It was a grand opening of sorts Friday night for the remodeled, yet still under construction, Dozier Field, but it wasn’t a party for the Miners football team, who fell 14-7 to Salem Hills.

Park City took an early lead on a first quarter touchdown rush from senior quarterback Josh Hofer, which it held until the final seconds of the first half, when Salem Hills took a fumble 75 yards forward to the end zone. That score put Salem Hills right back in the game, and a late third quarter lengthy touchdown pass was enough for the visitors to hold onto for the win.

“We should have won the game,” Miners Head Coach Dennis Cunningham said. “We didn’t execute. So we have just got to get better.”

Park City is 1-4 and will travel to face Provo at 7 p.m. next Friday.

“It’ll be interesting to see what happens this year,” said Parkite and contractor Alan Hoeksema about the new field. “But we’ll be able to sit in nice new stands. … I’m sure the contractor is really happy about holding the event here tonight.”

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World-class mountain biking has officially returned to Deer Valley Resort, with competitors having arrived for this week’s Fox US Open of Mountain Biking. 

The bikers have been arriving sporadically starting Wednesday, when some were allowed to inspect the NCS competition trail. Others arrived Thursday, when the first two practice sessions were held. 

There will be additional practice sessions before some qualifying and the Best Whip trick competition at 5 p.m. Friday by Deer Valley’s Silver Lake Lodge. The professional finals will start at 3 p.m. Saturday and the youth and amateur races at 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Sunday, respectively.

Bikers are coming in from California and Colorado for the race. They’re excited and saying the practice sessions are going well so far. 

“We just got here this morning,” Aaron Vargas from Los Angeles said Thursday. “It’s super steep, it’s loose and it looks like it’ll be fun for sure.”

Vargas is in Park City for the week with a crew from Trailhead Bike Shop in Alhambra, California. He is ranked fourth in the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series in the category just below professional. A win this weekend would help him in his quest to go pro next year. 

“I have to do well this weekend and hopefully get that podium,” Vargas said. “It would be amazing and make my whole weekend for sure.”

Vargas said the Trailhead team has been loving Park City as well thus far. 

Dianne Shannon is in from Denver supporting her son, also racing the same category as Vargas this weekend. She was enjoying the sunny, warm weather Thursday during the practice sessions. 

“He’s incredibly excited,” Shannon said of her son. “The track is pretty interesting. He likes some of the features and technical pieces.”

Shannon believes Deer Valley will “be a zoo” this weekend. 

Some teams like Salt Lake City’s RaceKraftMTB haven’t had to travel nearly as far. Team head Kris Baughman and his youth bikers are excited for what they’re considering to be a home race this week. 

“Pretty exciting,” Baughman said. “I’m an old-school dude. I helped to build the track here in like 1998 and then helped to build a number of lower mountain tracks. So it’s really cool to see a big race come back here after the big national series died down somewhere around 2009.” 

Baughman said Deer Valley’s team did a great job cutting down trees and widening the new track for this week. He’s glad they’re committed to hosting another world-class event, as they do other times of the year. 

Baughman explained that the track inspections can allow riders to find different lines to attack when biking, if they take the time to carefully examine. 

“It is really meaningful,” Baughman said about strong crowd support this week. “We had a big national round at Solitude in July, so we got to experience a really big crowd. … So we have some experience with that, but this is another level of excitement and hype.”

For further information about the US Open, including a look at the complete schedule for the week, see the event’s website: prodownhillseries.com/event-info/fox-us-open.

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As has become usual this season, the Miners girls soccer team easily dispatched another opponent in Juan Diego Catholic Thursday, winning 6-0. 

A 2-0 lead taken into halftime by Park City allowed the team to play 22 of its players in the win. The Miners saw all six of their goals scored by six different players. Goalscorer Elsa Dellenbach led the team with two assists. 

The win was Park City’s eighth-straight. In this winning streak, the Miners have outscored opponents 49-1. 

Ranked third in 4A, Park City is working to perfect their craft ahead of October’s playoffs. They have seven regular season games left, including Sept. 24 senior night against Murray. They plan to host the game at the remodeled Dozier Field, which is opening during later construction stages for Friday night’s Miners football game. 

“Last night was a good representation of what we’re capable of,” Miners Head Coach Anthony DiCicco said. “Our depth is certainly a strength of ours. … We have so many players who are a threat on any given day.”

DiCicco said his team has been playing so well rounded he couldn’t come up with an immediate answer when recently asked by a ref who their leading scorer is. That player is junior Ashtyn Holder with nine goals, though Holder is one of five Park City players with five or more goals this season. 

