Font Resize
It's that time of the year again. It doesn't matter which football team won what game when. It's all about the here and now and every team will be tested in the playoffs beginning Friday.
Finishing third in Region 2, it won't be any different for the Skyline Eagles. They will play at Syracuse. Both teams reached the 5A semifinals last year and failed to advance. If either wants to get back, the road starts through each other.
"I've never really played in a playoff game so this is all really new to me," Skyline quarterback Chase Dunford said.
It's certainly not new to the program as a whole. The playoffs have become an expectation at Skyline; just getting there doesn't impress its fans. But Dunford thinks that the team has what it takes to make a deep run. Everyone's bumped and bruised but it's nothing they haven't been playing with for most of the season anyway. After a couple of tough losses to Cottonwood and Hunter in the second half of the season, Dunford feels the team has really galvanized.
"We're really close and I'm sure that will help," he said. "It's nice to know that you have your brother next to you."
One brother that won't be there is his No.1 target Brian Orr, who was lost for the season due to a freak injury when he ran into a cement pole at an elementary school football demonstration. He fractured his skull in the incident. There is no doubt he will be missed. He caught 12 touchdowns this season. But for Skyline
"I think Brian's probably the best receiver in the state and Jared is probably second," Dunford said.
No matter who is on the field for Skyline, it comes down to one thing for the Eagles: making the play. They've practiced their system all season long and now it comes down to Friday's game to show how good they are.
"The coaches, they put us in the right spot," Dunford said. "We know what to do, we just need to execute."
Highland
The Highland Rams have been on a tear ever since they sniffed region play. Highland ran straight through Region 6, going undefeated and erasing a 1-3 preseason.
Now, the Rams hope to keep their win streak alive in the playoffs against Orem, who visits Highland on Friday. The Tigers like to run the ball out of the I-formation and don't pass the ball a whole lot.
"That doesn't mean that they can't," Highland coach Brody Benson said.
However Orem chooses to attack Highland's defense, the regular season indicates that it won't be easy. In the last five weeks of the season, the Rams posted two shutouts and held two other opponents to seven point. Woods Cross dropped 30 on Highland, but it was in a furious first half. The Rams recovered and shut down the Wildcat attack in the second half. Offensively, Benson is happy with the way things are clicking. He's getting production from his quarterback, Mason Keller, running the option with fullback Toi Taufa.
Tyler Murphy and Nate Fakafahua have show big play ability at wide receiver. All in all, Benson attributes his team's current tear to its attitude.
"We're not going to let the other team dictate what we're going to do," he said.
Despite the team's success, Benson doesn't expect his players to get complacent. They started the season as a top-tier team in 4A and took most of the season to prove it. Now they get a chance to cement it in the playoffs.
» Skyline's team chemistry gives it an edge heading into the playoffs, said quarterback Chase Dunford.
» The Eagles will play without wide receiver Brian Orr, who fractured his skull in an off-filed incident two weeks ago.
» Highland will ride its torrid win streak and confident attitude into the playoffs against Orem and further, they hope.
