High school football is less than two weeks away. Here’s a breakdown of 5A Region 5, as well as Bear River High’s prospects in Region 11 below.

REGION 5

FAVORITES

Bountiful

Bountiful’s status as the unanimous favorite in the Region 5 coaches poll is twofold. The Redhawks won the region last year with a perfect 5-0 record, so they’ve earned some respect as the defending champions.

They also return the leading rusher, Corbin Cottle, have some deep and talented upcoming classes and, overall, Bountiful has a good thing going the last two seasons with a combined 15-8 record.

Box Elder

Not only does Box Elder return most of its players, but the Bees return all their most critical players: quarterback, running backs, the offensive line, defensive line, secondary, etc.

If there’s one thing Box Elder has done lately, it’s improve upon a sub-.500 season. In 2017, the Bees went 4-6 and followed that with a 7-4 mark in 2018.

In 2019, they went 3-8 and then posted a 5-6 mark in 2020.

DARK HORSES

Bonneville

Bonneville is young but talented. The last time the Lakers had a young and talented team was 2019 and they went 6-5 overall that year with a 3-2 record in Region 5, which that year included Farmington, which had 6A enrollment.

So in theory, Bonneville could contend for the region this year. The Lakers have a good mix of nonregion games that are tough and winnable, meaning they can lose a couple and improve, and also win a couple and get some confidence.

Also, other coaches around the area whose teams scrimmaged Bonneville this summer had similar things to say about the Lakers: Yeah they’re young, but they look pretty good.

Northridge

Northridge returns several starters on both sides of the ball and it’s Andrew Fresques’ third year as head coach, so the football players in grades 10-12 know his systems, his styles and whatnot.

If the Knights figure out their quarterback, receiver and middle linebacker spots, they should be in the mix. The only reason they’re not getting picked higher is because the seniors who graduated from last season’s 7-4 team were studs and at least three of them ended up on college rosters.

UNKNOWNS

Viewmont

There’s a ton of hype around the program as new coaches have come in, and those new coaches have successfully recruited the school hallways to increase the program’s numbers.

Viewmont should be an athletic team, but the fact of the matter is there’s new coaching systems to adjust to as well as all those new players (read: team chemistry).

Can enough happen around dual-threat quarterback Luke Jacobs to give him room to run wild, or will teams bottle him up?

Woods Cross

Theoretically, Woods Cross should improve from last year’s 0-10 season in which it was outscored 312-78, because the only direction to go is up.

The Wildcats ran flexbone/triple-option on offense, a 180-degree departure from spread concepts the players had run previously at WXHS as well as in youth football.

How much they improve this year is obviously to be determined. Woods Cross’s schedule at first is tough, with West Jordan, Kearns and Brighton as the first three games before a winnable home game with Logan.

REGION 5 COACHES POLL

First-place votes are in parentheses. Teams get 6 points for a first-place vote, 5 points for a second-place vote and so on.

1. Bountiful, 30 (5)

2. Bonneville, 22

3. Box Elder, 19

T4. Viewmont, 12

T4. Woods Cross, 12

6. Northridge, 10

BEAR RIVER IN REGION 11

Region 11 would be a tough challenge for the average 5A school. Bear River, meanwhile, is on the smaller side of the 4A enrollment spectrum.

Add in the fact that the Bears have new coaching schemes to get used to, a bunch of new players and a thin senior class, and the 2022 region campaign looks tough once again.

Green Canyon, Ridgeline and Sky View seem to each have claims as favorites to win the title based on returning starters and such. Bear River would be more in the “unknown” category. The new coaching styles might stick, the Bears might get a couple early wins and get a hot fire burning in time for region games.

They could also still be working out the kinks in October. Right now, it looks like Bear River may trend toward the bottom half of Region 11 along with Logan and Mountain Crest. Whether the Bears are ultimately fourth, fifth or sixth is hard to tell.

Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.

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