DiCicco said Holder was one of a few junior varsity players last season who got playing time on varsity. He likes to offer such opportunities so these players are ready to step up if needed in the playoffs.

The Miners will have a perfect opportunity to spread the ball around again at 3:30 p.m. Monday when they travel to face Cottonwood. They will face a combination junior varsity and varsity team against Cottonwood, who doesn’t have a junior varsity team this season. Park City defeated Cottonwood 9-0 doing the same thing Aug. 27. 

“It will actually be an entirely different squad than saw them the first time,” DiCicco said. “And so that comes with its own unique challenges: a group that hasn’t together quite as much has to come together on the fly and problem solve, and Cottonwood is not the easiest place to go play. We know we’ll be the better team, we just have to go execute.”

Aside from working in those younger players, DiCicco believes his team can continue to work on breaking other team’s rhythms and finishing in front of the opposing nets down the final stretch of the season. He said they constantly work on these things in practice and in games. DiCicco believes the Miners’ strongest opponent and best challenge can often be themselves in practice. 

With the playoffs having been paired down from 24 to 16 teams this season, there will be less margin for error for Park City. They will need to hit the ground running against what could be more battled tested teams from other parts of Utah. 

“The St. George, Provo and Northern regions are regions where you get teams that maybe don’t have records that are as good as ours but are very much battle tested because of the quality of some of the opposition that they’re seeing throughout the regular season,” DiCicco said. “One thing about this group that’s been true over these last several years is that they are up for it. They don’t take teams lightly, and their focus is on themselves and being the best version of ourselves that we can be.”

DiCicco said crowd support has been strong thus far at their home games in Quinn’s Junction. They’d certainly appreciate further support as they work toward playoffs. 

For a complete look at the Miners’ schedule or for further information about the team, see their MaxPreps page: maxpreps.com/ut/park-city/park-city-miners/soccer/girls.

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Miners

The Miners girls volleyball team took down East on Thursday by three sets to none. Park City dominated sets one and two, winning them 25-9 and 25-10, respectively, and squeaked out set three 25-23. The Miners are 6-4 and will next face Highland at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday on the road.

The Miners girls tennis team defeated Jordan Thursday by five matches to none. Park City scored wins at three singles and two doubles spots. The Miners are 3-3 and will next take on Judge Memorial Catholic at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday on the road. 

Wasatch High School

The Wasatch girls soccer team fell to Provo 2-1 Thursday. The Wasps scored the game’s only first-half goal, then conceded two goals in the second half. Wasatch is 8-4 and will next take on Mountain View at 7 p.m. Tuesday at home.

The Wasatch girls volleyball team fell to Skyridge Thursday by three sets to none. The Wasps lost set one 25-14, set two 25-8 and set three 25-21. Wasatch is 7-5 and will next face Summit Academy at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at home.

The Wasatch girls tennis team fell to Timpanogos Wednesday by seven matches to none. The Wasps lost four singles and three doubles matches. Wasatch is 7-7 in dual matches and will face Uintah at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at home. 

Deer Creek High School

The Deer Creek girls soccer team fell to Mountain View 6-2 Thursday. The Riverhawks scored both of their two goals in the second half of the loss. Deer Creek is 2-9 and will  next face Timpanogos at 7 p.m. Tuesday at home.

The Deer Creek girls volleyball team fell Thursday to Maple Mountain by three sets to none. The Riverahawks lost the first set 25-16, the second 25-10 and the third 25-21. Deer Creek is 1-12 and will take on Orem at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at home. 

South Summit High School

The South Summit football team defeated South Sevier last Friday 43-7. Quarterback Ian Mair led the Wildcats with three touchdowns (two passing and one rushing) in the win. South Summit is 3-1 heading into the San Juan game at 7 p.m. this Friday. The Wildcats fell to San Juan in last season’s state title game. 

The South Summit girls soccer team took down rival North Summit 5-1 Thursday. The Wildcats scored three goals in the first half and two in the second half of the win. South Summit is 4-5 and will next take on American Leadership Academy at 4 p.m. Monday at home.

The South Summit girls volleyball team fell to Union Thursday by three sets to none. The Wildcats dropped the first set 25-12, the second 25-14 and the third 25-11. South Summit is 4-8 and will next face Millard at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at home.

North Summit High School

The North Summit football team dominated Parowan last Friday 45-0. Quarterback Cru Richins led the Braves with three touchdowns (two passing and one receiving) in the win. North Summit is 3-1 and will take on Kanab at 7 p.m. this Friday on the road. 

The North Summit girls soccer team fell to rival South Summit 5-1 Thursday. The Braves are 1-6 and will next face St. Joseph at 4 p.m. Tuesday at home.

