4A high school football preview: Maple Mountain at Pine View

Maple Mountain (2-8) at Pine View (6-3)

4A state tournament first round

Saturday, 1 p.m.

Parry's Power Guide: Pine View by 33

All-time series: First meeting

Coach vs. Coach: Maple Mountain's Brad Burtenshaw and Pine View's Ray Hosner, first meeting

Last meeting: First meeting

ST. GEORGE — It may have taken 16 games and a season and a half for Maple Mountain to get its first win in school history, but waiting that long only made it that much sweeter.

"It's been a big step forward for our program," said coach Brad Burtenshaw. "It was a big thing for our players, our coaches, our parents, our boosters and our whole student body. There was a lot of work that went into it, but that makes it all worth it."

Now that the Golden Eagles have the monkey off their backs, they want more. Counting Tuesday's play-in game win over Uintah — Maple Mountain won a three-way coin toss with Uintah and Salem Hills and advanced to play the second half of the winner between the other two schools in the first half, which was the Utes — they have won three of their last four contests and get a chance for the school's first playoff game when it faces Pine View Saturday.

"Our kids are really excited about it," said Burtenshaw. "They are just starting to realize there are a lot of teams that are home right now getting ready for basketball season and we still get to play football. It is a big opportunity for us."

It could be tough for the Golden Eagles to advance past Pine View. After all, it is tough for any squad to travel to St. George and face a tough team, but this is an opportunity to help the program grow, even if the team can't pull off an upset.

"We have a lot of young guys on the team, and this is a chance for them to gain some experience," added Burtenshaw. "We get some extra practice time, and the guys will find out what the playoffs are all about."

According to the coach, there are several reasons why his team is now getting this chance.

"I think first of all it is because we quit making some mistakes," he said. "We had several close games before, but we always had a big mistake, a big penalty or a turnover that cost us. The last few games we haven't had those same mistakes occur.