The coach who beat Lone Peak in back-to-back 6A championship games is gone, and the ripple effects are reaching every football field in the area.

Eric Kjar left Corner Canyon in December to become head coach at Weber State, trading a dynasty that went 89-9 with six state titles in seven 6A seasons for a Division I program that won just 10 games over the previous three seasons. A Deseret News profile published Wednesday, Aug. 12, detailed the scope of his departure: Kjar brought more than 70 new players to Ogden, including more than a dozen Corner Canyon alumni, his sons Noah and Tate, and former Ohio State quarterback Devin Brown.

For Lone Peak, Skyridge and Lehi, the math is simple. The man whose teams played in seven consecutive 6A title games, winning five, no longer stands in their path.

Lone Peak: two regular-season wins, zero titles

No program felt Kjar's dominance more directly than the Knights. Lone Peak beat Corner Canyon in the regular season in each of the past two years but lost the championship game both times, most recently 35-20 at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Nov. 20, 2025.

Head coach Bart Brockbank, a Lehi High School graduate entering his 10th season with a 76-40 record and two state titles (2018, 2021), returns quarterback Cruz Christensen and four starters on each side of the ball.

"I believe our region will be as good as it has been in years past," Brockbank told the Deseret News in an Aug. 8 Region 3 preview. "All teams will compete and have a shot to be holding the trophy at the end of the season."

Skyridge: new QB, familiar ambition

The Falcons earned a share of the Region 3 title in 2025 before falling to Lone Peak 13-7 in the 6A semifinals. Fourth-year head coach Justin Hemm (30-9 at Skyridge) returns five starters on both sides of the ball and hands the offense to junior quarterback Jagger Fountaine, a 6-2, 180-pound prospect playing behind returning first-team all-state center Anders Anderson.

Skyridge opens its season Thursday, Aug. 13, at Mountain Ridge at 7 p.m.

Lehi: fewest starters, stingiest defense

Second-year head coach Andy Hadfield, a Lehi High graduate who spent a decade as an assistant before taking over in 2025, returns just two offensive starters and four on defense. But the Pioneers allowed only 18.1 points per game last season, the third-best mark in 6A.

Lehi hosts Maple Mountain on Friday, Aug. 14, at 7 p.m.

The dynasty's new address

Kjar, 47, now wakes at 4 a.m. to commute from Draper to Ogden and doesn't return until 8 p.m. He's waiting for his youngest son Carter, a senior wide receiver on Corner Canyon's 2026 roster, to graduate before moving north. At Corner Canyon, Kjar juggled three jobs: head coach, teacher and driver's ed instructor. At Weber State, he more than doubled his pay.

His quarterbacks at Jordan and Corner Canyon combined for 63,208 passing yards and 660 touchdowns across 17 seasons as a head coach. Three Corner Canyon alumni play in the NFL: first-round picks Jaxson Dart and Zach Wilson, plus offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson.

History isn't on his side. The prep-to-D-I leap has produced losing records for Gerry Faust at Notre Dame (30-26-1), Todd Dodge at North Texas (6-37) and Tony Sanchez at UNLV (20-40).

Corner Canyon, now coached by former Kjar defensive coordinator Casey Sutera, was still voted the Region 3 preseason favorite. Skyridge is projected second, Lone Peak third and Lehi fifth. Region 3's five teams have combined to win the past seven 6A state championships.