The North Summit girls volleyball team fell to North Sanpete Thursday by three sets to two. The Braves won the second and fourth sets in the loss. North Summit is 10-2 and will face Gunnison Valley at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday on the road. 

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The Miners football team has made a point of scheduling tough nonregion games in the past few years. Park City wants to test its team against the state’s best so they know where they need to raise their level to come playoff time. 

Knowing the competition was tough didn’t soften the blows of the first three losses of the season in the Miners’ locker room. 

Park City Head Coach Dennis Cunningham thought his team, by staying the course and fighting hard, had earned their first win of the season, which they claimed on Friday, visiting regional opponent Mountain View. The Miners sat through traffic delays making their way down to Orem, where their offense led the 33-28 victory. Cunningham gave a special shoutout to his tenacious offensive line. The head ball coach is a former offensive lineman who played at Utah State. 

“We still had some kids out, and we had some seniors get on the offensive line for the first time,” Cunningham said. “And they weren’t perfect, but they had effort and grit, and so we were able to, I won’t say control the line of scrimmage, but do a much better job on sustaining drives.”

Cunningham said the offensive line, by playing their best game so far of the season, allowed the running game and quarterback Josh Hofer to flourish. He said sustaining longer drives also allowed his defense to play well rested. 

Cunningham acknowledged that mistakes kept the final scoreline closer than it needed to be. The Miners will need to clean up their game this week when they take on another regional foe in Salem Hills, who’s 2-2. 

“We had way too many penalties. Some of them were effort penalties, and so you don’t love those, but you don’t hate them. Some of them were presnap and postsnap, those are the ones we have got to keep away from. We contributed to their first two touchdowns,” Cunningham said. “Salem Hills is a really good team. … We have got to do really well against these guys because they’ve got some good offensive tools. They’ve got some size, some athleticism and a little bit of dog.”

Salem Hills took out Park City 30-17 in Salem last season. The Miners need to start racking up wins, with the playoffs being reduced from 24 to 16 teams this season. 

Cunningham said his team had a great practice Monday night, something he hopes they can replicate Tuesday and Wednesday. He also hopes the team continues to get healthier. They’ll need all the bodies they can get against Salem Hills.

Friday will mark the first game of the season on the remodeled Dozier Field, which construction crews were hard at work on Tuesday morning. Park City will look for an additional boost Friday from what should be an even more energized than usual home crowd. 

“South Summit was amazing. It was great to go over there and to have those guys host us. Super happy that they would let us do that,” Cunningham said. “But being at Doziers is going to be fun. Hopefully we get a lot of people who come out and support us.” 

Cunningham said having to travel to every game added another layer of difficulty for his players. They would get on a bus without air conditioning and head off to sometimes far away games. After the Salem Hills game, the Miners will host Uintah on Sept. 25 and Deer Creek on Oct. 14. It’s possible Park City could host further home games in the playoffs. 

For a look at the Miners complete schedule or to find anything else out about the team, see their MaxPreps page: maxpreps.com/ut/park-city/park-city-miners/football.

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As the Wasatch and Deer Creek football teams trained together at Wasatch High School this past spring, anticipation for Friday night’s game steeped. While head coaches Derik Bringhurst of Wasatch and DeShawn Perkins of Deer Creek denied animosity between their teams, they wanted a shot at each other and bragging rights in Heber City. 

“We’ve been looking forward to this for months and months and months,” Bringhurst said. “It’s exciting. I didn’t talk to anybody today that wasn’t coming to the game.”

Bringhurst correctly predicted the Riverhawks stadium would fill to the point where overflowing fans had to watch from patches of grass around the stands. 

“Super excited. They’ve been amped,” Perkins said. “The valley has never seen anything like this before. It’s been 118 years since there’s been another school out here.”

The packed stadium included a few trash talking students but largely Heber Valley residents who were able to sit side by side, at least for the inaugural game, cheering on both teams. There were friends like Heber City’s Dan Warneger and Nils Nilson, who wore Wasatch and Deer Creek apparel while supporting their daughters cheerleading, as well as parents like Midway’s Chris Kemp supporting Deer Creek because his kids go there now, despite his older ones having graduated from Wasatch. 

“We’re friends, but we’re mortal enemies now. We have to be,” Nilson joked. “It’s the first rivalry game in the Heber Valley, so might as well come out.”

Kemp also kept things light, joking that his kids and friends supporting Wasatch would have to sit across the field from him in the visiting stands. 

“It’s kind of like a reunion,” Kemp said. “It’s tongue in cheek to be a rival with people that are your neighbors and your friends.”

