The player-turned-coach knows just how hard those wins are to come by, and the Scots, now without the on-field contributions of seniors Fernando Marquez or Kevin Nuci, are in the business of proving they belong amongst a hungry 3A state playoff field.

On Tuesday, No. 7 Ben Lomond secured a 5-0 shutout win over No. 10 Grantsville in the first round after ending the season with a four-goal road victory against none other than the Cowboys exactly one week ago.

In short, the Scots (6-6) made it a busy afternoon for Grantsville (6-12) goalkeeper Cache Hammond. Juniors Robben Ferrufino and Adriel Vasquez combined for four goals inside the first 20 minutes of the second half.

“It’s just kind of that mindset,” Baltazar said of BL’s streaky second half. “We started pretty slow in the first half, which is why we did (substitutions) into that first half. We had to chat with them at halftime, get dialed in, and make sure that we’re in here to show what we’re capable of.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

“So back-to-back goals doesn’t surprise me at all, but we need to be able to show that not just during the second half but during the whole game.”

Scots sophomore Jared Avila threaded the game’s first goal between Hammond and two defenders 10 minutes into the contest. The same start derailed BL’s heartbreaker loss to unbeaten No. 1 Ogden earlier this month — a match Baltazar’s crew has followed with three consecutive wins entering Friday’s quarterfinal at No. 2 Carbon.

BL opened the second half with Ferrufino’s fervor and, in the blink of an eye, the home end went up three goals with 30-plus minutes left. Vasquez’s pair all but locked the door.

Much of BL’s younger roster saw legit minutes during last year’s playoff run, and the opportunity at hand, Baltazar said, isn’t lost on them.

“We’re a little beat up right now,” the coach said. “Luckily, we do have quite a bit of depth, so we’re going to rely on our sophomores who have been here since last year, who got us into the deep playoff run last year. We’re going to depend on them.”

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

Ferrufino and Vasquez are playing an especially important part in feeding the team’s motor late in the season.

“Both of them kind of relying on one another to get the job done has been good to watch because when they go to practice, they do battle,” Baltazar said. “And of course, they’re kids, so they’re going to want to trash-talk when they’re on the field, even at practice, which is a good thing. I like the competitiveness between them. I love it.”

Even with their injuries, it’s hard to overlook the Scots on the south end of the 3A bracket, which includes region foe and No. 3 seed Morgan;  the Trojans defeated another familiar program, No. 14 Union, 5-1 at home on Tuesday.

The Scots, even without those two key names on the pitch, managed to end the regular season with a pair of wins and join a three-way split for second place with the Trojans and Logan as the runners-up to two-time defending champion Ogden.

“The upside’s always going to be for them to show their hunger (and) to get those minutes, especially during playoff time. We shortened our roster to about 22 guys during this time to make sure we focus during training sessions. The hunger should be able to come out during that time, and of course, they have their opportunities throughout the season — not as much now, but again, I trust in all the guys that I have on the roster to make sure that we go out there and compete.”

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

The Scots challenge the Dinos at 4 p.m. Friday in Price.

Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.