When Park City High School’s rivalry with Wasatch is brought up to Miners coach Josh Montzingo and his players, their first thought goes to PC Hill.
The hill’s white PC letters, which overlook Dozier Field, were painted yellow to reflect the colors of the Wasps ahead of their showdown with the Miners a couple years ago. Park City defeated Wasatch 35-30 in front of a raucous home crowd, but the incident goes to show how testy the rivalry is and how much pride is on the line every year. In a sense, it’s the embodiment of small-town high school football under the Friday night lights.
Miners coach Josh Montzingo wouldn’t have it any other way.
“You can tell the towns were definitely into it because then we were up there painting it white again, and you know that’s outside of even football,” Montzingo said. “That shows you a little community stuff back and forth, which, for me, is what it’s all about. Small-town football is just amazing, we’re blessed. This is such a fun place to play.”
The next installment of the Park City-Wasatch rivalry will kick off the 2021 season for both teams Friday at Dozier Field at 7 p.m. Local pride will once again be on the line to start the season, providing a high-stakes test for both teams early on.
After a loss to Wasatch in 2002, Park City dominated the Wasps for the next nine years until a loss in 2012 snapped the streak. That was the last game in the rivalry before it went on hiatus due to classification changes that split up the two schools.
When the rivalry was reignited in 2018, Park City was in Class 4A, while Wasatch was in Class 5A. The Wasps have won three of the last four meetings. Now, with a move up to Class 5A for Park City, there are no excuses for the Miners.
“It goes way back, it means a lot to me,” quarterback Chase Beyer said. “It’s not like anything else, good old high school football rivalry.”
The Miners are looking to flip the tables on the Wasps after a 49-35 loss on the road last season. Wasatch quarterback Adarius Edwards lit up the Park City defense, completing 23 of 27 passes for 374 yards and two touchdowns. Edwards added 65 yards and two more scores on the ground.
Which is why Montzingo is hoping to keep the ball out of Wasatch’s hands as much as possible on Friday night.
“They’re going to be a high-powered offense and trying to stop them and what they do, they’re so good at it, so well-coached, it’s going to be difficult,” Montzingo said. “Offensively, as long as we can control the ball and do what we do, which is run, and keep their offense off the field, you know, that’ll really help us. So I’m excited about this challenge in front of us and see what we can do.”
In an added wrinkle, fans will be welcomed back to Dozier Field in full force, giving the Miners a boost in a pivotal game.
“It’s going to be nice seeing the community supporting us and putting on a show for them,” senior Carson Tabaracci said. “We’re just going to be grateful that they’re out here to be honest because last year we didn’t get that as much.”