Kemp hoped everyone enjoyed the game, the new Deer Creek stadium and the company of their Heber Valley peers. 

Midway’s Brock and Natalie Perry, parents of Deer Creek freshman wideout and defensive back Ezekiel Perry, hoped their son and the other players enjoyed the crowd coming out to support them. Brock and Natalie said Ezekiel came to the school to be part of new experiences like the inaugural rivalry game.

“I just hope they appreciate the community showing up and being here to support these boys,” Brock said.

Deer Creek has another first-ever Wasatch Back showdown against Park City at Dozier Field on Oct. 14, the final game of the regular season. 

Wasatch also faces Park City as usual on Oct. 2 at home.

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The Wasatch football team went on the road Friday night desperate for their first win of the season. The Wasps had lost two of their first three games of the season by 10 points or less. 

Standing in Wasatch’s way was new rival Deer Creek High School. The game was the first-ever Heber City clash, and bragging rights were on the line. 

The two teams trained together all spring, with Deer Creek High School in its final stages of construction. Riverhawks Head Coach DeShawn Perkins worked under Wasps Head Coach Derik Bringhurst for the past two seasons. Bringhurst and Perkins denied any real animosity between the two teams, yet back and forth comments from their players and student sections begged to differ. Students got to choose which school they wanted to attend. 

“There’s not bad blood by any means,” Perkins said pregame. “It’s a good competitive environment for us.”

Perkins said he hoped to make the fans proud with his team’s play on Friday. He thought a packed home crowd witnessing the program’s first win would be special. 

Unfortunately for Perkins, Wasatch grabbed the first two scores of the game Friday on a 6 yard rushing touchdown by sophomore running back Braxton Sandoval and a 32 yard passing touchdown from sophomore quarterback Aksel Wheeler to sophomore wideout Grady Coombs, respectively.

Deer Creek sophomore signal caller Kai Betsinger connected with senior wideout Tyson Dahl for a 38 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to bring the score to 14-6 in favor of the Wasps at halftime. 

Wasatch scored on a safety in the third quarter, before Riverhawks senior kicker Brodey Ferguson answered with a late third-quarter field goal to close the Wasps lead to 16-9. Ferguson’s kick would end up being the final points for Deer Creek, who conceded three rushing touchdowns in the final 13 minutes of the game to Sandoval and Coombs, who had two of the three, to lose 40-9. 

“The first one is always the hardest one to get,” Bringhurst said about winning. “Once you get that first win, it starts pointing you in the right direction. … We’re going to go look for the second one.”

Bringhurst knew it would be tough playing against coaches and players whom his team considers close friends. He also believes Perkins has rallied former Wasatch players and first-time football players to believe strongly in their abilities. 

“I think it can be a good turning point for us,” said junior defensive back Easton Colby, agreeing with Bringhurst. “The rest of the season, we’ll gain more confidence as we go on and hopefully make the playoffs.”

Win or lose each week, Perkins remains confident his team is taking the proper next steps. 

“We’ve made improvements and progress,” Perkins said. “And that’s our goal. … Process over results, and I believe we’re doing the process right and so it’ll work in our favor as we keep going.”

Both teams will hit the road this week, with the Wasps taking on Timpanogos at 7 p.m. Friday and the Riverhawks facing Uintah at 7 p.m. Friday. 

For a look at Wasatch’s complete schedule or for any further information about the team, see their MaxPreps page: maxpreps.com/ut/heber-city/wasatch-wasps/football.

To take a peek at Deer Creek’s schedule or find more out about them, see their MaxPreps page: maxpreps.com/ut/heber-city/deer-creek-riverhawks/football.

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The stands at Deer Creek High School’s football stadium began to fill on Friday night with hours to go before kickoff between the Riverhawks and Wasatch High School.

There was a peculiar tension in the air for the first-ever all Heber City showdown on the gridiron. Coaches denied any real animosity between the two teams, yet players and students were talking some trash to their former classmates. With Deer Creek getting up-and-running this school year, students had the option to choose which school they wanted to attend.

The experience of the Wasps proved too steep for the Riverhawks to overcome Friday. Two early Wasatch touchdowns far from took their air out of the building, but they did help fuel what would be a comfortable 40-9 victory for the Wasps. Wasatch moved to 1-3 and Deer Creek dropped to 0-4. Wasatch Head Coach Derik Bringhurst is hopeful the bragging rights win will help them turn around their season.

“We’ve been looking forward to this for months and months and months,” Bringhurst said about Friday’s game. “The town, coaches and administration are excited for this. … Once you get that first win, it starts pointing in the right direction.”

Riverhawks Head Coach DeShawn Perkins added, “The valley has never seen anything like this before. … Week after week, we’ve made improvements and progress, and that’s our goal. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is.”

