Call this season a brief respite from the growing pains for the Mountain Range football team.

The Mustangs had more than their share of them last year in their inaugural season, and they undoubtedly will experience many more next season as they make the jump from Class 3A to 5A.

So, that means this season offers a brief window to start developing a cohesive unit and perhaps experience a touch of success along the way.

"We don't want the same growing pains in our first year of 5A as we did in our first year of 3A," Mountain Range coach Joe Bravo said. "Last year, the majority of our kids were ninth-graders. Just to come away with no one injured and everyone still excited was the biggest plus."

That excitement remains tangible. The youthful Mustangs have learned the ins and outs of being varsity football players (not skipping weight training in the summer, for one thing) and are buoyed by the fact that a new stadium was just constructed on campus.

Plush and modern, Adams 12 North Stadium now is easily visible on the west side of Interstate 25 just north of 120th Avenue.

"We're saying we have to go fill up that stadium," said Mustangs linebacker Ryan Tuley, who recorded 63 tackles as a sophomore last season. "We can't go out and stink it up."

Like first-year cousins Castle View and Prairie View, Mountain Range was composed of only freshmen and sophomores last season.

The Mustangs, though, easily were the farthest along of the three, despite a modest 3-7 record.

"I thought they were incredible for a first-year program," Rock Canyon coach Tom Lynch said. "That quarterback was tough. He's a good nucleus for them to build around."

Lynch is referring to Dylan Buononato, who came up 68 yards short of rushing for 1,000 yards as a freshman and combined for 16 rushing and passing touchdowns. Players such as Buononato, Tuley, safety Tyler Marsette and 220-pound center Brandon Gallegos have given the Mustangs hope that Year 2 will serve as a strong platform from which to leap to the big-school classification.

"When we started this process, we were gearing for 5A," said Bravo, a former understudy of longtime Overland coach Tony Manfredi. "But we can use this year to maybe experience some of that success.

"We don't talk about wins and we don't think we'll win the state championship or anything, but we'll do what we need to do to stay competitive and get better each week."

Tuley has a similar outlook. He and fellow linebackers DeShon Gray and Logan Blackburn hosted an altitude and agility camp which was well-attended and also let Tuley know things are coming together just fine.

"I see this year as a chance to get the ball rolling," Tuley said. "I can see the confidence of our team isn't where it needs to be if we're moving to 5A, but this is the season that I think it will emerge."