The numbers tell part of The Salt Lake Tribune football MVPs' stories.

To be sure, they are gaudy. What they don't tell you is how important each most valuable player was to his team. They carried their teams.

Tanner Hinds of Davis (Class 5A), Alex Kuresa of Mountain Crest (4A), Keegan Andersen of Juan Diego (3A), Jace Holliday of San Juan (2A), and Bradley Holmes of Rich (1A) were those players in 2009.

They were each indispensable, a player without whom a team would lose part of its identity. They didn't all win state championships, but each carried their teams as far as they could.

Three of the five did so by playing on both sides of the football. It's almost taken for granted in Utah, but not at the Class 3A level, where Andersen was a standout on both sides of the ball.

On a Juan Diego team that was stacked on both sides of the ball, it takes a lot to put up big numbers.

Andersen's 38 catches were more than double any other receiver's. His six interceptions led Juan Diego.

"I just wanted to play. I wanted to be on the field," Andersen said.

Holliday and Holmes know the feeling.

Holmes led Class 1A's Rich to a perfect season. On offense, he was a slashing running quarterback. He ran for 1,115 yards and 18 touchdowns. He passed for 13 more and had a completion percentage over 60 percent.

On defense, he'd start hooting and hollering to get his teammates psyched up. With a face mostly covered in face paint, Holmes earned the nickname "Captain Insane-O" from his teammates.

"I love football, I just loved getting all pumped up for it," Holmes said.

Holliday took a different approach. A captain for San Juan, Holliday was a tall, physical player in a classification that doesn't always see kids with his size.

Though his offensive numbers were good, it was his defense that helped set him apart. During the state championship, on a snow-covered field at Alta High School, Holliday and the Broncos defense found enough footing to shut out South Summit 7-0.

"That game was one of a kind," Holliday said.

Just like Kuresa, the 4A MVP.

The scrambling quarterback made a living rolling out of the pocket. While many quarterbacks in 4A are run-first, Kuresa has the ability to get you with his arm or his legs.

"I definitely don't play quarterback like a lot of other kids play quarterback," Kuresa said.

And it's working out for him. Kuresa threw for 39 touchdowns and ran for five more. Though he's capable of dropping back, he's at his most fun to watch when a play breaks down and he rolls out of the pocket.

Not so for Davis' Hinds. The Darts offense has been one thing under coach Ryan Bishop: structured. No surprises, no frills, just hand it off to Hinds and let the offensive line go to work.

That worked out for the Darts, carrying them into the state championship game and a 17-7 lead over Bingham at halftime.

Here's where the numbers lie: 51. Hinds ran for just 51 yards in that game. But he still had a huge impact. Bingham put eight or nine players in the box to shut down Hinds, daring the Darts to throw.

Davis did just that, using play-action passing to take a 17-7 halftime lead before Bingham's offense solved Davis' defense and plowed ahead in the second half. It was like trying to stop a freight train, really. And it's something Hinds and the Darts almost did.

jpatrick@sltrib.com

2009 all-state football

Class 5A

Tanner Hinds, Davis

Position » Running back

Year » Senior

Stats » 276 rushes, 1,939 yards, 7.03 yards per carry, 24 touchdowns

Favorite video game » Halo, though he says he has to go to friends' houses to play because his family doesn't own a game system.

Why he's an MVP » Even when opponents lined up nine defenders in the box, the Davis offense wouldn't be stopped. Sometimes, the Darts would take to the air, like they did against Bingham in the title game. Others, Hinds would just plow through the extra defenders.

Just don't ask him about it. You'll get a quiet smile and a nod when you ask Hinds questions. That's exactly what coach Ryan Bishop likes about him. "[His abilities], that's not my favorite thing about him," Bishop said. "My favorite thing is he is the most fun, most team-oriented kid to be around.

"He buys into the team philosophy. You'd never hear him talking about stats, touches or whatever. You could take away the ball and tell him to play linebacker and he'd do it.

"That's why we had success."

Class 4A

Alex Kuresa, Mountain Crest

Family nickname » Buddha, because he was a chubby baby.

Position » Quarterback.

Car » None. "I'm workin' on it," Kuresa said.

Year » Junior.

Stats » 3,481 passing yards, 39 throwing TDs, 397 rushing yards, five rushing TDs

Favorite leisure game » Bowling. Kuresa says he regularly rolls between a 170 and a 180.

Why he's an MVP » In this case, stats do tell the tale. Kuresa threw for an average of three touchdowns a game. More than that, look at the first-team All-State. With a running back, receiver and tight end on first team, it seems clear that Kuresa made everyone around him play better.

"We definitely had some weapons to work with," Kuresa said.

Kuresa will be the only one of those weapons coming back next year. If his performance this year says anything, the Mustangs won't have to worry much about him.

Class 3A

Keegan Andersen, Juan Diego

Position » Defensive back/Receiver.

Year » Senior.

Stats » 38 catches, 11 touchdown receptions, 49 tackles, 6 interceptions.

Nickname » Andersen. Seriously.

Favorite video games » "Call of Duty," "NCAA Football." He either plays with Utah State or Florida because his Dad, Gary Andersen, coaches the Aggies and used to coach with Florida's Urban Meyer.

Rehabbing » Andersen broke a leg in the Class 3A semifinals. He says he should be fine by the time he begins practicing with Utah State.

Why he's an MVP » Athleticism. It begins and ends there for the lanky speedster. Andersen can jump. Opposing offenses can tell you that as he came away with six interceptions and batted down numerous passes.

On offense, Andersen was the only member of the Soaring Eagles with more than 15 catches. Not bad for a guy who missed the final game and a half due to injury. His 11 touchdown receptions also dwarf the next-best number on Juan Diego's stat sheet: three.

Class 2A

Jace Holliday, San Juan

Position » Running back/Defensive end

Year » Senior

Stats » 138 rushes, 1,272 yards, 12 rushing TDs, 2 receiving TDs, 65 tackles, 6 sacks

Favorite video game » Halo for Xbox 360.

Why he's an MVP » Like all the MVPs, when the Broncos needed Holliday the most, he played his best.

In the first round of the playoffs, he ran for 108 yards and touchdown while picking up three sacks on the other side of the ball. This in a 13-7 win over Kanab.

The next week it was three touchdown runs. And in the state championship, a snow-driven mess against South Summit, Holliday and the defense shut down a high-powered attack. San Juan beat South Summit 7-0 in the title game.

"It was really slippery out there, hard to get your feet on the ground," Holliday said.

No problem, for an MVP.

Class 1A

Bradley Holmes, Rich

Position » QB/DB

Position » Quarterback

Year » Senior

Stats » 1,115 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns, 13 passing touchdowns, 61.4 completion percentage

Nickname » Captain Insane-o. He wore lots of black facepaint and tried to get his teammates pumped up. "I wasn't trying to be cocky or anything, I just love football," Holmes said.

Why he's an MVP » It's hard to tell which was better, Rich's offense, which scored 438 points, or its defense, which only allowed 80 points.

Either way, Rich's two-way captain had something to do with it. As the quarterback, he managed the running and passing games to prolific heights. Only one other Class 1A team managed to score more than 304 points.

His best moment? Rushing for 279 yards on 22 carries to get three touchdowns. That came in a three-game stretch where Holmes ran for three or more touchdowns every game.