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Show Vikes, 'Cats look to rebuild after losses Darts, Braves look strong with convincing wins over top-notch region foes and begin the rebuilding process. The Vikes face only one region foe this week, taking on the Royals Friday at home. In their last confrontation, Viewmont dominated Roy both inside in-side and from the perimeter. Roy's only hope is that the loss to Davis, coupled with a Tuesday night bye, will make the Vikings a little gun-shy gun-shy in the first minutes of the game giving them a chance to get into the contest or that the Vikings take a win over Roy as a given thing. Either would be a mistake on the Vikes' part Otherwise, look for Viewmont to begin its next streak of consecutive wins 'royally on Friday. Game time is 7 p.m. BOUNTIFUL BRAVES After a shaky season start, the Braves have become one of the most consistent teams in Region 6. The Braves' 59-51 win over Jordan Friday at home only accentuates the point SEE PREVIEW ON A10 By G.BRETT HART Sports Editor BOUNTIFUL The Davis Darts shook the foundation of Region 1 boys basketball Friday with a convincing win over the Viewmont Vikings. Boys' B-ball The race for Region 1 The Davis win put an end to the Vikes 11 -game win streak and put the race for the region title back within the grasp of other Region 1 contenders, namely themselves. While Davis was spoiling the Viking roll, Murray was doing a little spoiling of its own. The Woods Cross Wildcats, on a six-game winning streak of their own, were convincingly beat by the scrappy Spartan team. The race for a Region 6 title looks like it's going to be as close, and as unpredictable, as any in the state. Here's a preview of this week's games and some of the obstacles south Davis County teams will have to overcome en route to region wins. DAVIS DARTS This week holds both danger and opportunity for the Davis Darts. Davis will travel to Roy Tuesday and host Clearfield on Friday. Both the Royals and the Falcons suffered heart-breaking, if not surprising, losses in Friday night action. Roy fell 75-52 to the Layton Lancers, who were previously winless in region competition. Clearfield slipped to the high-scoring high-scoring punch of the Bonneville Lakers 83-74. At first glance, the Darts might be tempted to look past the Royals to another chance at wreaking vengeance, this time on the Falcons. If the Darts look past Roy, woe is Davis. Though sporadic and unpredictable, un-predictable, the talented Royal team, which features only one senior in its starting lineup, is a lot more dangerous than the win-loss column indicates and will be looking look-ing to come back big after Friday's embarrassing loss to Layton. Roy has a host of young shooters whose bread and butter is a six f letter word spelled H. U. S. T. L. E. The Darts, however, hold the upper hand in the height department. depart-ment. If Davis' inside game is as devastating against Roy as it was against Viewmont, the Darts will have little trouble with the Royals. Still, beating the Royals is not quite that easy. Roy is a streaky team that can be devastating from the outside. Davis will look to perimeter men Todd Heath and Bret Barton to shut down Roy's outside shooters, namely Nate Miconi and Eric Schiffman. Against Clearfield, the Darts have a score to settle. The Darts fell to the Falcons in their last meeting as a late start and series of other frustrating variables distracted the Darts from the business at hand. This time, the Falcons will have to face Davis on the Darts home floor which is a tough place to win, except of course for the Darts themselves them-selves who are perfect at home this season. Clearfield, too, will pose a serious seri-ous challenge to the Davis but not one that they can't overcome, provided pro-vided the Darts can stop Falcon scorer Jason Dowdy. Both Region 1 games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. VIEWMONT VIKINGS Going into Friday's matchup with Davis, Viewmont enjoyed an impressive 11-game winning streak (the second longest in the state this season) and a number four ranking. Though both were lost with Friday's loss, Viewmont still enjoys a sizable region lead which will be tough to recover. Perhaps more than any other team, the Vikings stand in control of their own destiny. Frankly, the Vikes are still the team to beat in Region 1. They feature as deep and varied an attack as any team in the state. But if