Riding a perfect season Pleasant Grove (7-0, 4-0) can’t afford to look ahead at the prospects of winning Region 4 or its upcoming showdown with defending state champion Alta.
Even though the team is enjoying an undefeated season and on the verge of winning the most difficult region in the state, nobody in powder blue is looking beyond the game at hand.
“It feels good to be undefeated but we’re playing really good teams, so we don’t think about that, we think about the next game,” said defensive end Joe Kruger after last week’s 12-7 victory over Brighton.
The Vikings know they’ll most likely have to win both of their remaining games to take the region title outright. And complicating things for Dale Sampson’s team is the uncertainty of injured starting quarterback Dallas Lloyd.
Both Pleasant Grove and Lone Peak (6-2, 4-1) are working on a short week for tonight’s critical region game. “We’re going into the lions den now. We just notched another one, and everyone is after us,” Sampson said in reference to his team’s remaining schedule.
On the other hand, Lone Peak is in position to steal a piece of the region.
If the Knights can defeat the Vikings tonight, and then beat Copper Hills next week, Lone Peak would only need a Pleasant Grove victory over Alta to be co-champions of the league.
Of course, the Hawks (6-2, 3-1) could win the region, by defeating Hillcrest on Friday and then beating the Vikings on the road the following week.
Brighton coach Ryan Bullett has played both Alta and Pleasant Grove this season, and he said these two teams are evenly matched.
“They’re both very good,” Bullett said. “They’re both physical, they’re both tough [and] they’re both athletic. It’ll be a dog fight coming down the stretch.”
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