High school football: 1st round of playoffs great time of season

No championship trophies were handed out, no MVP awards were clinched and no one made any reservations to play at Rice-Eccles Stadium during last week's high school football playoffs.

But for me, there's never a more interesting week of the state football playoffs than the first one. Obviously, it's the busiest week of the state playoffs with 32 games being played in the five classifications. There are always a couple of upsets, key injuries and statements made by underrated teams.

There were also hundreds of hearts broken as many players wore their football uniforms for the last time. It's a depressing feeling to know that you'll never suit up again and have to permanently clean out your locker. The finality of the games adds to the drama and intrigue in the state playoffs, as no player or coach wants their season to end without winning a gold trophy and celebrating on the turf.

Another reason why I like the first week of the playoffs is that no one really knows what to expect. Region 1 teams had their schedules almost completely filled with only league games during the regular season, so it was hard to determine how good any of them were. Davis rolled, Syracuse got hot late in its win over Skyline and Weber had a good showing at Hunter.

Sometimes it's tough to tell which teams and regions are good during the regular season and who will match-up well with whom. The first week of the playoffs provides the answers.

There weren't any monumental upsets last week, but it is shocking to see Bountiful out of the playoffs. The Braves were ranked No. 1 in 4A for a few weeks during the regular season but couldn't muster enough offense to defeat a Lakers team that's been herky-jerky. Bonneville was blown out by both Layton and Northridge, and had to rally to beat Logan in the last week of the regular season just to make the playoffs.

It's also shocking to see Skyline out of the state playoffs. It's only the third time in the past 18 years that the Eagles didn't advance past the first round.

The result that jumps off the scoreboard from last week was Bingham's 62-42 win over Jordan. I think other teams are relieved that they no longer have to worry about facing the Beetdiggers' passing attack. I saw that game in person on Saturday and Jordan was special when it got rolling. One underrated player in the offense was receiver Steve Morgan, who torched the Miners for 13 receptions for 197 yards and two touchdowns.

The one classification that wasn't all that interesting was 3A. The closest game was Morgan's 30-19 win over Emery, and six of the eight winners were victorious by at least 28 points. Not much parity going on in the sprawling 3A classification.

But the games will get more competitive and interesting in 3A and the other classes. It's fun to see how the elite teams matchup against each other, but for me, the best week of the state playoffs is the first one.

e-mail: aaragon@desnews.com