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Show AMERICAN FORK CITIZEN Thursday, October 19, 2006 COMMUNITY SPORTS, PEOPLE AND OUTDOOR FUN AMERICAN FORK SOCCER Page 6 Cavemen season comes to end in loss to Viewmont Beky Beaton NOHT - OUNTY The best -ever season for the American Fork girls soccer team ended Thursday afternoon in Cen-terville Cen-terville as the Cavemen were eliminated elimi-nated from the 5A state tournament by third-ranked Viewmont 4-1 in the quarterfinals. "Viewmont is very physical and fast," said American Fork coach Becca Murdock. "Unfortunately, they just beat us." The Cavemen played hard to the final whistle, but just lost to a superior team. The teams dueled pretty evenly in the early going in terms of field placement. The difference was that the Vikings were managing to get some shots off, while American Fork's runs generally ended with the ball being cleared by one of Viewmonl's outstanding defenders before an attempt could be made. The Viking persistence finally paid off as they got on the board in the 15th minute. After that score, the ball remained on the Caveman side more often than not for the rest of the half. Despite heroic efforts by goalkeeper goal-keeper April Hansen and the American Fork defense, Viewmont managed to get one more ball into the net before the break in the 27th minute. The Viking forward came in from the left side and, despite being closely marked, took a slight turn and drilled a shot right past Hansen. During the remainder of the period, peri-od, Viewmont kept the pressure on. Two Cavemen had to be carried off the field after colliding with opposing oppos-ing players, but Hansen managed to keep the Vikings from adding to their tally despite being knocked . down herself at one point. On the other end, Nikki Pack-ham Pack-ham made a nice run down the left sideline just before time expired, but her well-placed center was cleared before a nearby teammate could reach it. Packham electrified fans from both sides with her spectacular spec-tacular flip-throws throughout the contest. In the initial period, Viewmont was just a half -step quicker and did a better job of controlling the ball. This continued for the balance bal-ance of the game and wore down the American Fork defenders just enough to allow the Vikings to slip two more shots into the net. One came six minutes after the break to make it 3-0. The Cavemen never ceased to counter-attack, however. They kept the ball in the Viewmont end for most of the early action of the second sec-ond period, and it finally paid off 10 minutes in when Packham made a great cross from deep on the right side and Kaycee Mansfield redirected redirect-ed the ball into the goal. American Fork had several more good opportunities in close succession as May had to make some impressive saves to keep the margin where it stood. Among those was a direct kick that was well placed but deflected, and a follow off a flip throw hit the top bar and bounced out. Later, after Viewmont got a fourth goal halfway through the period, they dropped an extra See SOCCER, Page 7 U iif If I BEKY BEATONNorth County American Fork's Whitney Fuller, left, contends for the ball at Viewmont during the state tournament quarterfinals on Oct. 12. AMERICAN FORK SWIMMING n 7nr n 'Q ( IWI ' -'ft' f 'fry;?, , '" ' ', "t t ' . ! 'rS 1 ' ., .3. a. . 0 SPUE WAVES ' ' , " ' - ' , z 'A MARIO RUIZNorth County American Fork's Candice Smith competes in the girls' 100 yard backstroke last season at the state 5A championship on February 11. Smith is expected to be a solid contributor this season in the freestyle races. Larger boys team a big storyline as American Fork swimmers open season Dean Von Memmott SPORTS C OKKI'jl':iNUN1 The American Fork High School swim team opened its season at Park City yesterday. yester-day. While the results of that meet will be in the next issue, one thing has already distinguished distin-guished this new season from prior ones American Fork has had since the school split in 1997. The difference this year is a larger boys team. "We have 20 boys on the team this year," said new American Fork head coach Kathy King. "That's the largest larg-est number of bovs we'v e had come out for the program in a long time. A larger boys team will give us a chance to fill out more relay teams this year." In the last few years, American Fork was lucky if it could put together a boys team of at least seven members. mem-bers. In some seasons, the Caveman boys team would have no more than five swimmers. "I feel our swimmers really work hard both in the pool and in the classroom," King said. "Through their example, they were able to draw new kids into our program. "We have quite a few coming com-ing out for the program for the first time. We're looking for strength from our upper-classmen. upper-classmen. Either as captains or just team members, they show leadership in the pool and the classroom." She said four of the boys team members are freshmen and another four are sophomores. sopho-mores. The boys have at least two state meet veterans back this year. One of them is Mike King, well known for excelling in the breaststroke. Another one is Scott Rodee, a distance racer. King and Rodee are also this year's captains cap-tains for the boys. Among other boy swimmers swim-mers to keep an eye out for this season are McKay King and Kyle Smith, Coach King said. "They're both freshman. McKay is good in the freestyle races, backstroke, and the butterfly." but-terfly." Girl swimmers to watch out for this year include team tri-captains tri-captains Emily Morrison, Can-dice Can-dice Smith and Audra Yocum. "Audra Yocum and Can-dice Can-dice Smith are showing that they're going to do very well in their freestyle races again this year," Coach King said. "Emily Morrison is going to be really strong for us in the breaststroke." King said that at this point of the season, she is going to have her swimmers do diverse sorts of events to see which races