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Show Cyan Magenta Yellow Black Wednesday, January 26, 2005 A9 Sanpete Messenger-Gunnison Valley Edition Bulldogs lose to Templars in two games last week Templar boys give Bulldogs all they can handle Exposing the seedy underside of junior college football EDITOR’S NOTE: Part or most of the conversations related below are fictional, except for the veiled threats from my publisher (which are all true). When I heard that Snow College had announced a new head football coach, I quickly put my dialing skills to work to get the scoop from the college. Okay, that’s not true. I heard about the change, then waited until I received an e-mail from the Messenger’s fearless leader, Suzanne Dean. The e-mail told me I needed to do a story on this and contained thinly veiled threats that I had “better not screw this one up or else be prepared to buy a new set of tires.” I’ve never been the kind of guy who has to be told something twice, so I called Snow College propaganda guru Rick Pike and said, “What’s up with this?” “All I’ll say is that the college decided to go in a different direction,” Pike replied. “I’ll have the president call you.” Click. Well, I’m a naturally suspicious person and mildly predisposed to believing in conspiracies, so needless to say Pike’s response intrigued me. A “different direction?” Had Pike forgotten that former head coach Jeff Kilts had led Snow to two bowl victories in two years? The only direction Snow could take that would be opposite Kilts’ approach was that of the National Football League’s Arizona Cardinals, perennial favorites to finish at the bottom of the heap. There’s and old saying: Lose to the Cardinals and you’re kicked out of the league. If that was the direction of which Pike was speaking, I could only think of one plausible reason: Gambling. If Pike (and by association Snow president Michael Benson) conspired to make Snow take a fall, they stood to make a ton of cash betting against Snow to win. After all, the Badgers have had three straight top-15 finishes in the NJCAA poll—including a fourth-ranked finish in 2003 and a 14thranked finish in 2004. Who would bet against a team like that? So I called Pike back. “I want in,” I said. “What’s up dude?” Rick replied. “Don’t play stupid Pike. Is this whole head coach thing a conspiracy to line yours and Benson’s pockets?” I asked. “Have you lost your mind?” Pike replied calmly. “Possibly. But don’t change the subject. Do you and Benson have a scam? Are you setting the team up for failure so you can make a few bucks betting the crazy line?” Click. That hadn’t gone like I had envisioned, so I figured I’d call Benson. Get the information from the man who more than likely masterminded the whole despicable scheme. When Benson answered I figured I’d start right in; catch him off guard, put him off balance, then hit him hard when he was reeling. I’d bring down the whole crooked bunch. “Hello,” I heard Benson say. “Are you looking to get rich off…” “Look,” Benson cut me off, “Rick warned me you would call. Have you ever thought of donating yourself to research? Because, frankly, you sound like a gold mine of information if anyone could crack the inside of your scrambled skull.” “I’ll bring you down Benson. I’ll expose this whole sick scheme. Don’t you know who I…” Click. I figure if Benson and Pike do have a conspiracy, let’s see if they’re so smug after next year’s football season when the Badgers win another bowl. Because the smart money is on new head coach Titan Trimble taking a page or more from Kilts’ playbook and picking up where the Badgers left off. Trimble has experience, and his tutelage under Kilts can only contribute to keeping the system consistent, and it’s obviously a system that has worked. So good luck to new Badger head coach Titan Trimble. And just a word of advice: Don’t loan any money to Benson or Pike. By Craig Cook and Sean Hales Staff writer GUNNISON—The Manti Templars won their road game against the Gunnison Bulldogs 51-36 last Wednesday, but if you didn’t keep track of the score, you would have thought it belonged to different game. The Bulldogs gave the Templars all they could handle in a rough and tumble game in which the referees let the teams work out their differences. The Templars, led by