High school football: 5 notable games worth watching in Week 10

The regular season comes to a close this week with games spread out over Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Region titles and RPI seeding is up in the air for many teams, and here’s a look at five games where the implications are the highest.
Considering the way the season started, it’s hard to believe that this Fremont at Farmington matchup is for the Region 1 title.
Fremont started the season 0-2, but has won seven straight and is 4-0 in Region 1 heading into the Week 10 finale. Farmington started 0-4, but is 4-1 since, including last week’s 28-20 win over Davis to set up a region title game this week.
Farmington can’t win the region title outright as it lost to Syracuse in the region opener, but it can earn a share of the title with a win over Fremont.
Fremont beat rival Weber last week 35-21, a game in which junior quarterback Manase Tuatagaloa had another great outing throwing for 326 yards and two TDs. He now has 1,987 passing yards and 24 TDs on the season.
Farmington’s defense made things difficult last week for Davis QB Tradon Bessinger, and they’ll look to do the same thing this week against Tuatagaloa.
West is one win away from its second straight undefeated Region 6 title, but standing in its way is a team that can earn a share of the title as well this weekend.
While West sits at 5-0 in region, Brighton and Olympus are both 4-1, which means a Brighton win would create a likely three-way title for first. Before the RPI, a three-way coin flip would’ve been necessary to determine playoff seeding.
There’s still big RPI implications with the game.
For Brighton, it currently occupies the No. 3 seed in the RPI rankings and likely wouldn’t drop out of the top four even with a loss. West, meanwhile, is much further down at No. 11 in the RPI rankings because of four preseason losses facing a difficult preseason schedule.
Even with a win, West likely can’t climb into a top eight seed, but it can improve its positioning slightly.
West won last year’s meeting 31-24 in the regular season finale to clinch the outright region title. It was the first meeting between the programs since 2002.
The outright Region 7 title is up for grabs as both teams come into the game with 4-0 league records.
That alone makes it an intriguing game, but based on common opponents, there’s a big question whether this game will actually live up to the hype.
Timpview beat Maple Mountain by 35 points last week, whereas Orem narrowly defeated Maple Mountain by two points back in Week 7. Timpview has also won five straight against Orem, including a regular season and playoff win last year.
Only one of Timpview’s last five wins has been decided by single digits, but that was in last year’s playoffs 35-28.
This game should have a playoff feel to it, and Orem likely needs to get off to a good start to have a chance at pulling off the upset.
Corner Canyon has already locked up the Region 2 title, so this game is just a battle for second place. More importantly, though, it’s a huge game for playoff seeding and a possible home game.
If the playoffs started today, No. 8 Mountain Ridge would host No. 9 Bingham in the second round. Depending on other results around the state this week, the winner of this game seems like a lock to finish as a top eight seed , while the loser could find itself tumbling as low as 10th or 11th.
The seeding implications adds another layer to what was already going to be an intense region game.
Bingham won last year’s game 37-27, and is 3-0 all-time in the short history of this rivalry.
Mountain Ridge has built some momentum heading into the Week 10 showdown, winning three straight since a 21-14 loss to Corner Canyon. Bingham lost to Corner Canyon last week 37-21, but it was a tight game until a critical fourth quarter turnover for the Miners.
This rivalry showdown is all about building momentum for the playoffs, and for Sky View, maybe a bit of revenge.
Ridgeline is a lock to win the region title, but Sky View can earn a second-place finish with a win, whereas Green Canyon can create a three-way tie for second if it prevails.
There’s extra motivation for Sky View’s players from last season. The Bobcats were the No. 1 seed in the 4A playoffs last season but suffered their first loss in the quarterfinals against No. 8 Green Canyon.
The coaching staff is different for Sky View, but the players no doubt remember that heartbreak well.
Both teams currently own a top eight RPI seed, which guarantees a first-round bye. Sky View will likely remain in the top eight win over lose, but Green Canyon will likely fall out of the top eight with a loss in the regular-season finale.