Three autumns ago, Mountain Vista put a down payment on its future success by throwing then-freshman QB Austyn Modrzewski into the varsity fire. In his first game of extended playing time, Modrzewski threw two pick-sixes within his first few passes.

But amid that blowout defeat and the games that followed, Mountain Vista head coach Garrett Looney knew he had found a star.

“I came over to the sideline and put my arm around him after those pick-sixes against Legend and said, ‘You’re going to be a great high school QB because of this experience,’” Looney recalled. “And he grew from that, and has continued to grow. I knew throwing a freshman out there at quarterback was going to be tough, but that it was also going to pay dividends down the road.

“Many of the experiences he had that year made him the player he is today. And even later on in that freshman season, he showed signs of starting to come into that potential. His first playoff game, against Legacy, he set a school record with six TDs. Right there we were like, ‘Holy (crap), we have something special with this kid.’”

Fast forward to this fall, and Modrzewski headlines an experienced and talented Mountain Vista team that has its eyes on a first state title. Last year’s all-classification passing leader with 3,675 yards will be central in the program’s push for unprecedented success a season after posting nine wins.

“The expectations are higher than they probably have ever been here, and I’m trying to temper those expectations because we understand the work has to be put in,” Looney said. “On paper, sure we look pretty good, but until we put the work in it’s not going to matter.”

Including Modrzewski, Mountain Vista returns nine starters to their no-huddle, up-tempo offense. Navy commit Jack Heath (6-foot-6, 320 pounds) is the star up front at right guard, while fellow seniors Jakhai Mack and Sean Conway are top wideouts, senior Jack Blais is the featured tailback and senior tight end Elam Parises adds skill and muscle.

The return of senior middle linebacker Carter Daniels gives the defense star power, too. Daniels tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee in Week 7 last year, but an ahead-of-schedule rehab has him fully cleared for the start of the season. His final year at MVHS will be critical to showing on-the-fence colleges that his knee and game are better than ever.

“Those first two weeks after surgery, I was sitting on my couch sadder than Eeyore,” Daniels said. “But after those two weeks, I was in the pool every day, I was at Landow Performance at 6:30 in the morning getting a workout in before classes. … Watching the team play last year down the stretch made me feel helpless. It drove me to get back bigger, faster and stronger than I was.”

Mountain Vista opens the season in Week 0 in Hawaii. The Thursday night game against Pearl City in Oahu on Aug. 22 will be followed by team bonding activities, including a visit to Pearl Harbor and attending a University of Hawaii football game.

“It’s not a vacation so much as it’s a business trip to a very cool place,” Looney said. “So my goal is we go, take care of business on Thursday, then we can go be kids and have fun the rest of the weekend.”

On top of the Golden Eagles’ opening tester on the island (Pearl City was 9-1 last year), Mountain Vista’s schedule also features gut checks against Arapahoe (Aug. 30), Erie (last year’s Class 4A champion, Sept. 6) and a competitive league slate that includes Valor Christian (Oct. 4) as well as rivals ThunderRidge (Oct. 11) and Rock Canyon (Oct. 25).

With Modrzewski committed to South Dakota, Mountain Vista will have its QB unencumbered for his senior season following a recruiting process that both Looney and the QB admitted weighed on him.

“Once he decided he was going to commit to South Dakota, it was almost like the monkey came off of his back,” Looney said of his 6-foot-5 QB. “This summer, he’s looked better than he ever has, and he’s playing a lot more free, a lot more loose because he doesn’t have that (recruiting) pressure anymore.”

Modrzewski said finding a college to land with tested his patience and resolve.

He got looks at a lot of camps and went through dozens of phone calls with college coaches, but few offers came. Outside of South Dakota, only Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky officially offered him, and the Coyotes earned Modrzewski’s pledge because they made it clear to him that he was their QB of the future.

“South Dakota told me I’m the No. 1 QB on their board, and that they wouldn’t offer anyone else (at the position) if I committed,” Modrzewski said. “I was their guy, and that meant a lot to me knowing that I’m the one they want to go with and they want to see me play. That was home to me.”

For Modrzewski & Co. to get to where they want to go this fall, they’ll have to up the ante against premier Class 5A teams.

Mountain Vista’s never beat Valor Christian in the six years the teams have been in the same league. The Golden Eagles lost 51-24 to Cherry Creek in last year’s quarterfinals and were also routed by the Bruins in the second round of the playoffs to end Modrzewski’s freshman year. In Looney’s tenure, they’ve also lost to top Class 5A foes such as Grandview, Regis Jesuit and Ralston Valley.

But Looney, who won a title as Columbine’s quarterback/safety in 1999 and was an assistant coach for a pair of championships with Valor Christian in 2015 and ’16, believes this season can be different. Modrzewski also thinks program history, and a place among the 5A big boys, is within reach.

“We go to practice every day with the ambition of winning state,” Modrzewski said. “We’re hoping we get good enough to eventually take down powerhouse schools like Cherry Creek, Columbine and Valor.

“I’m more focused on making a deep playoff run than anything else. I’m hoping (another season of prolific passing) stats can be a byproduct of that, but if we have to run the ball 80 times a game to get there and win a championship, I’m perfectly fine with that, too.”

Originally Published: August 18, 2024 at 5:45 a.m.