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Park City Advances in Playoffs after Defeating Ogden 52-12

Ryan Kostecka

When Park City last met Ogden in week five of the season, the Miners trounced the Tigers 48-3.

 

Due to that result, it would be understandable if No. 5 Park City was a little overconfident when they hosted No. 12 Ogden a month and a half later, this time in the second round of the UHSAA Class 4A state playoffs.

 

But anybody who knows head coach Josh Montzingo knows that he would not put up with any overconfidence. And that was the message to his team all week long — prepare for Ogden properly because this is a different team than the one the Miners faced back in September.

 

Park City took Montzingo’s words to heart as senior running back Seth Warner scored on a 73-yard touchdown run on the second play of the game, as the Miners never looked back. Park City advanced to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive season after defeating Ogden 52-12 on Friday night at Dozier Field. 

 

“Ogden is an extremely well coached team so all week long, we (coaching staff) told our boys to be ready because Ogden wasn’t going to back down,” Montzingo said postgame. “I was really proud of the way the boys practiced and prepared this week. … They didn’t take Ogden lightly and it showed tonight. We are maturing by the week and the way we handled business, I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

 

Montzingo was correct as the Miners’ preparation paid off considering they played nearly flawless football in the first half. Altogether, five different Miners scored touchdowns in the opening 24 minutes.

 

Following Warner’s touchdown, Ogden showed the fight that Montzingo alluded too and drove all the way down to the Miners 12 yard line. But on 4th-and-1, senior cornerback Franklin Paas made a tackle for no gain and the offense took over.

 

This time it was junior running back Max Alford’s turn to take over. He carried the ball seven consecutive times, with the final one coming on a 7-yard touchdown run.

 

After senior Stone Combs stopped an Ogden fake punt, senior Kirby Baynes scored on a 3-yard run early in the second quarter. Junior Carson Tabaracci got the next Miners touchdown when on 4th-and-5, he broke multiple tackles en route to a 32-yard touchdown run. 

 

But the play that got the Miners the most hyped on the sideline came on Ogden’s previous possession. 

 

On an Ogden screen pass, senior defensive end Coco Lukrich intercepted the ball and returned it nine yards before being tackled. While most of his teammates cheered, some gave the Division I-bound player a hard time as he tried to hurdle an Ogden player and got tripped up. If he stayed on his feet, he surely would’ve scored a touchdown.

 

Sophomore quarterback Chase Beyer then found junior tight end Carson Pointer for a 12-yard touchdown pass, making the score 35-0 with 3:53 to play in the second quarter.

 

The Miners added one final score of the half when sophomore kicker Matt DeMarco drilled a 44-yard field goal with 21 seconds — and had so much extra room that the kick would’ve been good from 50 yards out.

 

“I think this is part of what makes us special and so tough to defend is that we have multiple guys who can beat you,” Montzingo said. “Tonight we ran the ball with a lot of success, which is obviously our identity and what we like to do. But we didn’t even get the ball to our top-two receivers, so we are even more dangerous than what we showed tonight.”

 

Paas put the exclamation point on the game when he intercepted an Ogden pass and returned it 43 yards for the touchdown on the third play of the second half. Tabaracci added his second score of the game on the next possession, making it 52-0 with 5:13 left in the third quarter before the Tigers scored two touchdowns late in the game.

 

The Miners return to action on either Friday or Saturday when they travel to face No. 4 Ridgeline. Ridgeline (8-1) defeated No. 13 Cedar Valley 64-14 on Friday night. 

 

“They’re one of the top teams in the state, already beating Pine View in a shootout and barely losing to No. 1 Sky View,” Montzingo said. “It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s also going to be fun. We can’t wait.”