First day thoughts and 3A picks
While many games played out the way I expected, there were a few surprising results during Tuesday’s opening games.
How about both of last year’s 4A finalists going down in overtime in the first round? Bonneville beat defending 4A champ Orem on a golden goal from Jaiden Thornock in the upset of the day. Woods Cross rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to force an extra session, where Nikki Fernandes then punched in the game winner.
Of the two Region 7 teams to advance, I did not expect one to be Timpview. The T-Birds had won only three games coming into the playoffs. It probably helped them to play 4A’s weakest no. 1 seed in Snow Canyon, but a road win against just about any team would have been impressive given Timpview’s struggles.
5A played out the way I expected, although I was a little surprised with how quickly and easily Brighton scored on Lehi. Let’s not forget that Pioneers keeper Briar Sands led 5A with 11 shutouts coming into this game. The Bengals should give Davis a nice challenge on Thursday. Everyone seems to be predicting a Davis-Alta final, but Brighton could wreck those plans with a similar offensive performance against the Darts.
The most impressive region? Region 5, which advanced all four seeds to the quarterfinals.
In 5A, Region 1 advanced the most teams with Davis, Viewmont and Fremont all winning first round games.
Here are my 3A picks for Wednesday:
Judge Memorial at Delta:
The defending 3A champs had some rocky moments in Region 10. Should not matter against Delta. The Rabbits are not exactly what I’d call a soccer powerhouse.
Prediction: Judge 5, Delta 1
Carbon at Logan:
Logan has got 3A’s second best scoring defense behind Juan Diego. It probably won’t break a sweat against the Dinos.
Prediction: Logan 4, Carbon 0
Ogden at Canyon View:
The Falcons really stumbled to the finish in Region 9 play, winning only one of their final five regular season games. Still, they earned a no. 1 seed and I expect home field advantage to serve them well against the Tigers. Amanda Allen can really score for Canyon View, with 18 goals to her credit.
Prediction: Canyon View 3, Ogden 1
Salem Hills at Waterford:
The Ravens could be ripe for an upset, with injuries at key positions seriously impacting their depth — especially on defense. I don’t think an upset will happen here though. If Waterford can do one thing well, it is scoring. And all of the Ravens’ offensive weapons are intact and healthy.
Prediction: Waterford 5, Salem Hills 3
Hurricane at Bear River:
The Bears bounced back nicely from a rough start with seven wins in their last 10 games. The only team to beat them in that stretch was Region 11 champ Logan. Hurricane, on the other hand, has to travel from one end of the state to the other and I just don’t see that playing in their favor.
Prediction: Bear River 2, Hurricane 1
Wasatch at Juan Diego:
This is a dangerous game for the Soaring Eagle. The Wasps beat them 1-0 in the preseason and are strong enough to do it again. Working against Wasatch is the fact that Juan Diego will be looking for payback from the earlier loss. The Soaring Eagle made it to the 3A title game in 2006 and ’07. I don’t think their season will end here. But a win won’t come easy.
Prediction: Juan Diego 1, Wasatch 0 (OT)
North Sanpete at Park City:
The Miners look like the class of Region 10. North Sanpete is the fifth seed in a bad region. You do the math.
Prediction: Park City 8, North Sanpete 1
Morgan at Cedar:
The Redmen are the only second seed with a losing record in any classification. That doesn’t say good things about the strength of their region. Morgan is a decent team. While the trip to Iron County will be a long one, I think the Trojans will have enough in the tank to win this one.
Prediction: Morgan 3, Cedar 1
There are three 2A play-in games going on, but I’ll skip over making predictions in that classification until Saturday’s quarterfinal round. Hopefully, I’ll do better in 3A than I did in 4A and 5A. My record is 10-6 so far.