The Alta Hawks host the Hillcrest Huskies at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, in a Class 5A first-round football playoff game that pits two area programs on very different trajectories.

Alta (7-3) enters as the No. 6 seed after finishing second in 5A Region 6 with a 4-1 region record, according to MaxPreps. Hillcrest (8-2) earned the No. 11 seed as the runner-up in 5A Region 4, per MaxPreps.

The records tell only part of the story.

Noland Parry's Power Guide, published Oct. 26 in the Deseret News, gives Alta a 100.2 power rating against Hillcrest's 52.1, a 48.1-point gap. Both Parry and Deseret News high school sports editor James Edward pick the Hawks. Parry went 9-1 picking games the previous week and carries an 80.2 percent season-to-date accuracy rate.

Quarterback matchup

The game features two productive signal-callers. Alta quarterback Xavier Cocci threw for 202 yards and three touchdowns while completing 73.3 percent of his passes in the Hawks' 48-7 win over Brighton on Oct. 14, according to a MaxPreps recap. He also rushed for 42 yards and a score. That was his fifth consecutive game with at least one rushing touchdown. Alta piled up 299 rushing yards in that game.

Hillcrest quarterback K'Von Houston put up 442 yards and six touchdowns through the air while completing 86.4 percent of his passes in the Huskies' 55-0 shutout of Kearns on Oct. 14, per a MaxPreps preview of the matchup. Receiver Alani Latu hauled in 224 receiving yards and two touchdowns in that game. Houston has averaged 5.0 passing touchdowns per game over his last four outings, up from 2.8 in his previous 16 games.

Season snapshots

Alta has won four of its last five games, averaging 32.6 points over that stretch. The Hawks have scored 276 points and allowed 189 on the season and ride a two-game winning streak into the postseason.

Hillcrest has won seven games by 40 or more points and carries a four-game winning streak. The Huskies have outscored opponents 393-146. Their two losses came in contrasting fashion: a 40-0 shutout by Desert Hills in the Aug. 14 season opener and a 55-6 defeat at West on Sept. 18.

The Preece Power Poll ranks Alta 15th statewide and Hillcrest 59th heading into the playoffs.

Bracket and what's next

This is the first year since 2019 that only the top 16 teams in 5A qualify for the state tournament, according to a Yahoo Sports report on the final RPI rankings that seeded the bracket. The UHSAA 5A semifinals are scheduled for Nov. 12, with the championship set for Nov. 20 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Kickoff Friday is at 6 p.m. at Alta High School in Sandy.