OCR Text |
Show I It9 a championship! 'Cardiac kid9 win 4 v-y v - V v0 i-jDiftgBi ' jJS raced, untouched, 65 yards for the score. The fatal PAT was missed. In the final 12 minutes, the Redmen played ball control, and effectively. After the second Red Devil turnover, on the failing attempted fourth down conversion, Cedar devoured 50 yards and over six minutes before yielding the ball back. In that drive, Carter was once again the main rusher, piling up 42 big yards. Once they did get the ball back, it wasn't in very good position-on their own 5, with just 1:30 left to get at least a field goal. After two desperation passes gave the Red Devils a first down on the Redmen 45, an ill-conceived run was called, picking up seven yards, but melting the clock to just 18 seconds. It was then, on a fourth and three, that the Red Devil's hopes for a championship vanished with the dropped pass, and Cedar ran out the remaining seconds. The win nailed down Cedar's first-ever first-ever 3-A football championship. And Head Coach Dave Jenson is pleased with that, even though it might have come a little bit more difficult than he wished it to. "I think winning the championship was kind of fun," understated Jenson. "We hope to establish a little tradition, and this is a good way to do it." Jenson praised the team's accomplishments ac-complishments to date: "I feel real good about their effort. I think our kids deserve the championship. We were in a lot of close ballgames without folding. A lot of people said we were lucky. When you beat this many people, maybe it's not luck." were high. Somehow, Cedar's snap was cleanly placed, and a wobbly, spinning kick was put through the posts. Springville's snap was also well-placed, well-placed, considering the circumstances, but a rushed kicker slid his effort well to the right. -Springville had the ball, fourth and seven on the Redmen 44, with still seven minutes left in the game. Did they punt, and then work to shut the Redmen off deep in their own end, probably getting the ball back with at least three minutes to play? No, they went for it. And though CHS Head Coach Dave Jenson defended the decision by saying Springville had "momentum" at the time, he knows as well as anyone not many people are going to get seven yards on fourth down on his defensive unit. Springville's quarterback was surrounded by a ravenous Cedar front line, and before it was over, he had lost a yard, and a fumble. Cedar kept the ball until just 90 ticks were left in the game. --And, as coup de grace, the final play of the game for Springville. After doing a good job driving his team from its own 6-yard line with some "Hail Mary" passes, quarterback Jeff Strong faced a fourth and three on Cedar's 38-yard line with just 14 seconds remaining. He dropped back to pass, was almost sacked by two Redmen defenders, nimbly stepped into the pocket and lofted a wobbly pass toward the end zone. There, receiver Rob Lee stood all alone. Redmen boosters began to see their championship dreams go down the drain. But just as fast as hopes dimmed, they rose again when the pass trickled out of Lee's waiting fingers. By inches, the championship was Cedar's, and the "Cardiac Kids" once more sent half of the throng to the coronary unit. This game at first looked like it would be a a great cure for insomnia, rather than the heart-thumper it ended up. Both defenses were gangbusters in the first half, neither team being able to penetrate the opponent's 30-yard line. Cedar's hopes were dashed by two interceptions, Springville's by Cedar's big-play defense. The Red Devils had just 67 first half yards, and, more amazingly for the ball-control team, just seven on the ground. The Redmen had just 62, all on the ground. Cedar's David Carter did not complete a pass in seven attempts, and rushed just three times for 18 yards. Both offenses got untracked in the second half, particularly Springville's, but points were still few and far between. bet-ween. After stopping Cedar on downs, the Red Devils ripped off three first downs with eight straight running plays. A fumble, one of two in the second half, stopped Springville from seriously threatening. Cedar, as it has all year, capitalized on the turnover, taking the ball 62 yards on just seven plays, for their only score of the night. Carter runs of 17, nine and eight yards, and a Gary Alger run on a delayed reverse for 23 were keys. Dave Lopour added the PAT, despite a high snap from center. It didn't take long for the Red Devils to strike back. On the first play from scrimmage, tailback Nelson found a hole, turned on the afterburners, and Cedar High's Gary Alger is corralled by two Springville defenders during the championship-deciding match last Record photo by Bruce Lee week. Alger accounted for 62 of the Redmen's 204 yards rushing. By LEE WARNICK Record Editor It took a little bit of everything for Cedar High School to pile up six straight wins-tough defense, timely offense, getting the big play when needed. It look a little of all those, but a lot of "Lady Luck" to get number seven. In the game where they laid their quest for a divisional championship on the line, Cedar came out looking flat, and had to depend on a few flashes of brillance, and at least three pieces of good fortune to eke out a 7-6 win over stubborn Springville. Consider: --Cedar won by an extra point. On both TDs scored, the snap for PATs |