Skyline and Olympus open their state football playoff runs Friday, Oct. 30, with the Eagles hosting a coin-flip matchup and the Titans facing a steep climb on the road.

The No. 6 Skyline Eagles (7-3) welcome No. 11 Pine View (5-4) at 4 p.m. in the 4A first round. Two hours later, No. 12 Olympus (5-5) kicks off at No. 5 Springville (7-2) in the 5A first round at 6 p.m.

Both matchups are first-round games. The 5A and 4A state tournaments begin this week, a week after the smaller classifications opened their brackets.

Skyline-Pine View: a toss-up on paper

The Skyline-Pine View game is the tightest 4A matchup by the numbers. Noland Parry's Power Guide in the Deseret News gives Skyline an 80.4 rating to Pine View's 79.1, a gap of just 1.3 points. That is the second-smallest differential in the entire 4A bracket, behind only Stansbury-Provo at 1.2.

Despite the slim edge, Deseret News high school sports editor James Edward picks Pine View to pull the upset.

Skyline earned its No. 6 seed after climbing 17 spots in the Preece Power Poll's playoff edition. First-year head coach Brandon Matich took over the Eagles program before the season. Skyline opened with a 10-0 halftime lead at Stansbury on Aug. 14 before falling 14-10, according to the Deseret News. The Eagles recovered to post a 7-3 regular-season record.

Pine View enters at 5-4 and ranked 26th in the Preece Power Poll, down 10 spots from its mid-season position.

Olympus at Springville: a bigger gap to close

The Titans face a tougher road. Parry's guide rates Springville at 102.5 and Olympus at 89.7, a 12.8-point differential. Edward also picks Springville.

Olympus made the 16-team 5A field at the No. 12 seed with a .500 record. The Titans finished with a 0.525 RPI, according to final rankings published by the Deseret News. This is the first year since 2019 that only the top 16 teams in 5A qualify, making the cut tighter than in recent seasons.

First-year head coach Casey Evans, an Olympus alum and former Utah Utes safety, was hired on Jan. 20 after Brandon Burt stepped down following a 6-6 season and playoff appearance in 2025-26, the Holladay Journal reported.

Springville, seeded fifth, went 7-2 in the regular season. Quarterback Beckett Burton runs the Red Devils' offense.

What's next

Winners advance to the second round the following week. Brighton (1-9) did not qualify for the 5A state tournament, finishing 22nd in the final RPI rankings.

Friday's 4A kickoff between Pine View and Skyline is set for 4 p.m. Olympus and Springville follow at 6 p.m.