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Show Thursday, October 16, 2003 Times Newspaper A dlireaotn) pDai(rfl odd toDdl ffor T-wslwes Despite loss, after a banner season Timpanogos has plenty to look forward to Page B2 LAND ON OLSON Times Sports Editor Chalk this one up as a learning experience, but definitely expect the Timpanogos girls' soccer team to be right back in the thick of things next year. Competing in their first state playoff, the T-wolves hung with Roy after being down early, but fell 2-1 in a heartbreaking loss Tuesday. "Unfortunately the only team that doesn't end the season this way is the state champion," said Timpanogos coach Natalyn Lewis. To start the afternoon though, it didn't look like things would be ending. The T-wolves got some early opportunities and were forcing forc-ing the pace, but were unable to connect. Although Roy took over through much of the first half, Timpanogos would again have a good opportunity opportu-nity with 13 minutes left in the half. Taking a free kick from just outside the penalty box in the middle mid-dle of the field, Shantae Adams' attempt sailed just high and the score remained knotted. It would- s?."i-.:S, toft Till J 1 , " ft " I clsJV. Timpanogos' Stephanie Garner (No. 10) corrals a ball with Roy's Jaime Zogmaister on her back. n't stay that way for long though. In the waning minutes of the half, Roy's Erin Pilkington shot a laser across the goal, clearing goalkeeper goal-keeper Sutton Cherrington outstretched out-stretched arms to find the upper back corner of the goal and give the Royals an 1-0 lead. The T-wolves would strike back in the second half though. Just over 15 minutes in, they had an opportunity on a corner kicks by Adams. Unable to convert, the T-wolves T-wolves held the ball in, and after dropping down to the corner, Adams was able to center a pass to Jen Neilson, who knocked in a low shot from point blank range. It only took Roy just over six minutes to answer though. And again it was Pilkington finding the net. Taking a low driving shot at the goal, the ball found its way past Cherrington and slid in for the Royals' final goal.. "It's a hard way to get scored Lewis said. "It's hard when on you're trying to put everything in to it and something like that happens." With plenty of time left on the clock, the T-wolves didn't back down, making runs to the goal and getting off a couple of shots. But the Roy defense was up to the task, turning Timpanogos away time after time to preserve the 2-1 win. "I felt like we put the effort out there. It felt like... it still is just a weird feeling," Lewis said. "I don't know if you can see it or if it's just a feeling that comes from the team, but it kind of felt like we were a horse stuck in the mud. It just felt like we were trying so hard to pull ourselves out of everything." But despite the difficult ending, that doesn't mean the T-wolves didn't did-n't have a remarkable year. After dropping their opening game, Timpanogos went on a tear, winning win-ning eight straight, including a 4-2 victory at rival Mountain View. The Timberwolves wrapped up the region season tied for the Region VII title and finished 9-4, by far m fi ' - i in , ' ' ..-'' . y sift i 5! v t ' , y f' a ! photos h I iiiiiliiii Olson limes Sewsiuper T-wolf Shantae Adams (No. 19) tries to get around Roy's Michelle Starkey to play to a ball during Tuesday's game. their best season ever. And the most optimistic thing for Timpanogos? It has nearly the entire team returning. "We're a fairly young team," Lewis said. "It's pretty exciting that we have every single starter coming com-ing back next year. We made it to the first round this year and next year we hope to go a lot further." The lone senior on the team is Missy Lee, and although her career wrapped up, she definitely didn't hold anything back against Roy. "She'll be sorely missed," Lewis said. "Today she made the difference differ-ence for us. She left every ounce of her heart on the field. I kept telling the girls on the sideline that she should be their example because that's the way you should play this game. Leave it on the field." While Lee's absence leaves a hole to be filled, the T-wolves do have plenty to look forward to in the future, and should be able to use this season, and especially this final game, as a learning experience. "Every game you can learn something. some-thing. These girls, they've got to learn how to play under pressure," Lewis said. "I just wonder if never having a winning season before, they just got satisfied at the end." While the disappoint will definitely defi-nitely linger, the lessons are there to be learned and with the team's most successful season behind it and plenty of talent returning, the Timberwolves and Lewis should have plenty of opportunities in the future. f igers still in the Region Wil playoff ii Win