4A high school football preview: Payson at Mountain Crest

Payson (4-5) at Mountain Crest (7-2)

4A state tournament first round

Friday, 4 p.m.

Parry's Power Guide: Mountain Crest by 50

All-time series: Mountain Crest leads 1-0

Coach vs. Coach: Payson's Jeremy Chapman and Mountain Crest's Mark Wootton, first meeting

Last meeting: Oct. 27, 2007 — Mountain Crest 21, Payson 6

This is the final chance for Alex Kuresa to help Mountain Crest take another stab at claiming a 4A football title. If how the Mustangs have performed in the month of October is a good indication of how they will fare in the playoffs, the future may be bright in making good on that goal.

Since closing out last month with a one-point loss to Logan, Mountain Crest ended the regular season with consecutive victories over Ogden and Sky View. In those wins, the Mustangs outscored their opponents by a combined score of 93-20.

The most satisfying moment for Mountain Crest coach Mark Wootton came in seeing how his defense performed in a 38-6 victory over the Bobcats. The Mustangs held Sky View to just 41 yards rushing and intercepted quarterback Nicholas Carver twice.

"Last week our defense played as well as they've played all year long," Wootton said. "They played really fast, played with a lot of energy and tackled well. I feel like they understood how important that game was and they played very well in that game."

If Mountain Crest has found its stride defensively, that means keeping up with the already potent Mustang offense just grew a whole lot harder.

Kuresa has rewritten the state record books on his way to throwing for 2,652 yards and 24 touchdowns while completing 202 of 310 passes in his senior season. With him at the controls, Wootton feels confident in his offense making all the big plays it needs to guarantee success.

"He understands our offense so well that he gets kids in the right places," Wootton said. "He doesn't get really nervous or anything like that. He's really determined and wants to keep playing as long as he can in high school."

It is safe to say that Payson is a heavy underdog in every sense of the word going up against Mountain Crest in the first round.