Cyan Magenta Yellow Black Wednesday, January 19, 2005 A7 Sanpete Messenger / Sanpete Messenger-Gunnison Valley Edition Hawks fall to Snow hires Trimble as Lehi in first new football head coach region game By Sean Hales Staff writer By Doug Johnson Staff writer MT. PLEASANT - In their first region game of the season, the North Sanpete Hawk basketball team stuck close to the Lehi Pioneers, but faltered at crunch time and Lehi pulled away in the last quarter to claim a 50-37 win. Lehi opened strongly Friday night in the first quarter, and aided by four Hawk turnovers, sprinted to a 13-5 lead. North Sanpete controlled the ball better in the second quarter and pulled within six at 23-17 as the halftime buzzer sounded. After the break things tightened up when senior center Eric Watson collected the first two field goals of the second half and pulled the Hawks to within two points, 23-21. But Lehi’s Brady Beck scored his only points of the night on a three-pointer to put the Pioneers back up by five, and an ensuing incident completely knocked North Sanpete out of its game. As Beck came down after shooting, momentum carried Hawk defender Casey Cox into him. Though Cox could have been whistled for a foul, no call was made on the play. Upset at the “no call,” Beck trailed Cox up the court after the basket and hit the Hawk senior with a forearm shiver to the back of the head as they reached the Hawk end of the court. Both benches erupted and the officials tried to restore order. Fouls were called on both players and North Sanpete never recovered from the melee. The Hawks were able to make only one field goal in the (See “Hawks” on A8) EPHRAIM—Former football offensive coordinator Titan Trimble will be the new head coach for the Badgers, Snow athletic director Bob Trythall announced in a meeting with Snow College players last Thursday. The head coaching position, formerly occupied by Jeff Kilts, came open just before Christmas, when Kilts and the college decided to move in different directions. The separation was amicable, according to Snow College President Michael Benson. “I have a lot of respect for Jeff. He did a lot of good things for Snow,” Benson said. Benson related that Kilts wanted to “try some new things.” Kilts said that after 24 years of coaching, five of those at Snow, it was time for something new. “I’d like to get my doctorate degree and go more into education,” Kilts said, “I’ve been coaching for more than 24 years … and it was time to move in a new direction career-wise.” ‘Back on schedule’ Templars back to winning ways after ‘post-holiday lethargy’ Snow offensive coordinator Titan Trimble on game day. Trimble was named to replace former head coach Jeff Kilts. The other issue that precipitated the separation was what Benson referred to as “challenges internally” within the football program. Benson explained that last year there were disciplinary problems with some of the players, and that the college will focus on recruiting players “who will thrive and flourish within the system,” and who will be able to fit in and be respectful of the college and community. Kilts leaves the college with a record of 37-14, and two bowl victories in the last two years. In 2003, Staff writer Staff writer BRUCE VAN DER RIET / MESSENGER PHOTO Manti’s Taylor Salanoa makes a move a round a San Juan defender in Friday’s game. Salanoa had a big night Wednesday against North Sevier when he scored a game high 23 points. (See “Templars” on A8) Kilts led the Badgers to victory over Georgia Military in the Golden Isles Bowl in Georgia, and last December Kilts coached the team to a win over Rochester Community College in the inaugural Top of the Mountains Bowl in Salt Lake City. He also led the Badgers to three straight top 15 finishes in the NJCAA poll. Trimble has been with Snow as offensive coordinator for the last five years under the tutelage of Kilts. “I think it will maintain some consistency,” said Kilts of Snow’s football program under Trimble. Bulldogs at .500 in region with Sevier Valley split By Sean Hales By Craig Cook MANTI—Before the Christmas break, Manti head coach Mark Hugentobler said his team was right where he expected them to be. He said they weren’t as good as they could have been, but that the team was starting to gel and that he had high expectations. The Templars then seemed to go through some post-holiday lethargy, losing to Region 14 power-house Juan Diego in overtime and then making the week a total loss by dropping another one to North Summit. This past week though, it looks as if they might be back on schedule with a 55-43 hom win over North Sevier on Wednesday, and a 66-45 routing of San Juan on Friday on the road. Against North Sevier Manti COURTESY SNOW COLLEGE “He (Trimble) has been very loyal to Snow, and we thought he’d be the best guy for the job,” Benson said. Trimble will retain several of last year’s coaches, including Tyler Hughes, who will become offensive coordinator, secondary coach Justin DeHughes and defensive line coach Jason Ah You. Trimble hopes to retain Steve Coburn as defensive coordinator and John Hunter as offensive line coach. Those decisions will be made next week. “Continuity is something difficult to maintain in junior college football,” said Trimble. “These coaches believe in my direction for Snow College football and have already demonstrated loyalty and hard work in