MOUNTAIN VIEW BRUINS

Head coach: Abe Poduska (4th Season)

2023 record: 3-8 overall, 1-5 in 4A Region 8

Playoffs: No. 19 seed, lost to No. 14 Payson, 35-17, in 4A first round

Players to Watch: Michael Earnest (Sr. OL/DL), Kalvin Floyd (Sr. WR/DB), Beau Petersen (Sr. WR/DB), Landon Shumway (Sr. LB), Kenyon Kunz (Sr. LB), Andre Romero (Sr. OL).

Outlook: Mountain View head coach Abe Poduska has worked hard during his first three years to build the Bruin program, but there have been times where it has been tough to see good athletes choose to leave to go to other schools.

That makes this group of seniors particularly special, since they chose to be Bruins.

“When I got the job, I watched the players who are my seniors now play freshman football, and we have kept almost all of those core guys that were on that team,” Poduska said. “I have 12 seniors. A couple of them are new to the program, but for the most part these are guys who have been at Mountain View the whole time. They haven’t listened to the noise and thought about going somewhere else, and they’re really good players. It’s awesome that every senior is a contributor and a leader.”

One evidence of some of the ability is the fact that guys are getting college scholarship offers, something that hasn’t been as common as Mountain View would like.

With the leadership in place, the Bruins are looking to take a big step forward on the gridiron as well — but they need those guys on the field.

“The key for us is health,” Poduska said. “We’re changing our practice schedule with how many days we’re in pads to stay healthy. We have limited numbers, so well all practice together. It’s tough keeping players who play both ways healthy all year. But if they are in the game, we will have a chance in any game we have.”

Building Culture: “One thing that’s been great this year is I’m doing a program called Earn It. Right now, nobody has the MV on their helmet. We just have cardinal helmets and the boys love that MV logo. And we’re going to play our first game with maybe just four or five kids that have earned it. We’ve clearly defined the criteria for earning that logo, and we call it gold-plated. Once you’re a gold-plated Bruin, you get the logo and you get a special shirt. We’re just instilling the idea that we are all lucky to be here, and we need to earn the right to be Bruins and earn the right to go play this game, regardless of what people think about Mountain View.” — Abe Poduska