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Show Thursday, August 16, 2007 AMERICAN FORK CITIZEN Pag7 AF cross country looking for region titles Dean Von Memmott SPORTS CORRESPONDENT The American Fork cross country teams have been getting ready for their new season. For the girls, it will start at the Tooele invitational Saturday, while the boys get started at the American Fork Grass Relays at the end of this month. American Fork girls coach Bruno Hunziker said, "We've got a real good group of girls. With Mountain View now out of our region, the fight for the girls' title could come down between us and Timpanogos. "After last year, our girls have a lot they want to prove at Region. Losing a chance to go to State as a team was definitely a wakeup call for them." Last season, American Fork's girl harriers had to stay home as a team for the first time in 12 years. The Cavemen did have two runners compete in the state 5A girls champion-' ship race, though. , w. ' Hunziker said that-since the official start of cross country practice, "we have had at least 24 girls turn out for the program. They have been running run-ning this summer in the Cave, man track club, and they have competed at road races. "Some of our top returning runners this year include Shay Baugh, Audrey Lewis, Becky Thorpe, Lexi Laws, Danielle Weft, Ermina Martinez and McCaU Harward. As a ninth-gracter ninth-gracter last year, Lexi, for one, emerged as one of our top runners." Thegirls will be running at the .ooele meet, which is sponsaed by the Utah National Na-tional Gaard. Onht boys side, Hunziker said, "Beg Felix is back running run-ning for this year. He's been runnVig well in road races. Junir Robby Lee is another an-other guy ifurning this year. As a sophohbre last year, he showed a lot f talent." Hunziker sad American Fork has 16 bojg on the team this year, the firsVirne in a white that theefe fcr boys Than girls in tr pro. gram. - , v American Fork bjygoach Timo Mostert sakj 'We nave a lot more nintlg-aders and . new sophomores jn the team' , this year. The bojk have been ' training hard thisjummer. BenFelk,for oifeifasTacfedm J "tts, itnunewon the Steel Jfys invitational this yearf Bsiues Felix and Lee, iClostert said other returning varsity Cavemen include Ryan Bradshaw, Sean Crane and Spencer Craft. Hunziker said Lone Peak is going to be one of the stronger stron-ger boys'teams, but Spanish Fork could be a dark horse team that might win the boys region title. SCOREBOARD Results Girls soccer Date 809 614 Opponent Prow HiHcfOSt Won 3-2 Won 2-0 Upcoming games Football Date Opponent Tlnw 817 e Provo 7 p.m. 824 Highland 7 p.m. Volleyball Data Opponent Dm 81 7&1 8 Woods Cross tournament 821 Prow 6:30 p.m. Girls soccer Date Opponent Time 816 0 Watertotd 3:30 p.m. 817 BOrem 4 p.m. 821 Alta 3 30 p.m. Cross country Date Opponent Time 818 Girts 6 Tooele TBA Girls tennis Date Opponent Time 816 ft Leni 3:30 p.m. Golf Data Opponent Time 817 Ranches 2pm. 823 Wasatch 10 a.m. METAL BUILDING E 801-367-4437 435-623-4606 Licensed f Football Continued from Page 6 along with Mike Mower coaching coach-ing the offensive line and linebackers, line-backers, Tony McGeary with running backs and defensive backs, and Sam Harward with defensive tackles and tight ends. Joe Buck Atwood will coach receivers and defensive backs. Art Taylor will continue as the sophomore head coach with assistants Andy Brown, Randy Olsen and Randan Manuela. "Our new guys have been attending clinics and the others oth-ers have all been here 20 years or more," Knight said. "I'm tickled with the expertise and dedication of our coaches." In addition, the Cavemen will get the benefit of learning from special instructors who have a college or professional playing background. Next on the coach's list are his peer chiefs. "We have four captains this year who are good athletes and good leaders," lead-ers," Knight said. They include Justin Jensen, Taylor Jones, Robbie Lusk and Jake Murphy. "Our player council helps provide us with some additional addi-tional good leadership," the coach added. This year's group includes Andrew Bangerter, Austin Cooper, Marcus Cramer, Cra-mer, Jason Day, Zach Enosa, Jacob Hall, Eddie Holloway, Aaron Lee, Sifa Militoni, Brady Poulsen, Jesse Roberts and Chris Wernli. Not surprisingly, a number of those players are the most experienced on the team. "We return six or seven starters from last year, some of whom played both ways," Knight said. Holloway handles the field goals and PATs and will also see a lot of time at tight end CRAIG DILGERNorth County American Fork's iared Smith takes a drink of water between drills during preseason practice on iug. 6. The Cavemen open the season on the road against Provo on Friday at 7 p.m. American Fork i i " if A w Vl o- W 1 ? I J X3 fe i MARIO RUIZNorth County Am. Fork's Kaycee Mansfield (12) looks for a teammate to pass to as Hillcrest's Taylor Stevenson presses from behind on Tuesday. RECTORS i Insured Parry's Power Guide TO UTAH HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL; BY