High school football: Incentive laden Miners cruise past Wasps

PARK CITY— The Park City Miners had plenty of reasons to earn a win in Wednesday night's game against region-rival Wasatch.

But the Wasps unknowingly gave them a little extra incentive when they were just a little too fired up in pre-game warm-ups.

"They came out in pre-game and were hooting and hollering," said junior running back Dylan Chynoweth after the Miners secured the region title with a 50-6 victory. "We just wanted to shut them down."

Chynoweth and quarterback Erik Walker put on a clinic for how to run the ball, thanks in large part to Park City's very effective, hard-working offensive line.

"Our offensive line is playing great," said Park City coach Brandon Matich. "They're aggressive, staying low ... and we put in a few wrinkles that make it a little easier on them."

Whatever that line is doing, it enabled Chynoweth, who scored three touchdowns, and Walker, who scored two touchdowns, to run pretty much where ever they wanted.

"We came out with a lot of energy," said Walker, who finished with 151 yards rushing. "We had great blocks and we ran hard."

Chynoweth added 140 yards rushing on two carries.

But the win was far from just a display of offensive fire power. The Miner defense frustrated the Wasps in every aspect of their game. The most thrilling play came in the third quarter when sophomore Blake Thorne blocked a punt attempt and returned it for a touchdown.

Both teams struggled with penalties, but despite a number of set-backs, the Miners were a team on a mission Wednesday night.

"We challenged the kids heart and courage," said coach Matich. "At the Judge game I went into the locker room and the kids had their shirts off and they'd all drawn hearts on their chests ... It was really neat. They've really taken the challenge personally."

Matich didn't expect such a lopsided victory and he had to play his starters longer than he normally would because the Miners may be facing a two and a half week layoff due to an uneven number of football teams in the region. Because Judge won Wednesday, the Miners will host their first playoff game.

"Our kids played with confidence, and I hope they can just keep that up," Matich said. "I don't want them to get too rusty."

He praised Wasatch head coach Steve North and said the last thing he expected was a 50-6 win.

"I didn't expect it to be like this," he said. "Coach North is a great coach and runs a great program."

The score was indicative of how determined and committed his players have become this year. He said one of the most rewarding aspects of the team's success has been the way the seniors have grown over the season.

"Our senior class has been the one to step up and show leadership," Matich said.

---

E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com