their positions.” During his time at Snow, Trimble has coached seven AllAmerican and All-Conference players, including quarterback Paul Peterson (who recently helped lead the Boston College Eagles to victory in the Continental Tire Bowl over the University of North Carolina) and Jason Coutts; wide receivers Aaron Boone, Chad Mickelson and A.J. Smith; and offensive linemen Deuce Lutui and Ioseffa Robins. SALINA—After a devastating 45-64 home loss to the Richfield Wildcats last Wednesday Jan. 12, the Gunnison Bulldogs returned the favor to another Sevier County team when they beat the North Sevier Wolves, 4837, on Friday Jan.14. Despite good scoring by Bulldogs J. D. Pay and Levi Christensen, who each garnered 10 points, and Shane Peterson, who had nine, Gunnison could not overcome a 15-6 first-quarter lambasting at the hands of the Wildcats. It took several minutes before the Wildcats found the basket for the first time, which came on a baseline-to-baseline inbounds play. The Wildcats then went on a 10-0 run, during which Gunnison had more turnovers than shots. Pay stopped Richfield’s scoring streak when a pass found him underneath the basket and he was able to capitalize. Gunnison nearly doubled their offensive production in the second quarter with 10 points but was still down by 14 going into the half. The halftime score was 16-30. Gunnison turned things around in the second half, and kept up with Richfield, 14-16, in the third and 15-18 in the fourth, but was unable to overcome the debilitating lead that Richfield had produced in the first half. On Friday, it looked as if the Bulldogs would face an uphill battle again against North Sevier as Gunnison allowed 16 points in the first and fell behind, 10-16. However, Pay, who scored a game-high 14 points, along with Ryan Frandsen, Wayne Young and Levi Christensen, produced a devastating 14-4 second quarter that put Gunnison in the driver’s seat and the Wolves in the rear view. Gunnison rode the momentum of the second period to a 10- 7 third and 14-10 fourth to realize the 48-37 victory. Besides Pay’s 14-point performance, Gunnison had three players approach double figures. Frandsen tallied nine, including a three-pointer, Young recorded eight and Christensen had seven. Shane Peterson also contributed with five. Gunnison will face Manti tonight at home and then take on South Sevier on the road on Friday. Manti will spell trouble for the struggling the Bulldogs. The Templars started the season slow with three consecutive losses in pre-region play but have since warmed up significantly. Despite a mediocre 5-6 pre-region record, the Templars have come out hot and won their first two region games against North Sevier and San Juan. South Sevier will be no slouch. The Rams are the defending 2A state champions and started this year on a roll, going 7-3 in pre-region play. Lady Bulldogs split region openers ACCELERATED By Patti Robertson and Sean Hales Staff writers GUNNISON—The Gunnison Lady Bulldogs traded wins and losses in their opening region games by beating Richfield 52-50 in overtime only to fall to North Sevier 34-43 two days later. In the Richfield contest on Tuesday, Jan. 11, the Gunnison girls capitalized on narrow margins in the third and fourth quarters to force overtime and claim the two-point victory. Richfield took a meager four-point lead, 12-8, out of the first, and the second quarter was an offensive frenzy, with both teams racking up 16. Gunnison was able to eke out a one-point advantage in the third and added three points to that in the fourth to overcome the small margin garnered by the Wildcats in the first. Gunnison went on to outscore the Wildcats in the overtime period, 4-2. Kelcey Jensen was the game’s high scorer and racked up 18, while Karlie Jensen backed her up with 15. Gunnison head coach, Stewart Jensen attributed the girl’s win to the fact that they “didn’t panic at any time.” He said, “The girls have really progressed and are starting to play with more confidence.” However, the Lady Bulldogs were unable to carry that momentum into a game Thursday, Jan. 13 against the North Sevier Lady Wolves. Gunnison looked as if it might keep pace with the Wolves, as both teams scored 13 in the first, but a devastating second quarter did Gunnison in. The Lady Bulldogs were only able to score three while allowing the Wolves to tally 10. Gunnison tried to turn things around in the third, but North Sevier kept adding to its lead in the fourth to hand the Bulldogs the loss. Kelcey and Karlie Jensen were once again the Bulldogs’ big scorers with 10 each. Alicia Satterfield also contributed seven to the cause. So far, Gunnison is 7-4, and 1-1 in region play. “We didn’t lose those four; we beat ourselves in turnovers,” Jensen said. The Lady Bulldogs traveled to Manti yesterday (results not available by press time) and will take on South Sevier at home on Thursday. SOFTBALL! We are holding a special meeting for anyone interested in COACHING and those who have children who are INTERESTED IN PLAYING. This is to help you understand what is involved. This is an information meeting only, come with questions! We will have coaches available to answer them. JANUARY 31, 2005 7:30 p.m. - Ephraim Middle School Team Ages: 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under SPONSORED BY CENTRAL UTAH DYNAMITE 7R TXLW VPRNLQJ YLVLW XWDKTXLWQHW FRP 1/12,19,26MG