Park City High School finished the regular season with 10 wins and zero losses. Now the Miners will begin their bid for a state championship with their first game of the playoffs this Friday.
Head coach Josh Montzingo says the credit for an undefeated season lies in the preparation and hard work the team has done to achieve their goals.
“They’re just a great group,” Montzingo said. “They’re tight knit and they play for each other. They work hard every week. They don't look backwards, they don't look forward, every week is a new opportunity for them to accomplish the task at hand which is winning that game for the week. I think their preparation that they’ve put in and how seriously they’ve taken it has really paid off.”
The team’s mantra for the year is “Swing the Pick”
“We had aspirations of trying to win the region, which we were able to accomplish,” Montzingo continued. “Then of course we were hoping, as every team, to try and win a state title. So, we wouldn't look too far ahead or look too far behind. We talk about swinging the pick which just means keep swinging, keep swinging, keep swinging, and digging and digging until you find the treasure. Which back in the day would have been silver around here. It's not an easy task and its relentless and you have to keep grinding to do it but eventually you're going to get where you want as long as you keep working. So, the same is true for us with football. Keep working on our technique, keep working together, keep mastering the offense, the defense, and good things will come.”
With the top seed in the 4A state tournament, Park City had last week off. This Friday they’ll host Logan High School at Dozier field. The Grizzlies finished their season with three wins and seven losses.
“We have a great challenge coming in, in Logan,” Montzingo explained. “It’s a proud program, they’ve won a bunch of state titles not too far off. They’re big, usually were outsized so that's not new. They possess great talent as well and they'll be a good challenge for us. While their record doesn't seem great, they've been very close in a lot of games. It should be a good challenge for us. We look forward to going out there and competing against. Taking a week off was kind of weird. I think everybody was kind of antsy. The kids are ready, and the coaches are ready to get back to work this week. We're excited for the opportunity to go compete this Friday at home.”
If the Miners win on Friday, they’ll play the winner of a game between Snow Canyon and Desert Hills High Schools. Winning the next two games would place the Miners in the semi-finals. There are a lot of talented teams in 4A this year, including Sky View, Green Canyon, Dixie and Pine View. Despite all that, Coach Montzingo likes the Miners chances of walking away with the state title.
“We're sure going to get after it,” Montzingo said. “1 and 0, we’ve got to win this week swinging that pick, but I like our chances. I like this group of guys, and I think they have something special in mind. We're going to keep working and going, but it's going to be a challenge. I'll tell you what. It's really going to be a challenge going forward.”
The Miners play at 5:00 pm on Friday at Dozier field. If you can’t make that game, or any game on their playoff run you can listen to the game live here on KPCW.
