Dixie High coach Blaine Monkres doesn't have to explain the math to his players.

Because the UHSAA created a situation in which half of Region 9 competes in Class 3A and half of Region 9 competes in Class 4A, the four 3A schools — Hurricane, Cedar, Canyon View and Desert Hills — only get to play three meaningful football games this fall, while the three 4A schools — Dixie, Pine View and Snow Canyon — only get to play two meaningful ones.

The UHSAA's decision to split the league into two classifications essentially wiped out the regular season for those schools and has instead created a quasi play-in scenario in which Region 9 schools must get wins in just two or three games — or else.

For the 4A boys, it all boils down to three total games over as many weeks. Pine View plays at Dixie this week, Snow Canyon plays at Pine View next week and Dixie plays at Snow Canyon in two weeks.

Some think it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but as Monkres pointed out, all his players can do is go and compete.

They're looking forward to the challenge.

"The kids know it — they know there's a lot of pressure," Monkres said. "So they've just got to deal with it and just go out and play."

That will begin Friday evening at 7 p.m. for Dixie when it hosts defending Region 9 champ Pine View. Well, Region 9 defending 4A champ Pine View, that is.

Under the direction of Monkres, the veteran coach who's in his first season at Dixie High, the Flyers have steadily improved since the beginning of the year.

However, Monkres said taking on the highly regarded Panthers will present an entirely different challenge for Dixie. Monkres called Pine View "the king of the mountain" in southern Utah, and the Panthers will undoubtedly give Dixie everything it can possibly handle.

"We'll find out where we're at," said Monkres.

TOP 25 WATCH: Several teams endured big drops while everyone else moved up slightly in the Deseret News Top 25 rankings following Week 7 of the football season.

Ninth-ranked Sky View and No. 14 Northridge, both upset victims, dropped outside the top 10, as Sky View fell four spots and Northridge fell seven spots. Highland (17th) and No. 21 Lone Peak, meanwhile, both lost tight games to highly regarded opponents, but both also fell big. Highland dropped five spots and Lone Peak fell four spots.

On the other hand, a number of winning teams benefitted from those drops to climb slightly, but nobody in this week's rankings rose more than three spots.

This week also marked the 2008 Top 25 debut of unbeaten Delta at No. 23. Through seven weeks, the Rabbits are impressively pitching a shutout against in-state opponents.

MORE RANKINGS: The Timpview T-Birds continue to fly high in national rankings, as they're ranked No. 17 in the country by rivals.com.

Maxpreps.com, on the other hand, has Timpview ranked 43rd nationally, five spots behind the highest-ranked Utah team in that list, No. 38 Cottonwood.

E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com