Like many other kids his age, Max Brodbeck made the trip down to Heber City to watch Park City’s football team take on its rival in its season opener against Wasatch on Friday. He arrived at Wright-Tree Stadium about 30 minutes before the opening kickoff and was talking with some of his friends when he received an urgent message to suit up.
Due to injuries, the Miners desperately needed a kicker, and Brodbeck, who plays football, was needed. The whole situation unfolded so quickly that Brodbeck didn’t even have time to tell his father he was getting the opportunity. Brodbeck ended up handling kickoff duties, and thanks to Park City’s 31 points in Friday’s win, had plenty of opportunities to kick at the varsity level for the first time.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking, especially the first few,” he said. “I didn’t do too good on the first ones.”
Meanwhile, sophomore Sawyer Moran went into Friday night’s game not expecting to play, but then he, too, was thrust into the line of duty. Moran wound up taking extra-point attempts for Park City.
“My parents originally weren’t going to come, and then the main kicker got hurt,” Moran said. “And I texted them in the locker room, and I was like, ‘I’m going to play, you should come.’ It came quick.”
The Miners took care of business on Friday night, shutting out Wasatch in the second half while scoring 24 unanswered points in the 31-10 win. But the Miners also had a couple of underclassmen make the most out of their unexpected opportunities.
Park City coach Josh Montzingo started his seventh season at the helm of the varsity team on Friday. In that time, he’s seen his fair share of bizarre injuries. One of them came on Friday during pregame warmups, when senior Jacob Layman, who was supposed to kick, stepped on a ball that found its way onto the field and rolled his ankle, according to Montzingo.
“It’s just a thing for us to have random, weird injuries,” he said. “We’ve had a drone hit somebody in the back of the head. That was a kicker, too, and he got a concussion from that.”
It took a special team effort from Park City’s special teams unit to make Brodbeck’s job as easy as possible. The freshman would hit squib kicks that would usually land around between the Wasatch 20- and 30-yard lines, where Park City’s return teams would immediately meet the returner. Despite the kicking position being in flux, field position wasn’t much of an issue for Park City.
“He came in and got the kickoffs for us,” Montzingo said. “Perfect little pooch kicks, just enough so they couldn’t return them. Those are live footballs, which we know, and we’re set up to make those plays. We’d like to put them into the end zone, but we also knew they can’t return those. He did everything you could ask.”
Moran drilled his first extra point to give the Miners a 7-3 lead in the second quarter. His teammates came over and celebrated with him as he jogged off the field after the kick. His second attempt was blocked, and the Miners went for two following their next two touchdowns. Moran’s third extra point sailed wide, but it looked like Wasatch might have gotten a piece of that one as well.
“That was a great experience,” Moran said. “The second one was just unlucky on the line, but I’ll never forget that.”
Unexpectedly stepping into a rivalry game where any point could make the difference is an unenviable position, especially for a sophomore like Moran. But Montzingo couldn’t have been more pleased with his performance.
“He really did a great job,” Montzingo said. “That’s not an easy thing to do. So proud of Sawyer.”
Brodbeck’s appearance on Friday was an exception in many ways. Montzingo recalled the last time a freshman played for Park City was when the Miners had a freshman long snapper back when Montzingo was an assistant coach. But sometimes desperation calls for desperate measures.
“We tend to not play freshmen here, it’s just not a thing we do,” Montzingo said. “But you know what? We’re all part of the family. Everybody’s part of the family.”