This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
"Jackpot: 7-7-7" is our prep football series published every Friday morning at 7 a.m. It analyzes the best seven games kicking off at 7 p.m. that evening.
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SEASON STANDINGS
DUCHESNE (1-0) AT NORTH SUMMIT (1-0)
Nitty-gritty: Layton Christian is supposed to be drastically improved from last season, and North Summit dismantled the Eagles 45-0 in the first week. The blowout is more of a reflection of the strength of the Braves this season. It was 32-0 at halftime for a reason. Braxten Northrup, Tristan Woolsenhulme, Rand Pentz and Carter Wardrop combine to form an electric skillset that can compete with any team in the 2A classification. Duchesne had similar results in the first week of the season, knocking off Milford, 41-0. The Eagles employ a stable of running backs, with nine players collectively rushing for 267 yards in the win.
PREDICTIONS
Trevor Phibbs: North Summit
Tom Wharton: North Summit
Brennan Smith: Duchesne
KEARNS (1-0) AT GRANGER (1-0)
Nitty-gritty: Two schools located on the westside of Salt Lake City delivered impressive performances to open the 2015 campaign. Granger knocked off Copper Hills, 31-21, on the road to begin the second year of Mike Morgan's regime, while Kearns plastered Timpanogos to the tune of 62 points. Sione Finau rushed for 135 yards and four touchdowns on 10 carries for the Cougars, and caught two balls for 77 yards and one touchdown. That's basically finding the end zone every other touch. Umm, that's pretty good. If he does that again, bet on Kearns to improve to 2-0. If he can't duplicate another five-touchdown performance, it places concern on Kearns' defensive unit, which allowed 42 points to the Timberwolves. Granger is much more formidable on offense.
PREDICTIONS
Trevor Phibbs: Kearns
Tom Wharton: Kearns
Brennan Smith: Granger
OREM (1-0) AT SPANISH FORK (1-0)
Nitty-gritty: In the offseason we emphasized the firepower Orem's offense displayed in our preseason previews. The Tigers' 52-16 shellacking of Uintah confirmed exactly how dangerous they really are. Hunter Van Buren threw for 266 yards and five touchdowns — and he isn't even the starter. Gunnar Legas, still recuperating from a broken foot, is the incumbent first-string quarterback, who is expected to return soon. Regardless of who is throwing to him — Chase Herrmann is one of the best receivers in the state. He picked up right where he left off in 2014, grabbing six balls for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the win against the Utes. Very few defenses have the capabilities of bottling Herrmann up on the hashes. Spanish Fork opened the Jordan Smith era with a convincing win against Mountain View. The Dons, despite losing numerous key contributors to graduation, are expected to contend for a playoff spot this season, which makes this game intriguing. Orem is certainly a different animal compared to its crosstown rival Mountain View — but that goes both ways. Uintah is not Spanish Fork.
PREDICTIONS
Trevor Phibbs: Orem
Tom Wharton: Spanish Fork
Brennan Smith: Spanish Fork
ROY (0-0) AT JORDAN (1-0)
Nitty-gritty: Any questions on if Jordan would be as effective on offense with a new quarterback were quickly put to rest last week. Quarterback Drew Lisk accounted for 618 yards of total offense, Spencer Curtis currently leads the nation with 271 receiving yards, and the Beetdiggers showed personnel doesn't matter as much when Eric Kjar is calling plays. That defense though. There are always questions about Jordan's abilities to make stops. That will be put to the test against Roy, who enjoyed (well, no one enjoys not playing, but you get the general idea) a bye week to open the season. The Royals employ two running backs with talent to play at the next level: Baby Tee Eteuati and Matty Matautia, who combined for 1,298 yards and 23 touchdowns last season. They'll have added pressure without four-year starter Tyler Skidmore, who is gone from graduation, at quarterback. However, offense is not the focus for Roy tonight. The Royals were one of the top defensive teams in Class 4A last season. They need to find creative and consistent ways of stopping Jordan.
PREDICTIONS
Trevor Phibbs: Jordan
Tom Wharton: Jordan
Brennan Smith: Jordan
SKY VIEW (1-0) AT LOGAN (1-0)
Nitty-gritty: Logan coach Mike Favero acknowledged the difference in enrollment between the two northern schools. But he didn't care. Sky View might be in Class 5A this season, while the Grizzlies dropped down to Class 3AA. It might have added more difficulty to Logan's preseason schedule. It all doesn't matter. The Sky View-Logan rivalry is great for high school football, and that's why Favero kept the game on the slate. Expect points here, folks. Garrison Beach, Mason Tye, Bryce Mortenson, Zach Morrison and Alex McRae create as explosive of an offense as you'll find in this state. The Grizzlies certainly aren't intimidated, though. Hunter Horsley, Spencer Corbett and Hartman Rector are equally as threatening. Whichever team gets off the field defensively in this game will remain undefeated.
PREDICTIONS
Trevor Phibbs: Sky View
Tom Wharton: Sky View
Brennan Smith: Logan
TAYLORSVILLE (1-0) AT DAVIS (1-0)
Nitty-gritty: Taylorsville was projected to finish sixth in Region 3. It was working in a new freshman quarterback, and that takes time. Time to throw that garbage stereotype away. Dane Leituala tossed for 152 yards and one touchdown — completing 15 of 24 passes — while racking up 312 — 312! — yards on the ground with an additional three scores in the Warriors' 43-14 win against Murray. The same Murray team that was supposedly one of the best programs Region 6 has to offer. Expect Taylorsville, which lost 33-0 last season to Davis, to score this time against the Darts. As usual, Davis was balanced in its blowout win against Clearfield. Kallin Fisher was effective at quarterback, while five running backs contributed to the ground game. But the area Davis really shined in the opening week was on defense. It held Clearfield's potent passing game to 140 yards and limited the Falcons to only 58 yards on the ground.
PREDICTIONS
Trevor Phibbs: Davis
Tom Wharton: Davis
Brennan Smith: Taylorsville
LONE PEAK (1-0) AT TIMPVIEW (1-0)
Nitty-gritty: Lone Peak jumped nine spots in The Tribune's statewide top 25 rankings into the No. 10 spot after whipping Bountiful 31-0. Timpview remained steady at No. 3 after its 35-0 win against West. The Knights are at a severe size disadvantage tonight, but talent is fluttered throughout the roster. Talmage Gunther and Dakota Hansen will split time at quarterback, while BYU commit Jackson McChesney adds an elite speed element to the offense. Timpview is young defensively, but extremely athletic, with one of the top — if not the top — defensive backfields in the state. Safeties Will Watanabe and Keenan Pili are the real deal. Lone Peak does not have an answer for Timpview receiver Samson Nacua. Very few do. In his first true test at quarterback, Kahi Neves will likely target Nacua frequently. Timpview's state-leading 27-game win streak is on the line tonight, but this program has shown big games are routine.
PREDICTIONS
Trevor Phibbs: Timpview
Tom Wharton: Timpview
Brennan Smith: Timpview
— Analysis by Trevor Phibbs