With each passing game, the target on their back grows bigger. As they inch closer to an undefeated regular season, every opponent tries harder to derail them. As talk of a perfect run to a state championship bubbles to the surface, the burden of expectations, welcome or not, is there on their shoulders.

But the undefeated Syracuse, Springville, Morgan and Piute girls' basketball team's don't worry much about all of that. They insist they are just here to win a region title and take aim at a state championship.

The dominance, No. 1 rankings and consecutive wins? They're just a nice byproduct in the meantime. Or so they say.

"It's hard to ignore it. People talk about it," Syracuse coach Rob Reisbeck said. "But it doesn't matter where we are right now. It's where we are at the end of the season. The girls understand that."

"We haven't put any emphasis on being undefeated," Morgan coach Brad Matthews said. "We don't talk about it. We don't bring it up. We don't feel any pressure. It's just one game at a time. That's what we focus on."

After all, few teams expect to reach the final games of the regular season still unscathed and, for the most part, untested.

It's an advantageous position, one that comes with state tournament home-court advantage and easy first-round opponents -- not the mention the factor of intimidation.

But it's also a precarious one.

"When I played, I used to love to play the team that had never been beat before," Piute coach Wade Westwood said. "I keep telling the girls that every team is out to get us. I like to win, but I'd almost rather be in a position to catch teams off guard."

The element of surprise certainly is not in the cards for Syracuse, Springville, Morgan and Piute.

In Class 5A, Syracuse has rolled to a 16-0 record by outscoring its opponents by an average 33 points a game. Springville, now 14-0, has trounced each of its 4A opponents and slipped by four top-ranked 5A teams. On Thursday, Morgan swept the season series against Judge to improve to 17-0 and cement reinstate its position as the team to beat in Class 3A. And perennial power Piute, now 15-0, has every bit of momentum in its favor as it gears up to face rival Panguitch on Friday.

Now, each of those teams are left with the burden to live up to the expectations they've created for themselves.

"I like the pressure. The girls like the pressure," Westwood said. "But at the same time, I don't want them to panic when they do get behind. You're just never sure how they react."

And Piute may be the most vulnerable in that regard, having not had the opportunity to play against -- or even scout -- much competition outside of their small region in the southeast corner of the state.

"We're just so far apart from one another. All we can do is check out the scores," Westwood said. "During the tournament, Rich seems to get us every time."

In fact, the Rebels have ousted Piute in each of the past two seasons, including the 2008 1A title game. But the Thunderbirds aren't alone.

Due to its packed Region 1 schedule, Syracuse was also unable to play many inter-region games in the preseason and hasn't faced much stiff competition in its own league. On Thursday, Morgan trailed Judge 8-2 early in the first quarter but quickly recovered to battle to the six-point win. Springville may have the advantage on this count, having pulled out two nail-biting preseason wins over Riverton and American Fork.

But what happens when they face a 10-point deficit -- or larger -- on the big stage?

Given those concerns, would a loss be all that bad?

"No," Westwood said. "As long as it's before the state tournament."

It would certainly take the collective monkey off of their backs. That said, no one would admit to secretly wishing for a loss.

"We've made it this far. If we're going to [win a title], we might as well go all the way, right?" Westwood said.

In the meantime, a regular-season loss or two wouldn't be the end of the world -- or the end to the state title hopes.

But according to Matthews, nothing can quite compare to the feeling of hoisting up a state championship trophy, knowing that it was earned in the most convincing way possible. The Trojans did it in 2003, but only Matthews was there to remember it.

"It's just an incredible feeling. I don't think the girls even have a clue as to what that feels like," Matthews said. "But we'll just keep that quiet."