Even an estimable publication as the Deseret News Rewind had a difficult time containing its poise over the performance delivered two weeks by a former San Marino resident.
“Trond Grizzell, have yourself a night,” it said via Twitter.
The post included video highlights of three catches Grizzell made during Park City (Utah) High School’s football game against Stansbury, which helped the Miners to a 33-28 victory.
Wait, what is our Titan doing playing football in a different time zone? The simple if seemingly flippant answer is “playing football.”
“We were probably going to go up there next year anyway,” said Tim Grizzell, Trond’s father. “It started looking like there might not be a football season down here and we thought we should look at the plan a little sooner.”
Tim Grizzell phoned up a friend in Park City late last spring who informed him that the team was already practicing.
“It just sort of went from there,” Grizzell said.
Tim and Anna-Marie Grizzell sold their home in San Marino and relocated to the Wasatch Mountain Range, where they are “getting settled,” according to Tim after a whirlwind transition. Trond and his younger brother, Max, a sophomore at Park City High School, immediately began practice for the Miners while Gretchen, a freshman at Treasure Valley Junior High School, joined the cross-country squad and will transition to lacrosse.
“It has been quite a transition for Gretchen,” her father said. “Our home is at 6,600 feet altitude and it takes quite a while to acclimate.”
Gretchen participated in a four-mile mountain trail run and turned in representative time.
An accomplished freestyle skier, Max Grizzell also played quarterback for the Miners’ junior varsity squad and was a varsity backup before breaking his wrist last Friday night.
A 1,000-yard receiver last year, Trond has played in six of the Miners’ seven games — he had to sit out the opener while his transfer was processed — making 28 receptions for 503 yards and seven touchdowns as the Miners have dug their way to a 5-2 start, 4-0 in conference play. The 6-foot 4-inch wideout has also completed all three of the passes he has thrown for an additional 71 yards and won the punting job, where he averages 55.5 yards per kick. He has received interest from recruiters at Cal, BYU, Yale, Air Force, Northern Arizona and SMU.
“The opportunity to play this fall has helped him out,” Tim Grizzell said.
A move into the mountains was inevitable and will benefit Max, who is an accomplished freestyle skier. But until he straps on the planks, Max is busy playing quarterback for the Miners’ junior varsity squad and has won all three games he has started. He also dresses on Friday nights as a backup quarterback for the varsity. Unfortunately, Max suffered a broken left wrist last week and will be forced to sit out the remainder of the season.
The Grizzells attend school in-person, but the football stadiums have a limited capacity and tickets must be purchased in advance. Athletes in Utah follow many training protocols, but are not socially distanced.
The rapid transition did make for one curious, humorous moment. Authorities at Park City High School scheduled its annual Senior Night for the first game of the season in case a coronavirus outbreak at some point would cause the cancellation of the season. Trond was forced to wax nostalgic about teammates he had never met on a squad for whom at the time he had never played. When asked to provide a highlight of his experience at Park City, Trond said “getting cleared to play.”
