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Show Figuring Out Playoff Situation an Intriguing Game Whats more intricate than calculus? ofMore confusing than a double-win- g fense? More confounding than a detailed murder novel written by an author with a bad memory? More possible outcomes than a Rubiks Cube? Trying to figure out the high school playoff situation is no fun, no fun at all. You could package this little game, distribute it to Gibsons, put it on the shelf next to all the other wonderful gadgets like Pet Rocks, the chains that no one could ever separate and genuine Utah flood water that were played with once and then thrown in their a cardboard box in the rightful place corner of the basement closet. Or you could submit the problem to the people who make up those lovely little tests like the ACT, SAT or the law school aptitude test. The question could read something like this: Three teams are tied for third place in the region with 3 records. Team A has lost to Team B and beaten Team C. Team B has lost to Team C. These three teams play teams D,E and F this week. What are the possible ways these 3-- three teams finish in the standings? And thats just a simplified version of whats going on in both Region One and Region Four this year, and every other year for that matter. Traditionally, deciding playoff berths takes until the last game of the season. if Take Region Four, for instance you can wrestle it away from Davis and Highland. The first two places will be decided Thursday night at Davis when the 0 Darts meet the 0 Rams. No, problem. Its as simple as the childhood game of Smear or a 32 blast. The winner takes all. The loser places second. Its American. 4-- 4-- Ah, simplicity. But like all simple things, the region races quickly becomes complex, giving way to ties often involving three teams. meetTo settle those ties, ings, playoffs and total shoe sizes may head-to-he- ad be used. Cross, Roy, Layton and Clearfield could be involved in tiebreakers. So, after five games it all comes down to this. , As mentioned REGION FOUR before, Davis and Highland meet for the region championship Thursday. Bountiful is in third place alone with a 2 record, but meets Viewmont, on Thursday. Woods Cross, also faces East, on Thursday. If Viewmont or Woods Cross loses and the other wins, then the winning team goes to the playoffs. Losses by both teams would give the region a 2-- 3, ties occur, princiIf such pals and coaches will probably meet Monday or Friday to decide how to break them. At this time, area schools such as Bountiful, Viewmont, Woods three-wa- y tie for fourth place and some sort of playoff would have to be instituted. If both the Vikings and Wildcats win, creating a tie for third with Bountiful, then a playoff scenario would have to be implemented to determine the last two teams from Region Four to make it to the playoffs. tie A three-wa- y REGION ONE for first place exists now between Roy, Bonneville and Box Elder. Box Elder, by virtue of its win over Roy, could win the title by beating Bonneville Thursday. If Box Elder loses, Roy, if it defeats Clearfield, would become region champions. I If Bonneville beats Box Elder and Roy loses, then the Lakers would become region champions. Got all that? Hold on, it doesnt get any better. Clearfield is alone under the three leaders with a 2 record, but faces Roy on Thursday. If Clearfield wins, the Falcons are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs scheduled for next week. Layton will not only be hoping three-wa- y 0-- 4, 2-- inter- -region . for a win over Weber 1 hursday, but also for a Clearfield loss. A Lancer loss or a win by the Falcons would keep the Layton team at home this fall. If Clearfield beats Roy and Bonne- ville beats Box Elder, there would be a tie for second place with Bonneville winning the region. Clearfield would probably be declared the second-plac- e team by virtue of wins over Roy and Box Elder. THIS WEEK'S PICKS The Wildcats East at Woods Cross have played inconsistently the past few weeks but take the Cats in a close one by three points. This looks to Viewmont at Bountiful be one of the best matchups of the year. The Vikes will win by a touchdown. Davis lose a reHighland at Davis gion championship at home? No way. Darts by six points. Layton now Layton at Weber Who would have thought it? The Lancers need a win,' and theyll get it by a touchdown. A defensive battle. Clearfield at Roy Go with Roy by three points. three-wa- y 4-- 4? Page IB South Edition Lakeside Review Wednesday, October 19, 1983 Yellow Flags Give Vikes the Blues Officials Predicting Deer Hunt Improved SCOn MONSEN The annual Utah deer hunt gets underway this Saturday at sunrise, and of- of hunters just drive the road up and down the canyon, Welch said. That