4A high school football preview: East at Mountain Crest

East (8-2) at Mountain Crest (8-2)

4A state tournament quarterfinal

Friday, 4 p.m.

Parry's Power Guide: Mountain Crest by 14

All-time series: Mountain Crest leads 2-1

Coach vs. Coach: East's Brandon Matich and Mountain Crest's Mark Wootton, first meeting

Last meeting: Sept. 4, 2009 — Mountain Crest 48, East 0

HYRUM — Few teams changed their fortunes so dramatically from last season to this one like East has done this fall.

The Leopards were in disarray before Brandon Matich took over as head coach last winter. Now, East has turned into a dangerous team that seems capable of being one of four teams to reach Rice-Eccles Stadium this week.

If there was any doubt about the Leopards' potential, it was quelled in a convincing 48-28 victory over Westlake last Friday. East led 41-7 at one point after scoring four touchdowns of 50 yards or more through the first three quarters.

Those big plays revived what had been a signature of the Leopards earlier in the season – their ability to blow games open with offensive explosiveness.

"We went back to the nuts and bolts of who we are," Matich said. "That's pounding the rock and running the option. I think we got outside ourselves a little bit. We got to play good defense and we got to pound the ball."

East will face a definite challenge on both sides of the ball from Mountain Crest. The Mustangs have been a fixture in later rounds of the 4A playoffs over the past several seasons.

One reason has been the play of four-year starter Alex Kuresa. The senior quarterback has rewritten the state record books and has put Mountain Crest in a position to repeatedly challenge Timpview for 4A supremacy. The Mustangs and Kuresa have thus far come up short in those efforts.

Still, his experience and leadership is a factor that Matich believes makes Mountain Crest a tough draw in any round.

"He's been there," Matich said. "He's faced the tough Timpview teams and been in tough playoff games. He knows how to win and his players jump behind him and jump on his shoulders. He usually answers the call."