against Mountain View guarantees Orem at least a tie for . r, ' : I LANDON OLSON I ' 1 ball again, advanci - . '. ' t;c cfc vau Orem 10-yard line MM, third FT. - a SZA 4 'V .V. . ' vX' " ' - - , X,., ....M.. .. , . . . . . ... ...... x pholo by Landon Olson Times Newspaper Orem's Lucas Collier drags Bruin Marcus Hansen toward the goalline In the final minutes of Friday's game. Times Sports Editor With an Orem win and a Timpanogos loss Friday, the Region VII football playoff picture got a whole lot more interesting. The Tigers wrapped up region play 2-2 with a 31-10 win at Mountain View (0-3, 0-8) in a game that saw some bad feelings come out between the two cross-town rivals. With less than two minutes to play, Orem had the lead 24-10 and was driving, trying to run out the clock. The Bruins weren't about to give up though, trying to get a stop and using their time-outs to hopefully hopeful-ly have enough time left to pull of a miracle. "We were just willing to get the ball down," said Orem coach Bob Steele. "We had to get another first down and all that other kind of stuff, and they keep calling time-outs to prolong it." Instead of the clock just running out though, an altercation arose between players and resulted in players rushing the field, nearly starting a brawl. When things were settled and ejections made, Orem's Nate Jones broke free for the 17-yard score to make things final at 31-10. "We're rivals and everything, of course. Our school isn't a mile and a half apart," Steele said. "But I've never been in a fight with Mountain View. I've never seen that." Things weren't so bad to start the game though. After Mountain View Game Notes Orem 31, Mountain View 10 Offensive standout: Orem quarterback Billy Strong ran for 81 yards and three touchdowns. went three-and-out on its opening drive, Orem ended up with good field position at the Bruin 36, and it didn't take the Tigers long to strike. On the third play of the drive, quarterback Billy Strong broke free and went 24 yards for the score. But Mountain View had a little better luck driving on the next series. Moving 60 yards before the drive stalled, the Bruins attempted a 40-yard field goal that came up just short but it was a good thing. On Orem's first play there was a fumble and Bruin Jordan Bateman recovered With the ball at the Orem 22, quarterback Don Lovelace hit Andrew Bateman in the end zone for the touchdown and the PAT tied the game. Orem would answer though. In a drive highlighted by a 34-yard run by Ryan Hogue, the Tigers would score on a 1-yard plunge by Strong to go up 14-7. Trailing by a touchdown, Mountain View was able to move the ball again, advancing inside the Orem 10-yard line before stalling and settling for a 25-yard field goal by Brandon Black. Just before halftime, Orem was able to score again, using only 22 seconds sec-onds to move the ball 76 yards in two plays. Nate Jones got things rolling with a 36-yard run and then Strong capped it off with his third touchdown touch-down of the game, a 40-yard run. In the second half, scoring cooled down for both teams with Orem adding a 42-yard field goal in the opening second of the fourth to go up 24-10. "We made some adjustments and the kids got settled down a little bit," Steele said of his defense in the second sec-ond half. For the game, the Tigers relied primarily on their ground attack, racking up 251 rushing yards and 308 yards of total offense. Mountain View had some success passing, picking pick-ing up 186 yards in the air and 228 total. Lovelace was 17-of-35 passing while Strong had 81 yards rushing. Orem has two non-region games remaining while Mountain View will host Lone Peak on Oct. 24. With a 28-7 28-7 victory over Timpanogos on Friday, Lone Peak clinched a playoff spot. With the loss, the T-wolves dropped to 1-2, and will face 2-1 Pleasant Grove in their final regular season game. A win by Timpanogos would put both teams at 2-2 and tied with Orem in the region. A win by the Vikings would eliminate Timpanogos. Prep Tuesday Soccer State quarter finals at local sites TBA Volleyball Mountain View v. Lehi, 6 p.m. (non region) Orem at Pleasant Grove, 6 p.m. Timpanogos v. Lone Sports Schedule Peak, 6 p.m. Wednesday Cross Country State meet at Sugar House Park . Thursday Volleyball Mountain View v. Pleasant Grove, 6 p.m. Orem v. Timpanogos, 6 p.m. (Through Tuesday) Football Regii Friday. LonePeak 3 PI. Grove 2 Football Orem 2 (Final regular season Timpanogos 1 games) Mtn. View 0 Mountain View v. Lone Peak 7 p.m. Volleyball Regi. Orem v. Lehi, 7 p.m. LonePeak 6 (non region) pi. Grove 4 Timpanogos v. Pleasant Mtn. View 3 Grove, 7 p.m. Timpanogos 1 (Homecoming) orem 0 Region VII Standings Final Region Soccer Standings Overall 4 4 Soccer Region 4 3 Mtn. View 6 2 4 3 ""Timpanogos 6 2 4, 4 Orem 4 4 0 8 Lone Peak 3 5 PI. Grove 1 7 clinched playoff spot Overall 9 5 |