they are best suited suit-ed for. That will mean a lot of redoing of American Fork's relay teams. like in past seasons, American Ameri-can Fork is holding joint practices prac-tices with Lone Peak again this year. Coach King said, "Lone Peak has always fielded strong boys and girls teams. They're our greatest competition. The word 'competition' comes from a Latin word that means 'strive.' We hope to strive well together this season." King said her assistant for this season is former American Ameri-can Fork head coach Celeste Tiffany, who had resigned after last winter to take care of a new baby daughter. AMERICAN FORK FOOTBALL Top-ranked Bingham too much for American Fork Jason Franchuk NORTH COUNTY The American Fork football foot-ball team lost at top-ranked Bingham 42-28 om Oct. 1 1, but Caveman football coach Davis Knight thought he might jast find a few minutes over the weekend to enjoy his team's non-region game effort against trie Miners. "Bingham's a very, very good team." Knight said. "But I cant say enough alxiut my kids, either." Why not? As much as words could be matched, the game was actually that ekise, too. Tiie Miners' confidence and amazingly quick running game I were nearly equaled by a team that didn't jast simply show up forrtsownexecutioa "We came to win a game, not just play one," Knight said. American Fork became the first team to open the scoring against Bingham (9-0). getting a Zack Peterson 50-yard fumble return for the 7-0 lead in the first quarter. It was tied during halftime at 7-alL as the Cavemen (4-5) didn't allow a late score. An unsportsmanlike unsports-manlike conduct penalty added 15 perilous yards to Bingham's pre-internussiori drive, as two AF receivers demonstratively argued what officials called an incomplete pass. No matter. Just let the de fease take care of the chaos. It did, as Bingham drove from midf ield to the 12-yard line before be-fore two strong attacks on the quarterback. Following a sack, a field goal attempt came too late. Bingham's offease finally clicked after the break. It scored four touchdowns in the third quarter, including the first one as it capitalized on a Caveman Cave-man f umble on the first possession. posses-sion. But American Fork stayed ckjse with Matt Harward catching catch-ing a 66-yard touchdown pass from Taylor Jones. However, on the ensuing kickoff, a Bingham 91-yard return for a touchdown made it a 28-14 game and there was a sense that was about all the visitors visi-tors had for the night. But not so. Speedy senior Harward caught the Miner kickoff, also at the 9-yard line, and stormed upfield for a score that made it a seven-point game again. Bingham finally pulled away on a touchdown pass. BYU recruit Jordan Pendleton hooked up twice with Dusty Heap. On the latter one, the 6-foot-2 Pendleton out -jumped his defender on a critical third-and-17 that finished in a 79-yard touchdown pass on the drive after Harward's long return. Pendleton appeared to snag the jump ball through the hands of the defender, who seemed to have fine positioning. position-ing. But it turned into a long, fast jaunt up the left sideline. The Cavemen, however, were in no hurry to get home. There was no school for the next couple of days, and they figured they'd take advantage of trying to match a top-tier team. Trailing by three touchdowns, Knight's team made the final score a little closer by hustling to recover a botched punt return. A few plays later, Anthony Mc-Geary Mc-Geary scored on a 1-yard run in the closing minutes. "We can build a lot from this effort," Knight said prep Jake Murphy American Fork High School Pw.ii mm?."!'' - mwm - I Parents: Dale and Nancy Murphy Year: Junior Age: 16 Birthplace: Atlanta, Ga. Sports: Football, basketball and baseball. Positions: Wide receiver and safety in football; guard in basketball; infielder in baseball. Favorite sports team: (JSC Trojans Favorite food: Chicken alfredo Favorite restaurant: Cafe Rio Favorite movie: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Favorite magazine: ESPN Magazine Hero: Duane Jerry of the USC Trojans football team Most memorable career moment: "Scoring two touchdowns in the win against Highland." Goals: To talk to colleges about their football programs. American Fork head football coach Davis Knight said: "He's a great receiver. re-ceiver. He has great concentration. He's blessed with great athletic abilities, abili-ties, and he's coachable." eye m - RECREATION Registration open for basketball leauges, ski and snowboard school NORTH COUNTY Registration has begun for the American Fork recreation department's youth and men's basketball leagues and the ski and snowboard school. The department offices have finally been moved back to the American Fork Fithess Center, 454 North Center, in American Fork. Registration deadlines are: Nov. 9 for boys in grades 9-12. Nov. 13, 5 p.m. for boys in grades 11 and 12 registering as a team. Nov. 13 for boys in grades 7 and 8. Nov. 21 for boys in grades 3-6. Nov. 21 for girls in grades 3-12. Games for all leagues begin in December and January. Nov. 10 for men's teams, with games beginning Nov. 20. Registration for the American Fork Recreation Ski and Snowboard Snow-board School has also begun. The four trips to Solitute in January and February include chartered bus, ski and snowboard lessons, and all-day lift passes. Call 763-3080 or e-maU recreationfo'af ciity.net for more information. rewind GOLF Bray lone Caveman at 5A state tournament NORTH COUNTY Nathan Bray represented American Ameri-can Fork on the first day of the state 5A golf tournament, held Oct. 11 and 12 at Thanksgiving Point. Bray shot an 83 in the first round, a decent score but not enough to advance him to the second sec-ond day of competition. Volleyball Oct 17 American Fork def. Spanish Fork 3-0: At Spanish Fork, Alisha King and Kaili Katoa led the Cavemen (16-12, 4-3) as they swept past Spanish Fork (1-10, 0-7) 0-7) 25-18, 25-18, 25-13 in Region 4. POO |