High school football: Alta-Bingham is not the only game on tap

You could make a pretty solid argument that the hype for this week's Bingham-Alta showdown began as soon as the two titans of Utah prep football stepped off the field at Rice-Eccles Stadium following their epic semifinal encounter with one another last November.

Right now, there isn't anything hotter than the Bingham-Alta football rivalry, and it's producing mammoth crowds and huge interest whenever the two south valley schools collide.

Bingham-Alta will once again overshadow everything else this weekend in prep football, but the Hawks and the Miners aren't the only ones with a monster game on their hands. Up and down the state, there are a number of enormous preseason contests, many of which would be bantered about as "Game of the Week" material had they not taken place this week.

In no particular order, here is a quick look at several of them:

• No. 4 Cottonwood at No. 3 Layton: This isn't exactly the ideal matchup for Layton to try and deal with the loss of star running back LaVaughn Jackson, who's out with a broken foot, but the Lancers will do what they can to compensate without him in this huge clash of top 5 teams.

• No. 14 East at No. 6 Skyline: Are the Eagles really back, and how exactly is East doing without coach Aaron Whitehead, who abruptly left the Leopards' program just over a month ago? We should find out — at the very least — partial answers to both questions when these neighbors collide in Salt Lake City.

• No. 23 Park City at No. 11 Logan: Park City had Logan beat on the road in the opening round of last year's 3A playoffs — until the last 18 seconds happened and Logan pulled out a miraculous come-from-behind win. Park City has had the crushing defeat on its mind ever since, and this is a huge opportunity for them to take care of some unfinished business inside Logan High's picturesque stadium.

• No. 10 Jordan vs. Massillon, Ohio: Jordan will represent itself and the entire state when it takes on this Ohio school at the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Coming off a close loss to Northridge in Week 1, Jordan will aim to maintain its focus in the high-pressure environment.

• No. 5 Northridge vs. Crespi, Calif. : Like Jordan's game against Massillon, this is another big opportunity for a local team to garner respect for Utah prep football. Northridge showed glimpses in Week 1 of being one of the state's elite teams, and a win this weekend when they face highly regarded Crespi and star junior QB Bryan Bennett at Snow Canyon High would undoubtedly prove that the Knights are for real.

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