anything can be learned by both Viewmont and its future opponents at times, .the Vikes do have a weak link in their armor, inside. Davis upset the Vikes by controlling con-trolling inside play. Darts Ryan Hovey and Matt Peterson were unstoppable inside even though Vikings Andy Jensen, Brad Bodily and Steve Edgley had a solid size advantage and have consistently dominated previous matchups. Still, Viewmont will take the loss to Davis, no matter how painful, Preview CONTINUED FROM A8 After suffering a frightening spill the week before, senior guard Aaron Roderick returned to lead the Braves with 16 points, while teammates team-mates Chris Godfrey, Brett little trouble with Judge if they continue con-tinue to play at the level they have been playing. Facing Granite on the road will be a major test for the up-and-coming Bountiful High team. Granite pummelled West Friday 78-57 78-57 and has been one of the toughest teams to beat at home all season. Needless to say, the Braves will have their work cut out for them. The Spartans also held the 'Cats' top scorers off the board. Mike Gun-racked Gun-racked up a disappointing 6 points and Murray inside men held Jon Wickizer to only 4. But the past is past, and the Wildcats will try to put the past behind them as they prepare for Jordan tonight and Judge on Friday. In their last outing, Jordan punished Woods Cross at home doing do-ing much the same thine Murray Bulldogs did challenge a talented Tooele team last week. Judge's strength lies in its tireless ability to run its fast-break offense incessantly. Though the Wildcats have already proven they, too, can run with the best, this fact should not be overlooked by the 'Cats. Tonight's Woods Cross, Jordan matchup is slated for 6 p.m. The 'Cats meet up with Judge Friday at 7:30 p.m. Leonhardt, John Peterson and Tony Jones added 9, 10, 10 and 8 respectively. respec-tively. With that kind of balanced scoring, scor-ing, the Braves are going to be tough to beat Boys' B-ball The rac for Region 6 This week will be one of road trips for Bountiful. The Braves will travel to Judge on Tuesday and to Granite on Friday. Though trailing in the Region 6 race, Judge gave Tooele everything it could handle on Friday, Tooele, one of the region's top teams, narrowly slipped past Bulldogs 68- 63. Whether Tooele had an off-night or the young Judge team is beginning beginn-ing to peak in mid-season play is yet to be seen; at any rate, the Braves can do anything but take a win over the Bulldogs as a given thing. Barring any unforeseen surprises, however, the Braves should have In their last outing, Bountiful jumped to a 20-point lead and ended end-ed up winning 85-78. Jon Peterson and Austin Lindsey led that outing with 25 and 21 points, respectively. Similar performance, of course, would be the key to beating the Farmers at home, but the Braves will have a better chance of winning with a more balanced showing Friday. Fri-day. Bountiful vs. Judge is scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight; the Braves take on the Farmers Friday at 7:30 p.m. WOODS CROSS WILDCATS For Woods Cross, last Friday's 72-50 loss to the Murray Spartans spelled the end of the 'Cats' six game winning streak and sole possession of first place in the race for a Region 6 title. The loss also marked the second time Murray has dominated its Region 6 foe in league play. What exactly happened to Woods Cross is a mystery except that four of the five Wildcat starters fouled out of the game which contributed to the lopsided score. did keeping the taller Wildcat big -men off the boards. Now the 'Cats will travel south to face the talented Beetdiggers on the road. Simply, the key to a Wildcat win lies in its ability to control the boards and score from the paint If the 'Cats can do that they may have a shot at tying for first place in the region by week's end depending on how Murray and others do. If Jordan Jor-dan can neutralize Jon Wickizer's ability to control the lane, the Beetdiggers Beet-diggers may beat Woods Cross again. However, the 'Cats have settled well into their roles and each member of the team seems to understand where he fits into the game plan. More than any other, this one fact has made the Wildcats a powerful contender in the Region and should propel Woods Cross past the Beetdiggers. Beet-diggers. The Wildcats take on the Bulldogs at home Friday night Judge should pose little threat to the 'Cats on Friday; however, the |