causes congestion problems on the road. People that get out and hunt should have a good hunt. Welch also noted that the unit is home for many large deer because of the rugged , terrain and several prizewinning animals have come from the area. Lost Creek, another popular hunting unit, is also in good shape and should see ; an excellent bunt this year. Deer numbers are up considerably and hunting pressure will be somewhat less than in other areas. The reason for fewer hunters, however, is that much of the land in the unit is private and is closed to hunting or requires permission andor a trespass permit. An area in the Lost Creek unit that is open to the gen- ern Utah mountains and hills for the predominately hunt, which is scheduled for 11 days, according to Mike Welch of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. In addition, some 4,850 special permit holders will be allowed to harvest a second antlerless animal during the regular buck-onl- y season. Deer populations are up and seem to be recovering from the hard winter in i982, which killed many yearling animals throughout the region. Last winter-wa- s relatively mild and fawn production was up in most areas with very little winter loss reported, according to Welch. bet- ter deer hunt in northern Utah than we had last year, said Welch. I dont know if it will equal the record set in 1981 where we harvested 27,000 bucks, but it should be on par with 1980 figures. Hunters planning to hunt close to home along the Wasatch Front in Davis County should see good hunting, especially if they are willing to put in some eral public is the Echo Hene-fe- was to be written about Davis 0 win over Viewmont last Friday an appropriate title might be The Numbers According to Hatch. For the most part, the numbers looked good for Vikings and 24-2- Weber and Bountiful, with most hunters traveling up Farmington Canyon. The problem we have in Davis County is that a lot ficials are looking for a better hunt this year than last seasons lower buck harvest. An estimated 64,000 hunters will invade north- their coach, Warren Hatch. Viewmont, according to Hatchs statistics, gained 326 yards last Friday, mostly through the air. The Darts gained 166 yards rushing and 40 yards passing, substantially less than most teams have held Davis to. But unfortunately for the Vikings, they were also called for 13 penalties for a total of 139 yards. Thats one and a half football fields taken away because of yellow flags. Davis is hard enough to score on when perfectly, much less when penalty flags are dropping like brightly colored confetg youre-playin- ti. We feel like we had a good game plan, said Hatch. We executed very well but the mental errors hurt us. It was almost like we were snake bit. You cant blame Hatch for feeling that way. After all, the Vikings have lost four region games by seven or less points and are tied with Woods Cross for fourth place in Region Four with a record. And Hatch has been less than pleased with the officiating in those last r 1- -3 game management area and adjacent land. checks indicate a good population of deer on the property. However, this range usually attracts large state-own- Pre-seas- on ed If a book BOUNTIFUL Access is limited to just a few roads between South Review Correspondent Overall, we expect a KENT SOMERS Review Sports Editor games. We think we got a bum wrap from officials, but we still think we could have won the ball games. Now, were fighting for our lives, said Hatch. But we feel like were a good football team. Davis Coach Ward Sawley, numbers of hunters and deer often move out fast in search of quieter effort. who knows a good team when he see one he coaches one agrees with Hatchs assessment of the Vikings. I didnt expect it to be any different, Sawley said about Fridays narrow win. The Vikings looked that good in the first quarter of Fridays game, scoring on their first posy session on a Jeff pass to Lonnie King. On their next possession the Vikes drove to the Davis three-yar- d line but fumbled the ball away. The Darts then drove the length of the field to score, but the PAT failed and Viewmont Mes-erv- 45-ya- rd led 7-- 6. The teams exchanged touchdowns later in the third quarter and Viewmont led at halftime 14-1- 2. But Viewmont languished in ,bad field position in the third quarter, and the Darts took advantage of the opportunity by scoring two touchdowns in the quarter. Viewmont was able to score on the last play of the game to make the score The Davis win gives the Darts a 0 region record and 0 overall and sets up this Thursdays region championship game at home against Highland, a team that is similar defensively to the Vikings, according to Sawley. They both run a 4 with a split front, Sawley said. But that doesnt doesnt necessarily mean Highland will run that defense against Davis. We never know what were going to get because of our offense. Davis will also have to make defensive adjustments to handle the Rams wishbone offense. Defensive changes are necessary, said Sawley. But the Darts basic alignment will remain the same, he said. 24-2- 4-- 0. 