NOLAND PARRY Week Ending Aug. 17, 2007 Favored Team Rating D iff. Rating Underdog Alta 95.2 21.0 74.2 SPANISH FORK AM. LEADERSHIP 17.9 6.6 11.3 Carbon Copper Hills 66.5 8.6 57.9 PAYSON GUNNISON 35.0 7.9 27.1 South Sevier LONE PEAK 84.0 13.6 70.4 Bountiful Manti 35.3 7.7 27.6 RICHFIELD MORGAN 60.6 8.5 52.1 Juab North Summit 49.9 24.3 25.6 OGDEN PINE VIEW 66.3 16.3 50.0 Mountain View PROVO 77.4 3.2 74.2 American Fork Riverton 69.2 3.0 66.2 TIMPANOGOS South Summit 47.7 47.9 -0.2 ALTAMONT SPRINGVILLE 64.3 1.2 63.1 Dixie TIMPVIEW 86.2 6.1 80.1 Pleasant Grove Tooele 71.6 13.0 58.6 CYPRUS VIEWMONT 80.7 8.8 71.9 Orem West Jordan 66.8 11.3 55.5 LEHI Home Team In CAPS Copyright 2007 by Noland Parry Top 5 5A 4A 1. Bingham 95.3 1. Box Elder 86.6 2. Alta 95.2 2. East 86.5 3. Skyline 89.6 3.Timpview 86.2 4. Fremont 86.6 4. Highland 84.5 5. Northridge 84.7 5. Sky View 84.1 and defensive end. Cramer is a two-way player at tight end and linebacker. Militoni, a tailback tail-back and strong safety, got a lot of playing time and started a couple of games last season. Jones started the last four games at quarterback and returns in that role. Junior Jordan Lusk is challenging for that job. "He had a good summer sum-mer and they're battling right Peace nOTJM.U J! A. iim 1 ' ' x . ! jr. f MX now, which is very healthy," Knight said. "They are different dif-ferent types of athletes, and they're making each other better." Older brother Robbie Lusk was last year's team defensive MVP and started at linebacker and tailback. This year he's been moved to fullback on offense. Last season's offensive offen-sive MVP, Murphy is a wide socctr blanks Hillcrest Kyle Flanagan SPORTS CORRESPONDENT The August heat was in full force on Tuesday afternoon as the American Fork girls soccer team took on Hillcrest. Parents, Par-ents, students, pets and even a sportswriter all survived the 100-degree temperatures to see the Cavemen roll past the Huskies Hus-kies for a 2-0 victory. American Fork jumped on top from the opening whistle. Only 4:23 into the game, Nik-ki Nik-ki Ybarra centered the ball, which was deflected skyward sky-ward towards Amy Krom-menhoek. Krom-menhoek. Krommenhoek put a good foot on the ball as it came back toward the ground and was able to find the back of the net to give the Cavemen a lead they wouldn't give up. American Fork left the rest of the game in the care of its strong and relentless defense. The Cavemen were able to stall the Hillcrest offensive attacks and come up with big defensive defen-sive stands, led by goalkeeper April Hansen "We kept playing them hard, playing them true, We were able to keep them pushed out," said American Fork coach Becca Murdock. Hillcrest's offensive sorties were often frustrated by the of Mind with Let Us Insure Your Hams receiver and free safety who's made a verbal commitment to play at BYU. Jensen was the leading tackle and returns as a true two-way player. Tailback Wernli Wer-nli got some varsity time last year and has had a really good summer. Knight said another team strength this year will be on the lines. At 300 pounds, James Palu will play offensive center cen-ter as "a good, strong kid up front," the coach said. Transfer Weston Smith was a starter at West Jordan. Day and Enosa are big, strong athletes also. "We go one or two deep up front, and that will be a strength," Knight said. Another Anoth-er will be speed and quickness in the skill positions, beginning with tailbacks Militoni and Wernli, along with Austin Cooper Coo-per if he is able to return from an injury. Hall will join Lusk at fullback. A couple of additional move-ins move-ins will also have an impact. Lee is a snapper and wide receiver whose father was a mission president in California. Mike Fogt came from Boston and had a great camp and summer. Overall, Knight said the team had a full schedule along with some needed vacation time. "We had two good passing pass-ing camps along with our added add-ed team camp at Snow, where we had the chance to scrimmage scrim-mage against other schools. The staff saw a lot of progress. We're green but growing." The coach knows exactly what he wants out of his squad this year. "I would hope we'd be similar to the team that played Highland a year ago," he said. "We showed the kind of consistency on offense and the type of defense I like to see. When we look at our losses to Pleasant Grove and Timpanogos, we emphasize that the goal is to be a consistent consis-tent football team. "This is a high energy group; there's not a lot of talk between plays," Knight continued. contin-ued. "They've practiced hard all year. We know we're not going to line up and knock somebody off the field, but I expect to see a kind of toughness tough-ness overcome any lack in size or speed." The coach believes his team has a good, 5A caliber schedule. sched-ule. "Some have asked why we we're still playing 4A schools, but we've had such good series with Highland and East. Those teams are street tough and " play some real smash-mouth