Salem Hills (6-4) at Mountain Crest (8-1)

4A state tournament first round

Friday, 2 p.m.

Parry's Power Guide: Mountain Crest by 40.5

All-time series: First meeting

Coach vs. Coach: Mountain Crest's Mark Wootton leads Salem Hills' Monte Morgan, 2-0 (in 1995 and 1996, when Wootton was at North Sanpete and Morgan was at Wasatch).

Last meeting: First meeting

It is a daunting task for an underdog to face the No. 1 team. While Salem Hills knows it has an uphill battle in front of it when it faces Mountain Crest on Friday in the opening round of the 4A playoffs, it also knows that the game is played on the field, and it does not care about rankings.

"We are just going to go out and see if we can find some ways to attack them offensively and defensively," said SkyHawks coach Monte Morgan. "We will try to stay consistent with what we do, and go out and play our type of football game. Work with the things that we can control and try to play our best game."

One thing that Morgan certainly expects from his squad is a unified, full-effort game.

"One of the best things about this team is that they play hard," he added. "Every day on the field they give you 100-percent effort and they do it together. They are a tight group that really plays hard as a team."

While teamwork is a huge part of football, the closest group in the world isn't going to win without some playmakers, and the SkyHawks have a pretty good one in quarterback Josh Adams.

"He is a dual-threat guy in that he can run or pass," Morgan said. "You can't focus on just one thing with him because he can beat you with his arm or his legs."

Adams has thrown the ball 156 times, completing 87 with 14 touchdowns. He has also carried the football 165 times for 1,295 yards and 16 scores.

"Our balance makes us a tougher team to defend," Morgan continued. "It is important for us to be able to do both run and pass to keep them guessing."

The threat of the pass is important for Salem Hills, but Morgan really feels that the key for his offense will be running the football. It not only helps his team matriculate the ball down the field, but almost as importantly, it keeps the high-powered Mountain Crest offense on the sidelines as well.