8-- 4-- Staff Photo by Robert Regan VIEWMONT RECEIVER Kirk Tidwell awaits a Jeff Meservy pass while Davis Highs Andy Keck defends on the play. The Darts played without senior running back Ryan Smith last Friday due to an infection in ' his mouth, possibly caused by his wisdom teeth, said Sawley. Smith should be able to return to action against Highland. Viewmonts injury problems have lessened, according to Hatch, whose club faces Bountiful this Thursday. And despite n being opponents, the rivalry between the two teams is a healthy one, according to Hatch, who was an assistant at Bountiful last year. Between us and Bountiful, its not a hatred kind of a thing, he said. They are a much improved team from the beginning of the year. We have a lot of re- spect for them.. cross-tow- Alone in Third Place Braves Rip Cafe 3, Wildcats. I thought it would be a lot more competitive. I Merlin Ol- thought it would be tougher and BOUNTIFUL sen plugs them on television and I didnt think we would walk in magazine ads as The Ticover them like that. kler, but the gift of flowers Zigichs touchdown runs came " Bountiful High received last from 17, 12 and 57 yards out. week didnt tickle the Braves Chris West scored two touchfootball team. downs for the Braves and linen In fact, the gift of a backer Bruce Riddle was again black flowers accompanied by an tough in the middle for Bountiepitaph before Fridays game ful. We really pulled together as a against Woods Cross irritated the Braves just a little bit. team this week, said Zigich. They sent our school a half We were up and ready as a dozen black roses saying youre team. The win gives the Braves a. dead, said Bountiful running 2 back and linebacker Spencer Zig-icregion record and 5 slate We came out ready to take overall. It also gives Bountiful sole possession of third place for it out on them on the field. No one is sure who sent the the week and an excellent shot flowers, but one thing is certain: at the state playoffs. It looks pretty good, said It didnt hurt Bountifuls mental Bountiful Coach Kim Peterson preparation for the game. The Braves stuffed the of his teams playoff chances. We have to beat Viewmont,-theWildcats from the opening poswe would have third place. session, scored on the first play The loss drops the Wildcats from scrimmage and proceeded in Region Four record to to demolish the Wildcats, Zigich gained more yardage in and 4 overall and sets up the the game than a ruthless banker final game against East this foreclosing on poor farmers. The week. The Leopards are 4 in senior ran for 203 yards and region play and a Wood Cross scored three touchdowns in the win is important for any hopes Braves second region win. the Wildcats have of playing in Our linemen were just blowtheir first state playoff game. Bountiful, meanwhile, also ing (hem off, said Zigich, exoffensive a big game this week the faces Braves plaining success. Zigich said he expected against Viewmont, probably the. va tougher game from the Bravesftbiggest rival, according to Zigich, partially because KENT SOMERS Viewmont Coach Warren Hatch was formerly an assistant at Bountiful. Over the years, the rivalry just kept going, explained Zigich. Its a little more (of a rivalry) this year because of Hatch. The problem Bountiful will face in the game is the Viewmont passing attack, which, at times, has been potent. As a linebacker, Zigich said he will have to drop into pass coverage quickly and also watch for the run. You have to really watch Review Sports Editor half-doze- h. 2-- their 3-- 40-1- 2. 1- -3 4-- 0-- 40-1- 2 - draw, Zigich said. Against Woods Cross, they (the Vikings) burned them quite a few times. . Peterson is also impressed with the Viking attack. They can throw the ball quite well and they always have a deep scoring threat, he said. Putting pressure on Viewmont quarterback Jeff Meservy will also be important, Peterson said. If you give him time, he can do a good job, Peterson said. Bountiful will host Viewmont Thursday beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Wildcats also end the regular season at home, playing East at 7:30' p.m. on Thursday. This weeks games are played on Thursday because of the Utah deer hunting season, which opens Saturday morning. Photo by Richard Lynch BOUNTIFUL SENIOR Spencer Zigich used runs like this one to gain 203 yards against Woods Cross last Friday. and The Braves won the game, 40-1face Viewmont this Thursday at home, Woods Cross will host East 2, ..,1 - . |