There’s still plenty watch for the astute high school football fan even if Timpview smashes Springville in the 4A game and Bingham blasts Davis in 5A, leaving the 3A tilt between Hurricane and Juan Diego as the only competitive offering. Stuff like: 
Tyson Tiatia, Timpview
File photo by Matthew Sauk
1.) Which QB is Bingham using? The Miners have senior Ty Hanney for their passing needs and junior Stefan Cantwell to handle all the Tebowing situations. Platooning QBs usually doesn’t work on the high school level, but then again, this is Bingham.
2.) The quality of offensive linemen. Florida might be known for its speed and Texas its skill, but watch the offensive line play Friday. Granted, Bingham’s Harvey Langi and Davis’ Tanner Hinds each are major D-1 prospects, but they will have big holes to run through, especially on misdirection plays.
3.) Springville is fun to watch, even when the Red Devils are struggling. Yes, the offense is potent, but the defense saved the Wood Cross playoff game with an impressive fourth-quarter effort. And a 29-point lead last week against Dixie turned into a narrow eight-point escape. The Red Devils’ balance is going to produce some points, maybe not enough to beat Timpview, but enough at least to put on a show.
4.) Hurricane’s big-play defense. Juan Diego will eat up chunks of yardage Friday night, but watch the Tiger defense come up big when it needs to; Hurricane snuffed Park City on fourth down four times last week in the semifinals and enjoys the bend-don’t break style of defense.
5.) Will Bingham coach David peck use Jedi mind tricks and tell his Miner players to pretend that Davis is Alta?
6.) Is Timpview’s Trevor Brown the state’s most underappreciated QB? Yeah, yeah, yeah, Jordan’s Alex Hart put up Madden-like numbers; Mountain Crest’s Alex Kuresa shredded Timpview’s secondary for 377 yards in last week’s semifinal and then you had guys like Pleasant Grove’s Dallas Lloyd, Lone Peak’s Tannon Pederson and Jordan Brown for Alta. But is being part of the Timpview machine keeping Brown from getting all the props he deserves? The Thunderbirds were putting up 60 points a night during a regular-season stretch and Brown can run the ball as effectively as he throws.
7.) Who will step up at Juan Diego for Keegan Andersen, the standout Utah State signee who sustained a broken leg in last week’s semifinal over Wasatch? He was a two-way player who had nearly 1,000 receiving yards on offense and six picks on defense.
8.) Springville’s sidelines. Two years ago, Springville was a 2-8 and now here the Red Devils are in the state championship game. Yes, having former NFL quarterback and Springville alumnus Scott Mitchell kind of helps, but Mitchell was smart and surrounded himself with a quality staff, including former Provo coach Ed Larsen as offensive coordinator. Mitchell’s building a strong program that has respect in the Utah football community.
9.) Will Bingham threw to Langi coming out of the backfield, and can the Miner defense contain Hinds?
10.) Will Weber State outdraw Timpview or Bingham? The state’s best programs are playing the morning game (4A kicks off at 10:30, 5A at 2:30 p.m) on a non-holiday Friday. Okay, the 3A game could be the best one, but come on, this is like Fox airing "American Idol" weekdays at noon, or Springsteen opening for Taylor Swift or … insert your own analogy here.
1A-2A recaps
After six consecutive second-place finishes, Rich capped off a perfect season by shutting out Duchesne 25-0 in the snow Saturday afternoon for the 1A title. It was Rich’s first state title since 2002. Bradley Holmes had 399 total yards, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for another.
In the 2A game, Cameron Shumway’s second-quarter 13-yard touchdown pass to Benny Royer held up in San Juan’s 7-0 victory over South Summit. Shumway also preserved the victory with a fourth-quarter interception, fitting for a game where the teams combined for eight turnovers.
