Prep football: 3 supreme teams

With stacked rosters, star coaches and Division I prospects across the board, the prevailing thought before the high school football season was that Bingham, Alta and Pleasant Grove would dominate the landscape of Class 5A.

Two months later, not much has changed.

As the first round of the postseason starts this afternoon, each of the three teams stands as a favorite to advance to Rice-Eccles Stadium in two weeks for the semifinals.

Each team can beat opponents in myriad ways, and each team features an explosive offense and a stingy defense, which makes each team as tough an out as can be. It would certainly be a surprise if a school other than Alta, Bingham or Pleasant Grove walks away with the state title.

"I can tell you that all three of us have a legit shot to win it all," Bingham coach Dave Peck said. "You can probably throw Lone Peak into the mix as well. I like Hunter, too, because of how well they can run the ball. Looking at scores around playoff time, anyone that can control the football has a good chance to win."

The strength of Alta, Bingham and Pleasant Grove is based on a simple formula. Besides the ability to score points in bunches, each of the three teams plays great defense. Not only that, they have flat-out game-changers.

Joe Kruger, the Pleasant Grove senior, has been the best defensive end in high school football this season. In fact, Alta coach Les Hamilton said that Kruger is the only defensive

player in the state that teams have to form their game plan around. Factoring in speed, experience and the presence of BYU commit Joey Owens at safety, it's easy to see how the Vikings have been able to shut opponents down this season.

When it comes to the Hawks, A.I. Ho-Ching is one of the best linebackers around, one who shoots gaps and makes big plays all over the field.

When Alta's Parker Hausknecht, a USU commit, was healthy -- he was recently lost for the season due to an ACL tear -- Alta had the best trio of linebackers in the state. Junior Nick Wolford has had a breakout year and leads the Hawks in tackles.

Bingham features Braden Andersen at safety and a huge defensive line that allows Peck's scheme to put constant pressure on opposing teams.

Sure, the usual suspects running and throwing the ball will be huge. Bingham running back Harvey Langi, Alta quarterback Jordy Brown and Pleasant Grove's Dallas Lloyd all figure prominently. But every coach contends that defense wins championships. And these three teams dominate because they stop people and do so at crucial times.

"We feel like we're in a good position, but we also know that we have to play," Pleasant Grove coach Dale Sampson said. "I've been around this game long enough to know that crazy things happen in the playoffs. We have to play hard because from here on out it's a one-game season."

So are the three teams unbeatable?

No, if for no other reason than that all three teams have suffered losses this season, although no in-state team beat the Miners this year. However, it will take an extraordinary game for a team to knock one of them off. But it could happen.

Bingham, for example, gets a tough Jordan team on Saturday, and with a win would get the Syracuse-Skyline winner. Both Syracuse and Skyline were in the semifinals last year.

And getting through to the semifinals means a likely rematch with Alta, so it's accepted that the Miners don't have an easy road at all.

"I feel that if we win four games, we will have proven that we are the best team in the state," Peck said. "That's how tough our road is."

Alta has a top seed, and seemingly has the easiest road. A second-round matchup looms with Cottonwood, a team the Hawks embarrassed in the first week of the season. The Colts have improved since then, and no doubt the sting of being slaughtered 59-20 on live television still sits in their minds.

"We feel that's a dangerous game for us," Hamilton said. "Plus we're getting a Fremont team from a tough Region 1 that we know nothing about."

Pleasant Grove may have the most challenging situation. To the Vikings' advantage, there is no Alta or Bingham in their half of the bracket. However, Lloyd, the star quarterback and Stanford commit, has missed the past few weeks with a shoulder separation. While he's expected to be ready for the postseason, Sampson still labels him a game-time decision for today's game at Riverton.

Plus, with the third seed out of Region 4, the Vikings are the only team of the three favorites that will be forced to play on the road in the first and second rounds.

"To win a state title, you have to win away from home at some point," Sampson said. "So we're looking at this as an opportunity."

If Pleasant Grove comes through as a No. 3 seed, it would technically be an upset. But not really. The Vikings were ranked No. 1 in the state at midseason. A Pleasant Grove state title wouldn't be a surprise. Nor would a Bingham or Alta championship.

tjones@sltrib.com