1A high school football preview: Monument Valley at Rich

Monument Valley (5-4) at Rich (6-3)

1A state tournament quarterfinal

Friday, 4 p.m.

Parry’s Power Guide: Rich by 55

All-time series: Rich leads 2-0

Coach vs. coach: Rich’s Ashley Brown leads Monument Valley’s Jim Dandy, 2-0

Last meeting: Oct. 31, 2010 (1A quarterfinals) — Rich 38, Monument Valley 0

Rich High’s quarterfinal playoff game against Monument Valley this Friday should be a total walk in the park.

Even if Rich completely overlooks overmatched Monument Valley, it should have no problem advancing to the semifinals. Coach Ashley Brown doesn’t expect that type of attitude from his players though.

“They know if they lose they’re done. That’s the biggest motivation to them now. They’re to the point they have to win and they know that,” said Brown.

Rich is coming off a 43-7 win over Layton Christian last week, a desperately needed victory after back-to-back losses to Duchesne (40-14) and Diamond Ranch (34-20).

The Rebels will try and build on that momentum against a Monument Valley defense that has given up 81 points to Summit Academy, 60 to Monticello, 56 to Diamond Ranch and 50 to Altamont.

Brown would like to see Rich work on its passing game against Monument Valley. The Rebels have leaned heavily on the run this season with Benjamin Groll, Austin Groll and Kaden Thomson all eclipsing 500 yards.

Down the road in a potential semifinal game against Diamond Ranch or a championship game meeting with Duchesne, Rich will likely need to be more balanced offensively.

Quarterback Austin Groll has been pretty efficient this season completing 54 percent of his passes for 605 yards and seven touchdowns. He hasn’t thrown for more than 100 yards since Week 3 though.

Despite the obvious playoff mismatch, 2012 has been a successful one for Monument Valley under coach Jim Dandy. After a two-year hiatus as head coach, Dandy has guided the Cougars to five victories this season— including in-state wins against Milford and Whitehorse that helped them finish third in the 1A South region.

Monument Valley statistical breakdown

Scoring offense: 17.1 ppg

Scoring defense: 31.6 ppg

Passing leader: Not provided

Rushing leaders: Not provided

Receiving leaders: Not provided

Tackles leaders: Not provided

Sack leaders: Not provided

Interception leaders: Not provided

Rich statistical breakdown

Scoring offense: 31.5 ppg

Scoring defense: 22.5 ppg

Passing leader: Austin Groll (35-67, 52.2%, 630 yards, 7 TDs, 2 INTs)

Rushing leaders: Austin Groll (93 carries, 833 yards, 14 TDs), Kaden Thomson (100 carries, 781 yards, 9 TDs), Benjamin Groll (86 carries, 551 yards, 3 TDs)

Receiving leaders: McKay Jarman (12 rec., 187 yards, 2 TDs), Wyatt Muirbrook (5 rec., 174 yards, 4 TDs)

Tackles leaders: Not provided

Sack leaders: Not provided

Interception leaders: Not provided

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