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The Miners Red hockey team has gotten accustomed to dominating play in Utah over the past three seasons. Park City clinched their third-straight state championship in January. 

The Miners Red picked back up where they left off last season in Wednesday’s season opener, cruising past Sky Canyon 7-2 at the Park City Ice Arena. 

Park City was fueled by a barrage on offense, outshooting Sky Canyon 35-14. Pierce Adams and Wyatt Nellis each found the back of the net twice, leading the Miners. 

New Miners Red Head Coach Tom Gatta, called for four penalties to Sky Canyon’s two, believes there are some things to clean up moving forward. Gatta was an assistant for two years under Mike Adamek, who’s now the assistant coach. Gatta has coached hockey for 18 years in Park City, moving to town following a Division III hockey career with Castleton University, now the Vermont State University Castleton Campus.

“Little stagnant in the beginning,” Gatta said. “Some of us were holding a stick a little too tight, and we were tripping over ourselves, and then all of a sudden we started to click, and goals started to fall.”

Gatta said half of the team is new this year, so they’ll be relying heavily on their stars on offense like Nellis. With the Miners Red facing Sky Canyon, the two-time defending school-unaffiliated state champions, Gatta believes Utah High School Hockey is giving strong teams like his tougher schedules this season, which he thinks will only make them stronger. Park City’s next game will be against Brighton Navy, a multitime former school-affiliated (the Miners Red’s division) state runner up, next Wednesday night on the road. 

“I think it’s good for our kids, especially if we’re going to try to go to nationals,” Gatta said. “We’re looking forward to it.”

The top team or two from Utah typically advances to the national championships in the spring. Park City’s goal is always to win state titles and advance to nationals and have success. Gatta would like to uphold the high standards that Adamek set for the program. 

“The expectation for this team has always been to be the top in the state,” Gatta said. “We’ve won three of the last four and six out of the last seven, so we’re trying to keep that dynasty rolling. That’s our No. 1 goal this year.”

Gatta said having more kids on the team playing club hockey will help the team reach their goals. He is looking to schedule some games against strong club teams later in the season if it appears the Miners Red will be headed to nationals again. 

“I’m super excited to be the head coach of this team,” Gatta said. “It’s been something I’ve wanted to be for a while now, and (it is) finally happening. … It’s going to be an exciting year being with all these boys that I’ve already coached before.”

To follow along with Park City’s results this season, see their Utah High School Hockey page: utahhighschoolhockey.com/park-city. 

There is also a Miners White varsity team, which often serves as a feeder to the Miners Red team.

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In many long distance mountain bike races, the same trails are reused in the race path to meet the distance requirement. 

With about 400 miles of continuous recreational trail in Park City, according to the Mountain Trails Foundation, race organizers in Park City are able to do things differently. 

The Park City Point 2 Point race takes advantage of that continuous trail system by hosting a 75 mile race every Labor Day weekend in which bikers never have to ride the same path twice. 

The Point 2 Point race will return for the 18th time on Saturday morning, starting in Quinn’s Junction at 6:30 a.m. Bikers will climb over 10,000 feet in their journey to the finish at the Utah Olympic Park. 

The race sold out at 425 bikers, ranging from amateurs to professionals chasing $12,000 in prize money. 

Race organizers are proud that the race will still not close off any of the trails in Park City to bikers not in the race. 

“There’s no way that we could close (trails). Nor do we want to,” said race director Steve Aderholt. “Very challenging and hard mountain bike race, showcasing the amazing trails we have here in Park City.”

Aderholt said non Point 2 Point bikers this weekend should take a peek at the race course on their website: parkcitypoint2point.com/race/the-course. He doesn’t envision any issues between racers and casual bikers unless the casual bikers are biking the opposite direction of the racers. Aderholt also encouraged racers to get to know the course well if they want to better understand its technical sections and prepare themselves for success. 

Point 2 Point men’s and women’s record holders Zach Calton and Chelsea Bolton will be in Saturday’s race chasing the winning prizes of $3,000. Second place finishers in the men’s and women’s open/pro categories will receive $2,000, and third place finishers in those categories will receive $1,000. There are eight additional categories in the race. 

“The trails are in really great shape with the rain we’ve had over the past week,” Aderholt said. “So the course conditions are great. And we have a new finish line at the Utah Olympic Park this year, and we’re really excited about that.”

While the Point 2 Point is a for-profit race, Aderholt said they will be donating about $3,000 to the Mountain Trails Foundation after Saturday. 

For further information about the race, see Point 2 Point’s website at parkcitypoint2point.com.

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