football. Provo is on the upswing up-swing and all three schools had solid tournament showings last year. "Those games let our fans see the buck sweep and double-wing double-wing offense, and Highland runs the option. Anchorage plays power football; they just run at you. Mater Dei opposing defense and would usually end with a desperation despera-tion shot from 15 to 20 yards away. When the Huskies were able to penetrate the Caveman defensive line, they were met with the difficult task of sneaking sneak-ing a ball by Hansen, who recorded re-corded 15 saves in the winning effort. "She really kept us in the game." Murdock said. Although Hansen sported the traditional goalie long-sleeved long-sleeved shirt, she didnt let the heat or anything else get to her and stop her from doing her job. She attributed the victory to very tough defense from everyone. "We worked so much better as a team," Hansen said. American Fork added an insurance goal 25 minutes into the second period as Holly Vogelsberg crossed the baD to Ybarra, who guided it past the outstretched hands of the Hillcrest Hill-crest goalkeeper. The sun wasnt the only source of heat during the game. The play on the field became very heated and physical physi-cal from the first whistle of the second half. Each team suffered minor injuries and setbacks, set-backs, but despite the banging, the Cavemen were able to hold on for the win. FQ0Q31S x : m . r "ffiiiiVmnaiV.Hi mi Wi V- .'-. Windows For 1 .. .,....,.Cs. XVxUictC Every Need! has backs and receivers on the top 50 lists and throws as well as any high school in the country. These will all help us prepare for similar teams in our league." Region 4 is expected to be tough again. "We've seen , Timpanogos and they are loaded, load-ed, especially on special teams and in the skill positions," Knight said. "Pleasant Grove, Lone Peak and Lehi are all better bet-ter than they used to be, and there's good things happening at Spanish Fork. "I see Lone Peak and Pleas- ',' ant Grove at the top and the rest of us battling for the third and fourth spots," Knight said. ' At the state level, Davis ex- pects the Hawks and Miners to once again be at the top of the heap. "Alta is a platoon team; they go two or three deep at every position, and they have that great running back," the coach said. "Bingham has four kids who -will play Division I ball. Their program was 34-0 last year for the three teams, so you have to give them credit, in my opin- ion. They've got the horses and they're loaded everywhere you . look." Knight thinks Skyline, Brighton and Riverton are other teams to watch out for in the classification. The coach is excited about once again going to work in front of his fans. "I know I wouldn't trade mine for anybody any-body else's," he said. "I've only coached one place, but judging from what I've seen, I couldn't have any better support from my boosters and students. "We had close to 1,200 come to have dinner with us last year," he went on. "We have a great cheer adviser, and those young ladies are athletes who bring a lot of energy to our games. Our SBO president always generates a lot of excitement, ex-citement, and we have fans who've been coming for 20 years or more. "I realize the band doesnt exist for football, but I'd have them 100 percent of the time if ' it were up to me," Knight said. . "The band helps the energy level, especially in games like homecoming, and ours is such a powerful one, it really adds color and fun. "I really do think that we have the best of circumstances here," Knight said. "Although we draw a few students from other areas, for the most part, we are one community with one high school that shares the same name. Building around our band and high school drama department, this place provides an ideal setting for a movie script. I "I feel I know the commu- , nity pretty well, and I'm not counting the days until I'm through," he added. "I have a dream job, I really do." Murdock said things are starting to pan out for her team. "Everyone is getting used to playing with each other again; they are finally starting to mesh," Murdock said. I Aug. 9 - American Fork 3, Provo Pro-vo 2: The Cavemen scored two ; goals in the final five minutes to pull out their first win of the ' season over the BuDdogs. American Fork took the early ear-ly advantage when Whitney Fuller converted from 35 yards out on a reverse pass from Ro-chelle Ro-chelle Stevens just six minutes into the contest. However, Provo answered just a few minutes later and moved ahead early in the second sec-ond period. With the Bulldogs leading lead-ing 2-1 and five minutes left, Nikki Packham lofted a ball to the right corner, which Kay- 2 cee Mansfield corralled and Z punched into the net for the tie.; Four minutes later, Nikki Ybarra was fouled, setting up 1 a free kick which Packham ; booted on target to secure the victory. Z Keeper Aprfl Hansen made Z three outstanding saves to aid ; her team's cause. k Beky Beaton contributed to " this report. ha. ua to m jiua jmjj COPY si |