4A high school football preview: Bountiful at Olympus

Bountiful (7-4) at Olympus (9-1)

4A state tournament quarterfinal

Friday, 5 p.m.

Parry's Power Guide: Bountiful by 7

All-time series: Series tied 9-9

Coach vs. coach: Bountiful's Larry Wall leads Olympus' Aaron Whitehead, 3-0 (when Whitehead was at East in 2003-2004).

Last meeting: Oct. 21, 2010, Bountiful 56, Olympus 14

Olympus head coach Aaron Whitehead has so much respect for Bountiful head coach Larry Wall that as a young coach, he patterned parts of his program after Wall's.

"It's similar to what coach Mike Miller did at Olympus," said Whitehead, who led Olympus to a region title in his first year as head coach of the Titans program. "They do the little things perfect. If you watch their guys, their footwork is great; their technique is great. That's one of the reasons they enjoy such success, because they're so disciplined."

But on Friday night, Whitehead and the fourth-ranked Titans will try to defeat Wall and the Braves in the second round of the 4A football playoffs.

"I think we have a good chance," said Whitehead. "It will take absolutely perfect play from us."

Okay, maybe not perfect. But the matchup between the Braves and the Titans should be a great game as the teams play a similar style of football.

"They're different than what we've seen the last few weeks," said Wall. "We've played just giant, big, physical people, but they're a little closer to what we are. They're athletic, disciplined and they play hard."

Wall watched Olympus beat Skyline in overtime.

"That was one of the better games I've seen," said Wall. "Region rivals for the region title, back and forth — they showed me something. They played right to the end. They're going to be tough. We're going to have to play our best game to be able to hang with them."

Wall called the Titans' running back, Brandon McBride, "exceptional."

"He has great speed and he does some good things," Wall said of McBride, who has won three state championships in wrestling in three states. "They look like they play with confidence."

Wall's teams are known for their tough defense, but this year they've also been scoring a lot of points. The Braves' season got off to a rough start thanks to injuries and a suspension, but the squad is "as close to healthy as we can be," said Wall.