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Show Sporfstacular Thursday, November 1 5, 1 979 Page 7 Massey eauviis speccaB dlefieimsSve PtiomiOFs! Remember Dennis Duncanson? The defensive back who starred with the Weber State Wildcats. Well rumor has it that Weber State fans may get to in top form someday. see another Duncanson Sophomore Mark Massey may be headed in that direction. When he came to Weber State last year, Massey had never sat the bench, maybe only to catch his breath. His high school career was filled with highly exciting plays with never a dull moment to spare. What is it like to sit behind an For me it was the best thing that could have happened, said the former Arizona athlete, Sitting the bench isnt easy for anyone, but my freshman year I learned tons behind Dennis. Ill always respect Dennis and the great things he did on the football field, but my goal is to become as good as he was, maybe even better, said Massey. Mark feels he has the capabilities of becoming a great defensive back, at least physically. Its the mental game that counts, he said. Most athletes out on the field are pretty well even in physical ability according to Massey. He feels the test comes in how well a player can adjust to a game mentally. Thats where Dennis was great. He wasnt gifted with all the great speed some other backs have, but he had a sense of reacting to the ball like nobody Ive seen. He could read quarterbacks and mentally he was prepared for each game, said Mark. Massey says coaches at Weber teach three things to a defensive back and Mark seems to have them throughly memorized. The three are concentration, position and drive. If I do these basics, Ill never get beat, said the Wildcat sophomore. Loved Ogden Weber State, New Mexico and Northern Arizona were the schools primarily interested in Masseys services after a highly successful high school career. Hed never been in Utah before playing at Weber and the first time he came to Ogden, the people fell in love with him. People here accepted me. better than anywhere else. Ogden was appealing, even though it was a bit colder, he chuckled. I never thought I could learn so much in just on- - season, said Massey in reference to his freshman Between Coach (Chuck) Detwiler and season, Duncanson, I learned more about football than what Id learned in years of playing it. Personally this season. Im not doing as good as I want to be doing, said Massey. To this point he has three interceptions and once was tied for the league lead in that category. As a team, at least on defense, Massey felt confident about the attitude and progress. Against North Dakota early in the season, our defense had the attitude that no one was going to score on us. With that in mind we had two or three goal line stands that kept us in the game. But as the season progressed, the offense started turning the ball over so much that the attitude we once had didnt get any better. But lately the offense hasnt turned it over as much and the defense has got the attitude that we are going to stop any score, said Mark. Massey felt that without question Weber has defeated themselves in every game theyve lost. Mark went even further to say that BYU was the only team that should have beat the Wildcats this year. Why we havent won more I dont know entirely, but once individuals on this team pull together and begin to have the confidence in each other, well be on our way, said Mark. The Arizona native had never been a losing team before coming to Weber. Over a beautiful athletic career in high school, Mark's football squads went 39-He feels two losing seasons is enough and the tide is ready to change. Masseys high school in Tempe only got better the three years he played there. Finally his senior year, the team claimed stake to the state championship. His high school career started out with him playing quarterback and the free safety position. Before it was over, Mark was starring at both free safety and at a running back position. Mark, when all his high school football days were over, was a finalist in the voting for the Best Football Player in Arizona. So from the best in Arizona, Mark is steadily climbing the ladder to become the best in Big Sky. touchdown. Kurt Miller was awesome on Continued from Page 4 fighting for. The Vandals ended their drive with White going off tackle for three yards and the Xfouchdown with 5:08 left in the third period. OBriens extra point was good and Weber found themselves on the short end, On the very next drive Weber State drove all the way to the line before things Idaho came to a halt. Finally Rezek had to come in and boot a field goal to bring His team to within one point, With 10:37 left in the final quarter, the Wildcats fielded a punt on their own 15. Eric Hills powerful running and Bill Kellys passing keep a drive alive that will be remembered for quite some time. Fiist it was Hill picking up two yards for a first down and then it was Kelly connecting with Duane Benton for 11 yards to pick up another first down and keep the drive alive. - ' offense as was his punting heroics. On defense, Mark Mark Massey was named the Big Defensive Player of the Week for his tenacious play against Idaho. WEBER STATE'S Sky's Massey made havoc for Idaho pass receivers and their quar terbacks. He was chosen as the MVP on defense. mid-quart- er 7-- 3. rd 33-ya- 7-- Another Kelly to Benton pass with time ticking away went 16 yards and brought the pigskin to the Idaho 34. After a wild duck throw by Kelly, a perfect post pattern pass was relayed to the games MVP, Kurt Miller for the winning fakes hand off, to. running back University of Idaho, Kelly was fairly' qccurate fpr theday while hiting Kurt Wildcats" to finish third in the Big sKy with a pass. The victory enabled the WEBER STATE QUARTERBACK Bill Kelly 3-- Eric Hill during last Saturdays victory over the Millet- late in the gome tor a winning touchdown - 4 recbrd. ' |