Felt’s Facts – Week 7 – 2015

Falcons Soar

Canyon View came into the season with an all-time record of 43-134, winning less than 25-percent of its games since opening in 1997. The Falcons have experienced just two winning campaigns in 18 years of football (1998 and 2000). But they’re enjoying a breakout season under third-year coach Larry “Robby” Robinson.

The Falcons sport a 5-1 record for the first time since 1998, their second season. They haven’t won five games in a season since 2005. And over the previous three seasons combined, CV won a total of five games.

This year, Canyon View leads the state in scoring, averaging an eye-popping 49.7 points per game. The Falcons are also tops in total yards, averaging a whopping 581 yards per game. (Traditional offensive power Jordan ranks second, averaging 551 y.p.g.)

In contrast to the current vogue of wide-open spread offenses that favor passing, over two-thirds of Canyon View’s yards have come on the ground. The Falcons average 397 rushing yards per game.

Last week, they rushed for 590 yards, the eighth-best performance in Utah prep history. They amassed 703 yards of total offense, the 10th-most ever.

Earlier in the season, Canyon View nipped Cedar 42-41 and captured the Pick, the traveling trophy symbolizing the rivalry, for just the third time in 19 tries and snapped a nine-game losing streak to Cedar. The Class 3A Falcons’ only loss came at the hands of 3AA defending champion Dixie, 55-42.

Coach Robinson told Felt’s Facts he attributes the team’s success largely to “Kent Dastrup, who several years ago had a vision for the youth football league. His tireless efforts increased turnout, provided for more difficult opponents and eventually led to this senior group, which is the first team to go through the program. They have played together for the past five years, which has helped as well. Our success wouldn’t have happened without Kent Dastrup.”

Friday, Canyon View hosts Juab, both 2-0 in league play, in a 3A South showdown.

Undefeateds

After six weeks of the 2015 season, seven teams remain unbeaten and eight have yet to win. No games match any of the undefeated teams or pair any of the winless squads this week.

Of the unbeaten teams, Class 5A rules with four – and two, Mountain Crest and Sky View reside in Region 1. Springville in 4A, South Summit in 2A and Diamond Ranch in 1A have yet to taste defeat. All the teams in Classes 3AA and 3A have at least one loss.

South Summit can match its best-ever, 7-0 start (2013) with a home win over Summit Academy. The Wildcats have already set an ongoing school-record winning streak, 16 games over two seasons.

Diamond Ranch (4-0) has equaled its best-ever start (2011). A victory at Parowan gives the Diamondbacks their fifth straight win, tying the school record (2012).

In addition to Canyon View, a couple of other one-loss teams are off to their best start in several years. Murray last started 5-1 in 1994 when the Spartans won seven of their first eight contests and finished 8-3. Milford last saw 4-1 in 1999 when the Tigers advanced to the Class 2A semifinals and finished 9-3.

For Four Teams, Region Play at Last

The playoffs for most classifications are four weeks away and just three weeks away in Class 3A. This week, several teams can clinch a tie for a playoff berth. But in Class 1A, four teams, Diamond Ranch, Duchesne, Kanab and Rich, see region competition for the first time. In 1A, only four games of this season’s 20 league contests have been played.

Brighton-Jordan Continued

Brighton and Jordan seemed to pick up where they left off last year when Brighton outlasted Jordan 78-76 in triple-overtime. They played their second straight offensive marathon, which ended up being a two-pointer for the second year in a row, but with Jordan on top, 51-49. They combined for 1,306 yards of total offense. That’s the fourth-most combined yards ever. Brighton’s 698 yards of total offense, albeit in a losing effort, is the 12th most on record.

Player Accolades from Week 6

Wasatch’s Skyler Southam kicked three field goals last week to bring his career total to a state-record 29. He eclipsed Bingham’s Justin Sorensen, who made 28 from 2005-07. By the way, it’s the third time Southam has hit three field goals in a game this season. He’s booted 13 this season, good for a 10th-place tie for season field goals.

At Maple Mountain, QB Jaren Hall has climbed into 10th place in career attempts (808) and 19th in career completions (428).

Jordan receiver Spencer Curtis has vaulted into 10th place in career receptions (139).

First-time Meeting

Just one, Wayne at Rich.

But three other games feature programs that haven’t met for a while.

Kearns and Murray last clashed 41 seasons ago in 1974. Each school has won four games in the series…. Davis and Granger square off for the first time since 2006; Davis leads the series 5-0…. Alta is 3-0 against Spanish Fork as these squads tangle for the first time since 2008.

This Week’s Most-played Rivalries (min. 50 games)

Meanwhile, seven games pit teams that have faced each other – or will have by the weekend – at least 50 times. They’re listed in order of most-games-played with the series leader mentioned first.

