The Mouritsen brothers: A family giving back to Grantsville football

GRANTSVILLE — If you're headed west on I-80 toward Nevada, your last stop before 100 miles of open desert is Grantsville — a small town tucked under Deseret Peak, where high school football is planted into the DNA of its residents.

On a crisp fall Friday, the "G" flags fly from porches, the bleachers buzz with anticipation, and in the small press box before kickoff, you'll find members of the Mouritsen family checking microphones, lining up rosters, and laughing together before the lights flip on.

For the Mouritsens, Grantsville football isn't just a game; it's family tradition.

All six sons of Kathy Mouritsen — Alan, Scott, Rich, Brent, Carl, and Kevin — once wore the Cowboys' red and black on Friday nights. Now, years later, they've found their way back to the program, giving back as coaches, announcers, and doing things behind the scenes that make Grantsville football go.

On the field, nephews Brigham, Richie, and Wally carry the Mouritsen name across the grass, while Alan's daughter, Sadie, cheers with the squad. In the middle of it all is Kathy, the matriarch of the Mouritsen family, whose joy is watching her family pour themselves into the game she's loved her whole life.

"It's my life. It's what I live for," Kathy said. "I was raised on football, and that's become a part of our lives. I love to be a part of it, and I'm so proud of them."

A legacy of playing, now giving back

The brothers' connection to football stretches back generations. Their grandfather, Wally Nalder, played at the University of Utah and coached at Weber State when it was still Weber College. Their father, Richard, raised his boys in the game of football and was proud of his sons.

A Mouritsen boy suited up for Grantsville's varsity team in 12 straight years.

"I know it was a source of pride for my dad," Kevin said. "When I think about my childhood, it was like, fall Friday nights, we're at a football game; and if it's an away game, then we're stopping at Wendy's on the way home."

As boys, the Mouritsens weren't pretending to be professional athletes when they took the field or played other sports; they were pretending to be Grantsville greats.

"I would play basketball with a friend in our driveway, but we wouldn't pretend we were John Stockton and Karl Malone," Brent said. "We would pretend we were Isaac Butler and Spencer Allred, who were the stars of Grantsville High School at the time."

The Mouritsen brothers had successful playing careers at Grantsville, making a name for their family while also becoming known across the state.

Alan has his name etched in the Utah high school football record books. But depending on who you ask, he may not be known as the best Mouritsen football player in his family.

Alan totaled 2,305 rushing yards in 1997, which ranks as the seventh best rushing season in Utah state history. His seven rushing touchdowns in a game are still tied for second all time, and his 42 total touchdowns in 1997 are still the most ever in a single season in Utah high school football history.

"I grew up watching the 1996 Grantsville High School football highlight video, I don't know, 50 times a year," Kevin said. "There's something about being a part of that type of community experience that is meaningful and gives somebody a sense of belonging and a place to call home."

Even though their playing days are over and adult life has come, the Mourtisen brothers still enjoy being a part of the community that raised them and give back to the team that helped shape their lives.

"Our dad raised us to be proud of where we are," Scott said. "I think I knew I always wanted to come back to Grantsville High School, and that's where I wanted to teach. That's where I wanted to be."

"We just all loved our experience growing up in a town like Grantsville and the good, salt-of-the-earth people that influenced us," Brent said. "I want my kids influenced by those same people."

That sense of community pride is what brought them back.

The coaches on the sidelines

Alan has been on the Cowboys' staff for a decade. This season, he took over as defensive coordinator, shifting from coaching the running backs and the position he once dominated to lead the unit tasked with stopping opponents.

"From the time we came back to Grantsville, when my oldest was 8 years old, I wanted to be involved in the coaching scene," Alan said. "It's important to recognize that there are a lot of really great families in our community, and that's part of what makes it so fun."

He coaches alongside his brother Scott, a math teacher who initially never planned on taking up a whistle but found himself drawn back to the game. He started as an assistant at the alternative school and coached in other sports like cross country. Scott later served as Grantsville's athletic director, overlapping the COVID-19 pandemic before rejoining football.

