Corner Canyon faces unbeaten Mountain Ridge in 6A semifinal

Corner Canyon carries a 12.3-point power-rating advantage into its 6A semifinal against unbeaten Mountain Ridge, but one of the state's most-watched football predictors is betting on the upset.

Parry's Power Guide, published Nov. 9 by the Deseret News, rates Corner Canyon at 140.5 and Mountain Ridge at 128.2 for the Week 4 semifinal matchup. Despite that gap, Deseret News high school sports editor James Edward picked Mountain Ridge to win. Edward entered the week with a season record of 520-114 (82.0%).

The pick sets up a stark question for Draper: Can the Chargers reach the state title game, or will the Sentinels avenge last year's 59-20 semifinal loss to Corner Canyon?

What each team did in the quarterfinals

Corner Canyon (10-2) rolled past Syracuse 42-6 on Nov. 6, according to the Deseret News quarterfinal recap. Senior quarterback Jaxon Pehrson connected with Carter Kjar on a 43-yard touchdown early, and the Chargers built a 28-0 halftime lead. Running back Jackson Carruth scored twice on the ground.

Mountain Ridge (12-0) was just as dominant, beating Lone Peak 42-3. Sentinels quarterback Jaxon Hunt threw three touchdowns, hitting receiver Tytan DeJong twice.

The matchup by the numbers

Corner Canyon averages 40.5 points per game and allows 13.5, both second in 6A, according to the Deseret News' quarterfinal preview. Mountain Ridge leads the classification in both categories: 45.9 points scored and 11.0 allowed per game.

The Sentinels beat every 6A playoff team on their schedule during the regular season, including No. 1 seed Skyridge (41-26) and No. 4 seed Herriman (45-7). Corner Canyon's only losses came to Liberty of Arizona (38-24) and Skyridge (37-27). The Chargers have won four straight since that Skyridge defeat.

Defensively, Corner Canyon has recorded 35 sacks this season. Wyatt Warner leads with 14. The unit has scored seven defensive touchdowns. Mountain Ridge counters with Hunt's 47 passing touchdowns against just six interceptions on the year.

A new coach chasing history

First-year head coach Casey Sutera took over after Eric Kjar left Corner Canyon for Weber State. Sutera previously coached at Brighton High School and served as Corner Canyon's defensive coordinator when the Chargers won three consecutive state titles from 2018 to 2020, according to the Deseret News.

Corner Canyon won state championships in 2023, 2024 and 2025 under Kjar. A win in the semifinal would put Sutera one game from delivering something the program has never accomplished: a fourth straight title.

Mountain Ridge head coach Nick Robins is in his second season. He led the Sentinels to a 10-3 record and a semifinal appearance in 2025, according to the Deseret News' preseason Region 2 preview. The program has never won a state championship.