By Jeremy Brunner

High school football is finally back. I still remember my favorite moments from last year: The first story of the year, about a Clearfield High defensive tackle who was profoundly deaf. He never seemed to get fooled by the hard count. In week one, a dissapointing showdown between Bingham and Alta, the Miners were just too good in round one. In week two, I made the ludicrously long drive to Monticello to see the Buckaroos host the Grand County Red Devils. Fans in Monticello seemed happy to get some big-time coverage, even if their team did lose the game 48-0. I remember a soggy showdown at Lone Peak. Under a steady downpour all night, the Knights were up 13-0, before Pleasant Grove scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to pull the upset. At halftime, I followed the refs into their heated garage, and they let me stay, once they had determined I wasn't an angry fan.

I remember a tragic story when I talked to the Duchesne Eagles. They had lost a coach to cancer just three days before a region-title clinching showdown with Rich. Won't forget that one soon. Then driving from that 1-A showdown straight to a 5-A showdown between Fremont and Davis. It was another great game, with the Silverwolves prevailing 19-13.

I recall the emergence of Shak, or as he's listed in the program, Sausan Shakerin. This Alta RB just refuses to go down. He would go on to be the first-ever Underclassman to win our Mr. Football Award. Or how about the last week of the season, when lowly West somehow put together a complete game, and just crushed top-ranked Highland. What a game? Afterwards, you could still see the disbelief on both teams' faces, and especially a shocked West crowd.

Then there was the playoffs. So many snapshots run through the head: Snow Canyon super soph. Adam Timo running through undefeated Park City and defending champ Logan in back-to-back weeks. Duchesne winning their first title ever, in surprisingly easy fashion over my alma-mater Kanab. Bear River winning a rugged quarterfinal game at home against Judge Memorial. The Bears would roll through the rest of the playoffs. Timpview's defense. Wow. And last-but-not-least: That incredible 5-A state title game between Alta and Bingham. Specifically, 4th and goal. Bingham up 21-13. Everyone in Rice Eccles Stadium knew the ball was going to Shaq, and he still had the willpower to dart outside and score the touchdown. Bingham had one more stop in them though, and foiled the two-point conversion to make a little history of their own.

Enough memory lane, lets get to the picks:

Alta 42 at Spanish Fork 24

American Fork 17 at Provo 7

Bingham 30 at Skyline 19

Bonneville 15 at Layton 40

Bountiful 17 at Lone Peak 49

Box Elder 22 at Weber 6

Carbon 34 at American Leadership Academy 27

Cedar City 21 at Bear River 48

Copper Hills 23 at Payson 8

Cottonwood 19 at Brighton 23

Delta 38 at Union 19

Dixie 38 at Springville 29

Duchesne 17 at Emery 16

Enterprise 31 at Beaver 38

Fremont 29 at East 28

Granger 9 at Taylorsville 31

Grantsville 9 at Wasatch 20

Hunter 10 at Davis 16

Jordan 23 at Northridge 20

Juab 13 at Morgan 10

Judge Memorial 30 at North Sanpete 3

Kanab 12 at San Juan 34

Logan 49 at Grand 19

Manti 20 at Richfield 26

Millard 19 at Hurricane 17

Mountain Crest 19 at Highland 49

Mountain View 34 at Pine View 49

North Sevier 31 at Layton Christian 34

North Summit 27 at Ogden 12

Olympus 10 at Kearns 27

Orem 16 at Viewmont 30

Park City 24 at Hillcrest 33

Parowan 10 at Monticello 14

Pleasant Grove 13 at Timpview 21

Riverton 23 at Timpanogos 17(OT)

Roy 12 at Syracuse 13

Sky View 30 at Clearfield 28

South Sevier 19 at Gunnison 20

South Summit 35 at Altamont 24

Tooele 23 at Cyprus 16

Uintah 0 at Snow Canyon 47

West 17 at Juan Diego 19

West Jordan 10 at Lehi 7(OT)

Woods Cross 38 at Ben Lomond 29

Agree/Disagree? Post below.