Scott now coaches the defense alongside his brother, and he was excited when he was promoted to the defensive coordinator.

"Just knowing and being around the program for as long as he has, he knows the kids, knows the personnel that we have to work with," Scott said. "He jumped right in and started studying film and trying to find what's the best way to go about this."

Being brothers and coaches has had an effect on Scott, though, and he used to be a little hesitant to ask Alan questions regarding the defense. He has since opened up, collaborating with how they can help their players get better and be successful.

"I don't care if I look dumb to him or whatever," Scott said. "I've looked dumb to him my whole life.

"There is something special about football and with our family, because it's just been something that we've been a part of our whole lives."

The two brothers balance each other well — Alan fiery on the sideline, sometimes sparring with referees, even with a comfortable lead, while Scott remains calm, encouraging his players and keeping the focus steady.

The press box crew

While Alan and Scott grind through film and practices, their brothers run the game day experience from above. Rich's booming voice echoes across Cowboy Stadium as the public address announcer, and his three other brothers help him with behind the scenes responsibilities.

When Scott was the athletic director, he asked Rich if he would do PA, but he initially turned him down. After considering the offer, Rich knew it would be too fun to pass up. Brent was already running the game clock for the school, but Rich convinced Kevin and Carl to come help him.

"It's just a great time to be there and be able to support Scott and Allen and the boys on the field," Rich said. "But also to hang out with the rest of us."

Brent runs the game clock, Carl helps spot plays, and Kevin handles music and also helps out with spotting in order to make sure the right players get credited correctly. Together, the press box becomes a family reunion on fall Fridays, filled with banter when the mics are off.

"Rich will turn the mic off and we'll make a joke or comment and be having a good time as brothers hanging out while we watch our hometown football team," Kevin said.

"It becomes an argument over who's right," Brent said. "If it's third-and-5 or third-and-6 — just a small example of the kind of banter that happens when the mic's off."

For Kevin, the ritual is tied to nostalgia.

"The crisp air hits, the leaves start changing, fall's on its way, it's football season, and I just start to feel nostalgic," Kevin said.

Carrying the name forward

The next generation of Mouritsens is already on the field and sidelines. Brigham, Richie, and Wally line up for the Cowboys, while Sadie cheers in uniform. For Wally, sharing the field with cousins is special.

"It's been cool having my brother and cousin on the team and being able to play with them," Wally said. "My childhood so far has been a lot of football and going to football games, my older cousins' games and watching, talking football."

Even opponents know the name.

"We're listening to the other team's announcers, and they'll say, 'Oh, there's a tackle by Brigham or Wally Mouritsen,'" Kevin said. "They'll say, 'Mouritsen, that's a Grantsville football name.' It's fun to hear opposing announcers recognize the name, and it's cool to see you guys carry on the tradition."

A Friday night tradition

From the sideline to the booth to the bleachers, the Mouritsens' fingerprints are everywhere on Friday nights in Grantsville. What started as six brothers chasing the same dream on the field has evolved into a family giving back to the program that shaped them — while watching their kids carve out the next chapter.

"I think something that was instilled in us from our dad was just a sense of pride," Brent said. "It just feels natural to be a part and to serve."

And for Kathy, who has watched generations of her family run out under the lights, the payoff is simple.

"It's a wonderful part of my life," Kathy said. "And my whole family will say that I get really into football. But I love it. I'm proud of them."

For the last two years, the six Mouritsen brothers have been reunited in the place that first shaped them — Grantsville High School football. What began as their own childhood pastime has grown into a family tradition, one that now stretches across generations and touches nearly every corner of the program.

But their story is also the story of Grantsville itself. In a small town where Friday nights bring neighbors together under the lights, the Mouritsens reflect what makes the community strong: pride in their roots, loyalty to one another, and a willingness to give back.

Whether it's Alan and Scott drawing up defenses on the sideline, Rich's voice filling the stadium, or Kathy cheering from the stands, their presence reminds everyone that football here is about more than wins and losses.

It's about belonging. It's about family. And in Grantsville, those two things are often one and the same.

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