Chandler Hudson have combined for 99 receptions, 1,191 yards and 14 scores.