Logan and Bear River meet for the 82nd time since 1925, but first since 2011. Logan has captured the last three over the Bears and leads the series 50-28-3.

Richfield holds a 40-23-2 series edge going into its 66th battle with North Sanpete. NS won a region playoff last season to halt the Wildcats’ series winning streak at four.

Cedar and Hurricane duke it out for the 65th time in 67 seasons – since 1949. Hurricane has taken five of the last seven, including last year’s 13-7 overtime thriller. But Cedar still dominates the series 44-17-3.

Box Elder and Ogden meet for the 62nd time since 1921. BE has won the last three in the series to extend its lead to 39-20-2.

Orem leads its series with Provo 31-26-1 as they clash for the 59th time since 1930. Orem has captured three straight over Provo, but this week marks their first meeting since 2012.

Kanab controls its series with Milford 46-10-1 as these teams play for the 58th time since 1949. Since 2000, Kanab has won six straight in the intermittent series.

Judge Memorial has taken four straight over Park City to narrow the Miners’ series lead to 25-21-3 as they head into their 50th meeting since 1926.

Most Improved

Altamont and Lehi lead the state as the most-improved teams so far this season, both moving from 0-10 in 2014 to 3-3 this year, an improvement of 5.0 games. Alta (2-9 to 4-2), Canyon View (3-8 to 5-1), Mountain Crest (4-8 to 5-0) and Park City (2-9 to 4-2) are all 4.5 games better after six weeks of play. (The NCAA calculates this by taking the difference in year-to-year victories and the difference in losses, adding the two numbers and dividing by 2.)

Milestones

Box Elder seeks its 550th victory, Cedar aims for its 350th and Altamont guns for its 150th.

Orem plays its 800th game and Timpanogos battles for the 200th time.

Among coaches, Jerry Cowan shoots for his 75th victory, all at Duchesne. (Last week Felt’s Facts suggested Cowan could pick up the win last week, but the Eagles had a bye.)

This Week’s Top 5…

Scoring teams: Canyon View, 49.7 ppg; Jordan, 44.0; Mountain Crest, 43.2; Dixie, 40.7; Sky View and Diamond Ranch, 40.3.

Defensive teams: Kanab, 6.7; South Summit, 9.0; Lone Peak, 9.5; Bingham, 9.7; Duchesne, 9.8.

By winning margin: Lone Peak, 30.3; Sky View, 29.3; South Summit, 29.0; Bingham and Davis, 25.7.

Longest Plays of the Season

Cedar’s Mason Fakahua connected with Bracken Yardley on a 99-yard pass on Sept. 11, becoming just the 14th pair in Utah prep history to accomplish that feat. That play leads this listing of the longest plays of the year in several categories.

Passing (min. 90 yards)
99 – Mason Fakahua to Bracken Yardley, Cedar, 9/11 vs. Juab
90 – Nick Warmsley to Zak Fuchs, Desert Hills, 8/21 vs. Jordan
90 – Hunter Albert to Simi Fehoko, Brighton, 9/18 vs. Taylorsville

Rushing (min. 85 yards)
93 – Demetrius Smith, Tooele, 9/25 vs. Logan
89 – Koy Wilkinson, Pleasant Grove, 9/4 vs. Jordan
85 – Jordan Hardy, Milford, 9/4 vs. North Sevier

Interception Returns (min. 95 yards)
99 – Simote Lokotui, Bingham, 9/18 vs. Copper Hills
98 – Jaden Tullis, Cedar, 8/21 vs. Provo

Kickoff Returns (min. 98 yards)
99 – Brady Atkin, Bingham, 9/11 vs. West Jordan
99 – Kobe Beatty, Bonneville, 9/25 vs. East
99 – Nate Cutler, Corner Canyon, 8/21 vs. Pleasant Grove
99 – Samson Nacua, Timpview, 9/18 vs. Provo
99 – Cameron Peterson, Uintah, 9/25 vs. Springville
98 – Jake Jutkins, Herriman, 8/21 vs. Brighton

Field Goal Returns (min. 90 yards)
92 – Talo Latu, Highland, 9/25 vs. Provo

Field Goals (min. 50 yards)
55 – Tari Lewis, Stansbury, 9/4 vs. Grantsville
53 – Gage Cuthbertson, Murray, 9/4 vs. Tooele
50 – Gage Cuthbertson, Murray, 8/28 vs. Copper Hills
50 – Tim Hemmersmeier, Judge Memorial, 8/21 vs. Pine View
50 – Joey Matsen, Skyline, 8/20 vs. Hurricane
50 – Kyle Mitchell, Bingham, 9/18 vs. Copper Hills

See you on the sidelines!

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