Inclement weather tends to favor the teams who are used to it. In football, it also helps to be balanced when poor weather strikes, giving you options to continue to move the ball and put points on the board.
Miners football Head Coach Josh Montzingo likes to refer to inclement weather come fall time in the Wasatch Back as “Park City weather.” Not only because it foreshadows the often colder, snowier ski season on the horizon, but because it’s something his team embraces wholeheartedly.
Thursday night for senior night on Dozier Field, the Miners got a taste of some of that “Park City weather.” As the game against Timpanogos wore on, it became evident that the team best able to navigate the swirling winds and rain would likely become the victor.
While it was tough for Park City to weather the storm, literally, early on, they remained patient. As Timpanogos used their size to limit the Miners interior rushes and the wind, into Park City’s faces in the first quarter, limited their punts and gave their opponents great field position time-after-time, star running back Eli Warner sprung a quick pass into an 80-yard sideline sprint to the end zone. The Miners would continue to take what they could get, three Tanner Pidwell field goals, carefully measured with the winds, taking a 16-0 lead into the halftime break.
Warner would spring a 67-yard punt return touchdown to begin the third quarter, when it appeared the game was all but sealed. The rain really began to pick up, causing a Timpanogos offense, which struggled to move the ball against Park City’s Cover 2 defense, continuous fits. Timpanogos’ only points of the game came on a mid third-quarter safety. Quarterback Josh Hofer put the icing on the cake with a mid fourth-quarter short rushing score.
“Feels good, been a tough battle all year long,” Montzingo said, as the few remaining fans poured out of the soaked bleachers. “We’ve come out on the wrong side of a few really close, tough games against big, tough and well-coached opponents. … And we kind of exerted our will on someone tonight when we really needed it.”
Montzingo was proud of the complimentary nature of the win. He likes to call that “Park City football.” His defense had three interceptions in the win, often by the two deep safeties as Timpanogos looked to move the ball down the field.
“They all did a great job,” he added. “It was nice to just physically go and put it on an opponent tonight. … It was a lot of fun to watch the boys play tonight.”
The Miners will take a day to celebrate the win and their senior group, before moving onto preparations for Uintah next week. Park City has another short week, playing that regular-season finale at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the road.
Montzingo said this year’s crop of seniors has meant everything to the program. Key contributors like Warner, wideout Charlie Cusimano and linebacker Wyatt Knapp are all senior leaders.
“They’ve done a tremendous job,” Montzingo said. “We’re blessed to have this group of seniors. … They’ve done a tremendous job from the offseason all the way through the season here, and they’re going to continue to do so as they push us hopefully all the way to Rice Eccles (Stadium).”
Cusimano said making it to Rice Eccles in 2023 was the highlight thus far of his career. He’d like to run that experience back in a month’s time.
“This group of seniors has been playing with each other since we’ve learned how to play football,” Cusimano said. “I think that we were able to show that in the field, especially with our defense.”
The Miners will look to start stacking wins and clinch a home playoff game against Uintah. With Provo undefeated in regional play as of Friday morning, Park City will need a little help from their opponents to get their hands on another regional title. Ranked eighth in 4A, the Miners are now in line to host a second-round playoff game in the friendly confines of Dozier Field. Cusimano, Knapp and the other seniors are hoping for one last go-around in front of their raucous home fans.
“Hopefully it’s not the last (time on Dozier), but I feel like our team balled out,” Knapp said. “We did what we needed to do, and we’re carrying momentum into the final games, which is super important. … This team’s ready to go. We’re building something special here. Just watch out.”