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Coach Reflects On Championship Game

Football players gather in a circle to raise their arms and let out a unified cheer of "Family" at the end of their season

After months of practices, planning and games the Park City High School Football season has come to an end. Despite falling one game short of a state championship title, the Miners coaches and players grew together for an incredible season.

Park City High School’s football team played in the 4A state title game on Friday at Rice Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah’s campus. Although the Miners fell to Sky View High School by a score of 35-0, After the game Head Coach Josh Montzingo met with the team and encouraged them to not let this one game define them.

“I am so proud of you guys,” Montzingo said. “This one game does not take away how much you have done, how much you have learned, how much you have worked, where we are. You have brought this program to new heights and I cannot thank you enough. You're bigger than this one game what you've accomplished is far greater than this one game. It will hurt. I understand it. I feel it. What you have accomplished is nothing short of amazing and I couldn't be more proud of you as men. You are amazing young men. I love you guys so much and I thank you for giving everything you had this year.”

The Miners had a few missed opportunities in the title game, but Montzingo gives credit to Sky View’s efforts.

“We’re usually outmanned size wise up front,” Montzingo explained. “We're usually able to counteract that with our speed, but those guys aren't only bigger, they’re athletic. That combination definitely gave us fits and again coaching staff got to give them credit. They really had a great game plan put together an amazing one and their players played very inspired football. That is an incredible team, that is a very great team out there.”

Montzingo hoped the team learned a lesson of resilience throughout the year.

“When you trust and love someone and you work together as a team, work for something that's bigger than yourself, win or lose things are going to be ok,” Montzingo continued. “While we’re sad and we’re hurting and we’re not feeling good right now; at the end of the day we’re going to have our brothers to come back to. We’re still going to laugh and smile and have a great time. I hope that they learn that the power of family and the power of love is an important thing.”

The success of the season came from the efforts and bonding that occurred for months.

“It's more than just the Friday nights that you see,” Montzingo said. “It's the bus rides, for us Saturday mornings doing yoga to recover and having breakfast and breaking bread with our brothers. Watching film and laughing and goofing and giving someone a hard time or giving me hard time because I run down the sideline like a goofball sometimes when we make a great play. It's those little things that you don't see. The bonds that are created and made. That's again why we do this, so that they can develop as young men to become stronger and hopefully be better father's and better sons and community contributors.”

The game was a community affair. Three bleacher sections were completely filled behind the Miners bench including the school band, student section and boosters, with other supporters scattered in other seats.

"I was telling my guys this morning in our talk before we came here that I've lived a lot of places but I'm finally home,” Montzingo continued. “Park City is special. There is nowhere I'd rather live. The support that we felt and the love that we felt. It hurts me more than I feel like I let them down and I didn't have us ready as much as I wish we did. I don't know what I could have done better, but I'm going to go to the drawing board and fix it; so that someday we can bring it home for these guys and make them proud.”

The Miners finished the year with 13 wins and one loss, and as the state runners-up in the 4A division.

KPCW reporter David Boyle covers all things in the Heber Valley as well as sports and breaking news.
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