Published: Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011 7:18 p.m. MST
By James Edward, Deseret News
| SALT LAKE CITY — In the history of Utah high school football, there has never been a season with four undefeated state champions. That could all change Friday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
A week after Duchesne capped a perfect season in Class 1A, top-ranked teams Lone Peak, Logan and Hurricane are hoping for similar success on what figures to be a fantastic day of championship games at the U.
There have been 558 high school football games this year, but the last three could be among the best.
Friday's festivities get underway at 11 a.m. with No. 1 Logan facing No. 2 East. The rankings were reversed when these teams met on the final day of the regular season, but that didn't stop Logan from dismantling East, 46-14.
East rested some key starters in that game, and Logan exploited that decision. East obviously won't hold anything back this time, but it might not make a difference.
Logan quarterback D.J. Nelson set a new state record last week by racking up 606 yards of total offense.
The Grizzlies are 3-1 in state championship games under Mike Favero, while second-year East coach Brandon Matich is looking to guide the Leopards to their first state title since 1996.
In the 5A final at 2:30 p.m., both Lone Peak and Fremont are hoping to avoid a letdown after two of the most intense semifinal games in recent memory.
Fremont needed overtime to beat Syracuse last week, 21-14, while Lone Peak rallied past Jordan, 45-41 as Chase Hansen scored the winning touchdown with 31 seconds remaining.
Fremont beat Lone Peak 20-14 in last year's semifinal, a sloppy game that featured eight turnovers. Both teams had their fair share of turnovers in last week's semifinals as well, so expect ball security to be a big point of emphasis in the championship.
Neither 5A school has won a state championship before, both with 0-2 records in previous title games.
In the 3A nightcap at 6:30 p.m., Hurricane and Desert Hills are both gunning for their first state titles as well.
Hurricane is 0-6 in title games over the past 29 years, including last-second losses to Juan Diego in each of the past three seasons. Against fourth-year school Desert Hills, which Hurricane beat 35-8 back in Week 9 this year, many believe this is the year of the Tigers.
Championship week
Friday at Rice-Eccles:
Class 4A
Logan vs. East, 11 a.m.
Class 5A
Fremont vs. Lone Peak, 2:30 p.m.
Class 3A
Hurricane vs. Desert Hills, 6:30 p.m.
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