Written by: Lucas Gebhart
Getting to the top of the mountain is never easy – just ask the Mountain View football program.
The last time this program reached the top of the mountain was 2016, but it’s also the only time the Mavs have won a state championship. They reached the top of that mountain after falling at the summit two years in a row, losing state championship games to Highland in 2014 and again to Rocky Mountain in 2015. Neither game was close, nor was Mountain View’s stunning loss to rival Meridian in last year’s state quarterfinals.
After cruising through the 2021 regular-season, the senior-heavy roster earned a first-round bye in the state playoffs. But then, Mountain View’s season ended abruptly when the Warriors forced six turnovers and held the Mavs to just six points, handing Mountain View a 35-6 loss on their home field, a heartbreaking loss to what was a promising year.
At the time, Mountain View was a favorite to win state. They were Idaho’s top-ranked 5A team and the only unbeaten school left in Idaho’s highest class. Much like it was in 2014 and 2015, the top of the mountain was in site, but the loss was a harsh reminder that seeing the top isn’t the same as being there.
Now, some of the key talent from last year’s team is gone, and so their head coach.
Former head coach Judd Benedick stepped down this December after 15 seasons at the helm. Taking the reins will be Brian Compton, a long-time Mountain View assistant.
“We've had a tremendous off-season,” Compton said. “Players have worked very hard.”
The Mavs will still run a balanced and high-paced offense and it will still be run by one of the conference’s best quarterbacks in Dawson Wahl. But it will also be an offense without one of the state’s best running backs in Quintez Evans, who has moved on to play for Butte College in California.
Defensively, things won’t look much different either. Mountain View will still run an even front and still be technically sound.
But the Mavs will be missing one of their key pieces in Braden Garrison, who was one of the state’s best linebackers a year ago. Despite the loss, the defense does return Mason Chiles at linebacker, who was an all-conference selection at the position.
Compton says the focus this offseason is the little stuff, things they didn’t do in last year’s playoff loss.
While the offense seemed to move the ball okay on Meridian, it was the turnovers that put the nail in the coffin. Compton says this year’s team must finish those drives, adding he wants to see his defense create those turnovers instead. Putting those adjustments to the test won’t take long.
Three of Mountain View’s first four are tough ones. The Mavs host rival Rocky Mountain, a state championship contender, the second week of the season before hosting Borah on September 16, a school some say could be one of the SIC’s best.
But the first game of the season is the one catching the most
the attention as a road trip to Meridian sets the perfect scene to avenge last season’s playoff loss. It’s Mountain View’s first game of the year, but Meridian’s second. The Warriors open their season against Eagle the week prior on August 19.