The Rocky Mountain High football era begins Friday night on the school's plush new artificial turf field.

And a standing-room-only crowd at Brighton Stadium on the new Meridian campus is expected to witness the event.

The game starts at 7 p.m.

The Grizzlies' game against crosstown opponent Meridian will be a culmination of the first three weeks for all of the school's athletic teams.

The new high school - the fifth in the Meridian School District - opened Aug. 25.

"We've been looking forward to this date for a long time," Rocky Mountain athletic director Troy Rice said.

FOOTBALL

Football coach Jason Warr wants to give students something to talk about in the hallways this season - winning.

"The football program can be a positive influence on a school," Warr said. "I've been in situations at other schools in the Valley where it just dictates what happens. When you have a bad season, you feel it the hallways.

"They just want to be a part of something and we want to give something back to them (Friday night). ... I think it could be something awesome."

Rocky Mountain has an inexperienced team - three of the five seniors will start, and 14 juniors and six sophomores will get extended playing time. Only three players have previously played in a varsity game.

OTHER SPORTS

There are approximately 265 students competing in football, volleyball, soccer and cross country this fall.

Rice said building a new athletic department has been a smooth process.

The only challenge has been juggling practice times for the use of the school's artificial turf field. Grass on some of the practice fields was planted late and cannot be used yet.

"Our staff's come together well and cooperated and we've had a good start," Rice said.

So far, there have been mixed results.

The boys soccer team (1-3) has a 2-0 win at Meridian.

The volleyball team received its uniforms one day before the season opener against Centennial. It is 1-2 after Thursday's victory against Meridian.

The girls soccer team is 0-4 heading into Monday's home game against Timberline.

Cross country runner Sean Saxton finished a team-best 10th at the Jimmy Driscoll Classic last Saturday.

THE ATHLETES

Sophomores Dallas Burroughs and Jordan Deck will attempt to carve out their own niches in football after watching their older brothers star for Meridian in recent years.

Burroughs' older brothers, Jake and Mitch, helped Meridian win a state title in 2005.

Deck's older brother, Austin, was part of the 2005 and 2007 state championship teams.

"They've got their names at (Meridian) and we'll have our name at this school now," Deck said.

Deck is a running back who played at Eagle as a freshman in 2007.

"I thought I'd be at Meridian, but I went to Eagle and I thought I'd be playing there until Rocky Mountain came," he said.

Burroughs was a quarterback as a freshman at Meridian last year. He will play wide receiver on the varsity team at Rocky Mountain.

"I like being competitive and playing against old friends," he said.

Janel Porter is the lone volleyball player with varsity experience. The junior libero was part of Eagle's back-to-back 5A state championship teams the past two seasons.

"It was very hard to leave," she said. "It think it's one of the toughest things that I've done yet."

Porter's younger sister, Sierra, is one of three freshmen starters this season.

THE FACILITIES

Rocky Mountain's football field has an artificial turf surface. The funds came from the Brighton Corporation, the Baldridge family and the team's booster club.

"This has been huge," Rice said. "To open a brand-new school with field turf like this has been a great help. ... It gives us one field that is always reliable."

The school has three gymnasiums, a wrestling room, and weight and cardio rooms. There are tennis courts, two softball fields, two baseball fields, two grass practice fields for football and two grass fields for soccer that cover an estimated 50 acres of land.

COACHES

Rice, along with principal Mike Hirano, assembled an experienced and proven coaching staff last winter.

Warr is a former head football coach at Hagerman (1996-2000) and assistant at Eagle (2000-03). He has been an assistant vice principal at Meridian the past four years and was a volunteer assistant with the Warriors' 5A state championship team last fall.

He said he wanted to get back into coaching because he missed the teamwork and camaraderie.

"My family sacrificed to let this happen," he said. "It's pretty emotional because I wouldn't give it up. I have no hesitation in what I did and these kids make it worthwhile."

Boys soccer coach Chad Oyler is a former Centennial and BYU player. He was the junior varsity coach at Meridian last fall.

Girls soccer coach Donal Kaehler spent the past 15 years coaching the sport in Wisconsin, Rice said.

Cross country coach Krista Fritz moved from Meridian to Rocky Mountain.

Volleyball coach Michelle Dodds led Capital's varsity team to the 5A state tournament in each of her three seasons at the school (2005-07).

"Starting a program is just something that I've always wanted to do just because you instill your traditions," Dodds said.

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