Alta, Hillcrest enter Week 9 football as heavy favorites

All three Sandy-area varsity football programs play region games Thursday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m.

Alta (5-3, 2-1 Region 6) travels to Viewmont (3-5), Hillcrest (6-2, 4-1 Region 4) hosts Taylorsville at home, and Jordan (4-4, 2-2 Region 10) heads to East (1-6, 1-3). The Deseret News' Parry's Power Guide projects Alta and Hillcrest as comfortable favorites but tabs Jordan as a 22.5-point underdog.

Alta at Viewmont

The Hawks dropped out of the KSL Sports Top 25 after falling 28-29 at Bountiful on Oct. 2. Bountiful entered Week 9 ranked No. 17 at 5-2.

Parry's Power Guide gives Alta a rating of 97.6 against Viewmont's 78.7, projecting an 18.9-point margin for the Hawks. The Deseret News' James Edward also picks Alta.

Head coach Blake Burdette's squad won three of four games before the Bountiful loss. That stretch included a Sept. 25 win over Woods Cross (27-21) and a Sept. 18 victory over Olympus (23-10) that snapped a four-year losing streak against the Titans. After the Olympus win, Burdette told the Deseret News in a Sept. 20 story: "I was happy with the progression of our offense, and our defense is playing really well right now."

Viewmont enters the game at 3-5. Alta is ranked No. 19 in Utah by MaxPreps as of Oct. 4.

Hillcrest vs. Taylorsville

The Huskies carry the largest projected margin of the three Sandy matchups. Parry's Power Guide rates Hillcrest at 50.7 and Taylorsville at 18.9, a 31.8-point gap. Edward picks Hillcrest as well.

Hillcrest rolled past Cyprus 53-6 on Oct. 2 to extend its winning streak to two games. The Huskies have scored 289 points and allowed 146 through eight games. Their only region loss was a 55-6 defeat at West on Sept. 18.

Quarterback K'Von Houston had already thrown 22 touchdown passes through seven games this season. In a 48-8 Week 7 win over West Jordan, Houston completed 25 of 37 passes for 353 yards and six touchdowns, according to the Deseret News. After that Sept. 25 win, head coach Robby Kaelin said: "We have the skill players and things just opened up."

The Huskies could be headed for their first winning season since 2003. Taylorsville has lost to Uintah (7-54), West Jordan (9-47), Granger (10-49) and Cyprus (9-27) this year, though the Warriors beat Kearns 32-14 on Oct. 2.

Jordan at East

This matchup carries the most intrigue. Jordan rides a two-game winning streak after beating Cottonwood 51-6 on Oct. 2 and Judge Memorial Catholic 24-16 on Sept. 25. The Beetdiggers have scored 151 points and allowed 220 this season.

East is 1-6 overall and 1-3 in Region 10, with its lone win a 54-6 result over Juan Diego Catholic on Sept. 25. The Leopards have been shut out four times this season, losing to Tafuna (46-0), West (60-0), Layton Christian Academy (50-0) and Highland (35-0).

Yet Parry's Power Guide rates East at 49.0 and Jordan at 26.5, making the Leopards 22.5-point favorites at home. Edward also picks East.