Taylor Salanoa and Travis Thompson, came out respectably in the first quarter, scoring 11 points to Gunnison’s six. J. D. Pay was the only Bulldog to show up on time, scoring five of the Bulldogs first quarter points. Gunnison did hold a 5-2 lead briefly in the first quarter, but after that Manti held the Bulldogs to 1 point while surging to an 11-6 lead in the final minutes of the quarter. “They battle us every time we come,” Manti head coach Mark Hugentobler said. The play that summarized the action of the game came in the fourth quarter when a fastbreak basket by Manti resulted in an offensive rebound that was stolen by Gunnison. The Bulldogs then ran a fast break of their own, only to have the ball stolen by the Templars before Gunnison could put up a shot. The Templars finished the first quarter on a 6point scoring run, and extended it to a 10-point run before Gunnison’s Shane Peterson sank a 15-footer. After that it was all Manti. Gunnison had a brief 6-point run late in the third to get within 15 of Manti. At one BRUCE VAN DER RIET / MESSENGER PHOTO Gunnison’s Levi Christensen, #22, drives around Templar defender Taylor Salanoa. Salanoa tallied 10 points in the game and Christensen recorded eight on the way to a 51-36 Templar victory. point the Templars commanded a mammoth 22-point margin over the Bulldogs. Manti used the 3-point line Gunnison used an overload and isolation offense that provided some good looks from the outside, but misses set off Manti’s well-executed fast break. The Bulldog’s shot a mediocre 42 percent from the field. Gunnison forced 21 turnovers on the night, but the Templars made up ground by hitting 51 percent of their baskets. Pay, the Bulldogs’ big man, seemed to go inside at will, and See coverage of other Manti and Gunnison games on A11 successfully with Tyler Gunderson, Brett Brown, Josh Hugentobler and Travis Thompson hitting the long ball. But the strategy failed to open up much inside. Templar girls victorious over Gunnison Lady Bulldogs By Sean Hales Staff writer Tsunami Relief We will be accepting blankets/quilts to send to the victims of the recent Asian Earthquake/Tsunami. We will take all donated items to the Latter-Day Saint Humanitarian Center to be sent to the victims of the Tsunami. Please contact the credit union for Quilt Guidelines. You may drop off blankets/quilts to any of the Credit Union Offices. Moroni Feed Credit Union 84 West Main, Moroni 268 South Main, Ephraim 520 South Main, Gunnison 435-436-8288 or 800-795-6328 Member NCUA Must be eligible for membership. was only stopped with fouls, making 7 of his 11 points on the night from the line. Gunnison’s high spot of the night, along with defense, may have been the 74 percent freethrow shooting. Manti’s Travis Thompson scored a game high 15 points, Salanoa scored 10, and Gunderson tallied eight, with Hugentobler, Brown, Clark, Frischknecht, Barton and Stilson rounding it out. Pay carried the Bulldogs with 11 and Levi Christenson added 8. BRUCE VAN DER RIET / MESSENGER PHOTO Bulldog Sarah Southwick (dark jersey) looks for an open player while driving against Templar defender McKell George. The Templars won the contest 50-29. MANTI—The Gunnison Lady Bulldogs and Manti Lady Templars had sailed similar courses through preseason and region play. The Templars had tallied a 7-6 preseason record and stood at 1-2 in region play going into the game against Gunnison. The Lady Bulldogs had an 8-5 record in preseason play and also maintained a 1-2 in region. Given that, the outcome of the game between the teams last Tuesday could not have been more distinct, with the Lady Templars cruising to a 50-29 victory over the Bulldogs. Things looked about as billed early on, and neither offense stood out. The teams struggled their way to a 6-4 first quarter, with the Bulldogs boasting a twopoint lead. But that’s where the Lady Templars put an end to the equality. Manti rode a 29-point scoring frenzy in the second and third quarters to victory. Gunnison could only manage nine points. Manti gained another three points over the Bulldogs in the fourth. Manti’s Kassi Tucker led the Templars with a game-high 16 points, and eclipsed nearly all other Templar players, except for Sili Hafoka, who scored 10. McKenzie Whipple followed up with eight. (See “Girls” on A10) |