By Jose Birceno, Castle Country Radio:
With the regular season coming to a close last week, each of the 12 3A teams are now ready to begin postseason play. The final regular season RPI rankings were released Saturday morning, setting the stage for first round matchups.
Juab, Juan Diego, Grantsville and Morgan received the top four seeds, giving each a bye in the opening round. Teams five through 12 will now take the field this Friday in a win-or-go-home situation.
Click HERE for the complete 3A bracket. Below is a rundown of each 3A team heading into the state tournament.
#1 Juab Wasps: 9-1 (5-0) 3A South Champions:
The Juab Wasps came into the 2021 season as the reigning 3A State Champions and they seem poised to make another run for the championship this season. The Wasps continued their dominance, with their only loss coming to a 5A school in Salem Hills. Juab has a very balanced offense. Quarterback Alex Jackson has thrown for 2,533 yards this season while the Wasps had six different players rush for over 100 yards this season, making this Juab offense balanced on all levels.
#2 Juan Diego Soaring Eagles: 7-2 (4-1), 3A North Co-Champions:
The Soaring Eagles finished the season 7-2, with a 4-1 record in region play. They had a handful of quality wins against 5A schools East High and Skyline High, while also adding a 58-0 win over 6A Taylorsville. Juan Diego relied heavily on the run game in the regular season, totaling 3,134 yards this season. Dallas Larson led the Soaring Eagles with 1,543 yards and 19 rushing touchdowns.
#3 Grantsville Cowboys: 7-3 (4-1), 3A North Co-Champions:
When looking at this Cowboys team, defense is what separates them from the rest of 3A. Grantsville only allowed 7.2 points per game. The key to their defensive success was forcing turnovers. The Cowboys were plus-11 in turnover margin during the regular season. Hunter Bell was the defensive anchor all season long for Grantsville.
#4 Morgan Trojans: 7-3 (4-1), 3A North Co-Champions:
The Trojans were one of thre teams to finish the regular season with a 4-1 region record, concluding the regular season with two much needed wins over Ogden and Union. Junior quarterback, Nick Despain, and senior running back, Will Lance, led the Morgan offense to an average of 34.8 points per game while the defense only allowed 10.8 points per game.
#5 Canyon View Falcons: 4-5 (3-2), 3A South 2nd place:
Senior running back Adrian Ward was the player that kept it all together for Canyon View offensively this season. Ward rushed for 1,147 yards, adding 109 receiving yards and a total of 12 touchdowns. Senior Cooper McMullin was the best player on defense for the Falcons totaling 69 tackles and 14 sacks.
#6 Richfield Wildcats: 4-6 (3-2), 3A South 3rd place:
Richfield team is a perfect example of a team that is better than their record. Five of their six losses were by one possession, meaning that this team was a few plays away from being 9-1. The Wildcats did not score a lot of points, but they also did not allow many. Offensively they only averaged 17.9 points per game, but their defense only allowed 14.5.
#7 North Sanpete Hawks: 4-6 (2-3), 3A South 4th place:
Turnovers haunted what was an explosive North Sanpete passing attack. The Hawks were minus-7 in the turnover margin this season. However, this is a team that can put up big numbers. Seniors Landon Bowles and Dakoda Harward led the Hawks offensively, combining for 23 touchdowns. Andrew Mower led the Hawks defense with 81 tackles.
#8 Union Cougars: 4-6 (2-3), 3A North 4th place:
The Cougars had a very up and down season in 2021. At times they looked like a team that could outscore anyone, and other times they couldn’t score at all. Union only had one game end within one possession, win or lose. Senior quarterback Boone Latham led the Cougar offense with 1,441 yards while throwing 17 touchdowns to just four interceptions.
#9 Manti Templars: 3-6 (2-3), 3A South 5th place:
The Manti Templars had multiple games that could have gone their way, which would have completely changed the outcome of their season. This team is a few plays away from being 5-4 or better. Kayson Douglas and Larson Pogroszewski led the Templar offense. The defense was led by Junior Keegan Strickland.
#10 Ogden Tigers: 3-7 (1-4), 3A North 5th place:
The Tigers’ struggles this year can be traced back to their lack of offensive production. Their defense allowed 27.9 points per game, which isn’t a lot, but when their offense only averaged 21.1 points per game it is hard to win games. Chet Colvin and Yahir Morales led the Tigers on offense.
#11 Carbon Dinos: 2-7 (0-5), 3A South 6th place:
Saying that this Dino season was a roller coaster of emotions would be an understatement. This is a team that started the season 2-1, and battled with rival Emery in the season opener. Despite the success of the non-region portion of the schedule, the Dinos finished region play 0-5. Turnovers plagued Carbon as they finished the regular season a minus-8 turnover margin.
#12 Ben Lomond Scots: 1-9 (0-5), 3A North 6th place:
Ben Lomond struggled to stop anyone defensively this season, allowing 30-plus points in eight of their 10 games this season. Their offense struggled just as much, scoring more than 20 points once this season. The lone Scots win came in a 28-0 victory over Judge Memorial.