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Show Over Lincoln, Payson ' Frosh, sophs finish winners Both Cedar High's sophomore and freshmen teams finished their seasons on winning notes, the sophs edging Payson 7-6, and the frosh downing Lincoln County JVs (Nevada) 14-0. The sophomores were hampered by a snowy, slick field Wednesday in Cedar City, but were able to play just well enough to hand the Lions their first defeat of the season. Payson scored first, by way of a first quarter sweep. Their extra point attempt was wide, making it 6-0. The Redmen came back in the second quarter when David Piper ran 35 yards for a touchdown. The PAT by indrew Perry was good, nd that was the dif-erence dif-erence in the game. Just as the second halfd began, skies darkened, and snow began to fall, making playing conditions con-ditions trecherous. By the end of the game, a few inches of snow laid on some parts of the field. Because of the weather, defenses dominated the second half, with each team threatening to score only once. A fumble on the 5-yard 5-yard line stopped a second half Cedar drive, while the Redmen defense stopped Springville on a crucial down on the Redmen 20. Coach Kim Matheson said of the game: "I felt pretty good about the effort, considering the terrible conditions. We drove the ball real well, but it's hard to do things well offensively when the weather's like that." Defense was once again key to the sophs third straight win. "Payson had a good team. We were concerned when they scored first. But our defense took over from there, and except for a few minor lapses, played exceptionally well." Offensive players singled out for outstanding out-standing play by Matheson were fullbacks Ben Whitney and David Piper. "The offensive plays that worked best for us were running our fullbacks right up the middle. We were getting five yards a crack that way." Defensively, linebacker Greg Christensen and tackles Darren Green and Brian Forsyth were praised by the coach. K.C. Jones also picked off two Payson passes to lead the defensive effort. The win leveled the Redmen's final record at 4-4, a fact Matheson was pleased with. "The team's come a long way. After losing 52-2 to have two good op- j portunities to score, having a first and ten j inside the Cedar 20 twice, but c came away empty- handed on both oc- j casions. "They weren't a bad team," O'Neal assessed, J "We s still didn't play as well as against j Hurricane, but I guess we played well enough to V win." J O'Neal was pleased" with the play of his of- j fensive line. "They were ll opening up some big holes for our backs. But 1 they've been doing that I all year, even against the tougher teams." J Leading the way on offense was Bulloch, who 1 ran for 93 yards, and Cardon, who chipped in V 50. Once more, scatback J Gary Mackelprang ran for two of his now-famous v reverses, getting a total of 26 yards. Defensively, Bulloch ) had 11 tackes, six unassisted. Dan Esplin V contributed 11 tackles 1 and one fumble recovery, and Rick Thomas had nine tackles and two ( fumble recoveries. "Considering the competition, I guess we I should be satisfied, but not overly gleeful about jj the season," said O'Neal. With last week's win, the freshmen finished at 2-4. I "There are one or two kids who could really J contribute to the varsity team next year," said O'Neal. "Both Greg J Bulloch and Dan Esplin should get a crack at ! varsity next year. They i could also bring Craig Cardon up to work as an J understudyvarsity I quarterback." American Fork, I thought it would be a long, hard season. But they came into their own about midseason, and kept improving with each game." Among the elements on the team improving most was the offensive line, Matheson felt. "You never hear about the offensive line in football, but we would have had a hard time winning how many we did without their work." The season is over now for the sophomores, except for seven or eight players who have been asked by Varsity Coach Dave Jenson to work out with his team for the remainder of the year. "We have a good crop of sophomores," concluded con-cluded Matheson. I feel 10 to 12 kids will be able to step right in next year and get quite a bit of playing time on the varsity." For the freshmen, Greg Bulloch started off the scoring near the end of the first quarter with a 25-yard 25-yard run. The Redmen ran it over to complete a two-point conversion, and they took an 8-0 lead. That margin held until late in the game when quarterback Craig Cardon took a bootleg in from 12 yards for the final Cedar score. Coach Benny O'Neal used the team's last game as an opportunity to play many of his backup players. "We moved the ball well all game," said O'Neal, "but penalties and playing the big group of kids may have held us back on other opportiunities we had." The frosh rushed for 201 yards, adding 18 through the air, and generally dominated the game. Lincoln County did |