Mountain Ridge is the class of Utah right now. It is 7-0 and 34th on the SPIN Power 100.
There has been one crack. Chaparral scored 41 points on Mountain Ridge in a 54-41 Mountain Ridge win in Temecula, California, on September 18, and that is the most anybody has scored on it this season. But until someone beats Mountain Ridge, there is no question who is No. 1 in Utah.
Herriman, its crosstown rival, visits on Friday at 7:00 PM Mountain. Both teams are 3-0 in Region 2. Herriman is 6-1, and its only loss was 22-20 to Lehi last week. This is a mature Mountain Ridge team that looks hungry. Herriman plays physical defense. Throw the records out.
By the numbers
| Herriman | Mountain Ridge | |
|---|---|---|
| SPIN Utah Top 10 | 10 | 1 |
| Record | 6-1 | 7-0 |
| Region 2 | 3-0 | 3-0 |
| Points per game | 39.9 | 48.1 |
| Points allowed per game | 12.7 | 12.6 |
| Head coach | Matt Rickards | Nick Robins, second season |
Scoring averages are SPIN's arithmetic on each team's seven game results.
Mountain Ridge
Mountain Ridge opened by beating Skyridge 41-26 on August 13. Skyridge is 6-1 and 50th on the SPIN Power 100. Mountain Ridge beat Riverton 56-7 last week.
Quarterback Jaxon Hunt, a senior, went 21 of 29 for 481 yards against Riverton and threw seven touchdown passes, all of them in the first half. He has nearly 2,500 passing yards and 32 touchdown passes this season.
Herriman
Herriman's offense runs through senior running back Filisi Filipe, who has about 1,240 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Bryson Sweeney has 13 touchdown passes.
Lehi won 22-20 in Herriman last week. Mountain Ridge beat that same Lehi team 42-0 at Lehi in August.
The series
Mountain Ridge leads the series 5-1 and has won four straight. It beat Herriman twice last season. On October 3 it won 24-8 at Herriman and ended Herriman's unbeaten season. On November 7 it won 22-14 at home in the 6A quarterfinals.
Mountain Ridge went 10-3 last season, won Region 2 and lost to Corner Canyon in the semifinals.
What Friday does
The winner will be the only team left unbeaten in Region 2. Both have two region games left after this one.
For Mountain Ridge, it is the next test of whether the Chaparral game was a warning or an outlier. For Herriman, it is the chance to do what nobody has done to Mountain Ridge this season.
Kickoff is 7:00 PM Mountain. KSL is carrying the game on Game Night Live, on KSL 5.3, KSLSports.com and the KSL Sports app.
