When they said nobody's irreplaceable, they probably didn't have this year's cream of the crop for Utah high school football in mind.
To the coaches of this year's top postseason award winners, best wishes in filling their shoes.It isn't going to be easy to replace 1998 Mr. Football, David Fiefia of Hunter, or the five class MVPs -- Jordan's Jackson Brown (5A), Olympus' Josh Green (4A), Dixie's Lance Pendleton (3A), and 2A co-MVPs Jason Lee of San Juan and Alan Mouritsen of Grantsville. Not easy, to say the least.
These six standout players highlight the group of over 300 players who earned first-team, second-team and honorable-mention All-State recognition.
5A MVP -- Jackson Brown, Jordan: A year ago, everybody ranted and raved about a junior basketball star who played for the Beetdiggers. Now everyone's clamoring about this great quarterback who also happens to play hoops.
It isn't easy to pinpoint where the transformation took place, but the Alta game in the third week of the season is as good a start as any. Brown stunned the Hawks with a perfect five-play two-minute drill that ended on his game-winning touchdown toss to Morgan Sharp.
"That's the game where he made his statement, for sure," said Jordan coach Jim Birch. "To that point, he had had just a fair season."
How quickly fair can turn into fantastic. Brown and his band of Beetdiggers didn't stop making sweet music until the championship game when they ran into a simply hotter Skyline squad.
Brown also engineered a comeback win against Orem and he put Hillcrest away with a late drive. He really worked his magic against Hunter in the semis by leading Jordan to the win after trailing by eight with four minutes left.
On the season, he passed for over 2,000 yards and rushed for 500 more. He was responsible for 18 passing TDs and seven rushing. But his heart spoke much louder than his stats.
"There's not a better kid, not a more giving kid, not a more loyal kid," Birch said. "He's one of those kids you hope your boy grows up to be."
4A MVP -- Josh Green, Olympus: Titan coach Mike Miller can't stop shaking his head in disbelief when thinking what this fine quarterback was doing a year ago.
"All he did was hold on PAT field goals," said Miller.
All he did this season was lead Olympus to an undefeated 4A championship season for the Titans. Hard work, dedication and more work in the off-season made it possible for Green to become an overnight star.
"Josh just worked hard and developed himself," Miller said. "I just can't say enough about that, about how much he developed himself in the off-season. If people only knew how hard he worked to make him what he is today."
Green turned himself into the perfect quarterback for Miller's Wing-T offense. He used his good speed and smarts to make life miserable on defenses.
Green rushed for about 800 yards (7.1 yard average) and he completed 55 of 90 passes (61 percent). His leadership was the key to his success.
"He's a great, quiet leader," Miller said. "And Josh just kept getting better as the season went along."
3A MVP -- Lance Pendleton, Dixie: This prolific passer made an incredible aerial assault on the Utah high school football record book in leading the Flyers to the 3A championship. He'll easily go down as one of the best quarterbacks the state has ever seen, especially from a smaller classification.
His statistics this season were out of this world. The left-handed QB set a single-season state record by throwing for 3,312 yards in 14 games this year. That eclipsed ex-Provo star Sean Covey's mark of 3,198 from 1982. Pendleton threw for 27 TDs on 182-for-277 passing (65.7 percent). He also has the highest two-year total of 5,520 yards.
"He is our MVP," said Dixie coach Mike Smith of his highly recruited quarterback. "He's the best player in the state."
Pendleton was fortunate to have speedster Cody Fonnesbeck as a target.
Pendleton is every bit as good a running quarterback as he is a thrower. He rushed for three TDs as the Flyers rallied to beat Cedar in the 3A title game. Overall, he ran for 711 yards and nine TDs.
He just might be a better defensive player than he is a QB. As a defensive back, he made 102 tackles, picked off 10 passes and made five sacks. He had a big pick in the title game as well.
2A co-MVP -- JASON LEE, San Juan: Though he had a great season, Lee really made his mark during the 2A semifinal game against Grantsville. The muscular running back rushed for 211 yards and a TD and made a key pick to help the Broncos beat the Cowboys 13-6.
The following week, Lee played with a broken hand while helping the Broncos overcome a 20-point deficit to beat South Summit for the 2A championship. He eventually had it operated on, but he didn't say a word about the injury to his coaches during the finals, which came as no surprise to them.
Despite being his first year as a true running back, Lee put up some spectacular numbers. He rushed for 1,409 yards and 19 touchdowns on 140 carries (10-yard average). Lee also had 265 receiving yards with six touchdowns.
He made 156 total tackles with eight sacks and four interceptions on defense. He also excelled as a return specialist and as deep snapper. And he might even be a better baseball player.
"Jason's got a lot of natural ability," said Burtenshaw. "He can catch the ball; he can run with it, and he can throw it. It'll be hard to replace him, especially defensively."
2A co-MVP -- ALAN MOURITSEN, Grantsville: It's not often that the Deseret News opts to award the MVP award to two different players, and it's even rarer that someone comes along and accomplishes all that Mouritsen did. With his record-breaking performances, the talented senior brought the spotlight onto small-town football like nobody has ever done in the Beehive State.
The title "Mr. Touchdown" seems appropriate for him. He ended his spectacular prep career with a boatload of state records, including career-bests in touchdowns scored (77), rushing TDs (64), points scored (480), 100-yard rushing games (21) and consecutive 100-yard games (11). He also registered season records for touchdowns (42 in 1997), rushing TDs (36), 100-yard games (11) and consecutive 100-yard rushing games (11).
"We knew he had special running skills," said Grantsville coach Kevin Butler. "But we didn't know the impact he would have on Utah high school football."
With a 5-foot-10, 180-pound frame, Mouritsen doesn't look like he should own every TD record between the Nevada and Colorado borders. But he can burst to the line quicker than most runners, and once he's in the open field he's nearly impossible to catch. This year he ran for 1,920 yards, had 648 yards receiving and scored 33 touchdowns, including one seven-TD game.
"He has tremendous quickness to the hole," Butler said. "And he has a great field of vision. That's really his strength."
Though the Cowboys fell short of the championship game this season, Mouritsen is already a proven winner. He has three tennis titles, two football championships, one basketball crown and one Utah spelling bee championship (in the 8th grade).
"He's the type of athlete every coach dreams of coaching," Butler added of his 3.95 student. "He exemplifies what high school sports is all about. I know a lot of kids in Grantsville look up to him."