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Show ) f Leos Travels Never Give A Dull Moment By KEITH DUNCAN Journal Sports KAYSVILLE - David Leo has been places and seen things that millions of Americans only dream about. BETTER KNOWN to some as Skip, a nickname given him by his father while growing up in Price, Utah, this guy lives a pretty normal life from Monday through Friday as he teaches math at Kaysville Junior High School. But on weekends and through selected weeks of the summer, David experiences what many young kids and even their fathers might call pure fantasies. LEOS memorandum includes a string of unforgettable moments associated with professional football and a close association with players who have and are still playing that game. This guy has seen it all. Everything from following friends, namely Jack Youngblood and dozens of others from the early hours of a Sunday football day to watching -- those same legends lick their wounds or rejoice a great victory at the end of that Sunday. HES SEEN more Super Bowls and exciting playoff games than any of us will witness in a lifetime. He could relive a day full of stories hes experienced from the sidelines. Training camps in the NFL have seen his presence more than once. But all of this had a beginning. DAVES ROUTE to the NFL began at Utah State in 1968 and continued as he wrapped up graduate school in 1973. It was during this stint that he met Phil Olsen, who later the Aggie planted himself in the NFL. Phil and I became pretty good friends our senior year, a friendship which only got better when he game. injured himself in an Since 1 was in charge of some of the training facilities at Utah State, I always made sure that Phil got the best treatment as he was going through his rehabilitation period. SOON AFTER that Phil ended up in Los Angeles playing with his brother Merlin and because they were from Logan, they decided to put together a football clinic for the Logan kids and called the Olsen Brothers Sports Camp. But the first year the camp went on, it wasn't as successful as the Olsens wanted it probably because it was staffed with coaches from California who werent the best drawing cards. They kept me on the staff but the next year replaced the coaches with members of the Los Angeles Rams. ONCE THEY brought these players in. I've made friendships with these guys that have been going on for years now. We've all-st- ar with the Rams, Jack Youngblood and the two Olsen brothers. CHRIS PELLA (Utah State s current head coach) and Bob Carlson (the assistant athletic director at Utah State) were also extensively involved in the camps and through the months developed close ties with Leo. Thats how it all got started. LATER LEO went on to coach at Carbon High School but has always helped during the summer months in organizing and assisting at various summer camps with the Olsen brothers and new faces that have developed along the way. I was like any typical guy or kid though, because I loved N FL football. Phil made my dreams come true one day when he asked me to come and watch the Rams play. I couldn't believe it at first, it was as exciting as anything Id ever done. I HOPPED a plane and flew into Denver and watched the Rams play for the opening game of the 1975 season. Later Phil went to Denver and before I knew it I was going to Denver one weekend and then down to Los Angeles the next to see Youngblood and the others play. IVE DONE my best as they have, to keep the relationship going. If were not working a camp together then its a Christmas card or a casual phone call once in awhile," said Leo who also helps coach Davis baseball during the spring. Leo admits that there is a big difference in just watching the pro game from the stands and getting involved on the sidelines, locker rooms and training camp. Julys training camp is spectacular, said Leo who has seen a couple of them right on the training camp field. THE SECURITY is tighter than heck down on the field at a game. But once you've got that sideline pass its like heaven on earth for a guy like me. One day I even got back into the equipment room and watched the guys pack the gear for a trip. It years that Im By Keith Duncan Youngbloods friend from Utah, continued Leo. The Kaysville Junior instructor has seen three Super Bowl games and says (he most thrilling game ever was the Los Angeles-Pittsbur- For The Fun OfIt! g game a few years a back. It was super emotional that day because I knew how hard people like the Gettes, the Olsens and others had worked and they never got to a Super Bowl. It was good on the other hand for people like Youngblood and the others even though they didnt win that game, said Leo. IM SURPRISED at how little the players hit through the week, in fact their preparation is very much like high school, but only a thousand times more intense. Those guys are big and bright, they have to be to keep up w ith all the complex assignments and plays. Its extremely fast moving and it takes a human that is in top physical condition," he continued. Its interesting how TV controls the game. The wide receivers like to tear up their sleeves but the TV people hate that because they say it looks ragged. Jim Turner, the former Denver Bronco kicker, told us that if white shoes are worn, the TV people want everyone to wear white shoes. Another interesting thing is when players wrap tape over their ankles and consequently cover up the trademark on their shoes. If thats done, you must draw the marking (such as Addias or Spot) back on the tape. THE GUYS who mend the jerseys are amazing too. They use those same jerseys over and over again but they have them looking like new every game out. Ive always felt like Im the luckiest guy in America to go through all of this. One night 1 woke up at 2 a.m. someplace and sleeping in the bed next to mine is Jack Youngblood. I asked myself, How do I rate?: Then another time Id be riding in a van with five Ram players on the Sunday morning before a big game. Was this really real? I THINK Ive been fortunate enough to do what every little kid in America would like to do. And thats to be able to idolize someone with the ability like a Youngblood or Phil Olsen or anybody, right up close that couldn't be anymore fir- sthand. I wish everybody who loves this game like I do, to have the chance to have their fantasy come true. Itll never be forgotten, concluded Leo. - KAYSVILLE Dennis Larsen wrote in a nearby daily newspaper that last Friday night featured a ballgame to remember. TO GO one step further, the tire evening was a night to member. an enre- Folks, no brag just fact, but if high school could outdo the evening of entertainment por- trayed last Friday night at Davis High School, then Id like to hear about it. DAVIS High was a place you would have enjoyed being, unless your name was Clyde Jackson. The Woods Cross coach would have enjoyed shoveling the new snow from his sidewalks than to go through another experience like he had. Its always nice when you're winning and the evening probably wouldnt have been so festive had Davis not been blowing the doors off Woods Cross. THE DARTS were hotter than a sizzling grease pan that night as they exploded for an 18-- 4 lead at one point in the opening period. At one point in the second stanza they were bombing the Wildcats 36-1In the third they were making a laugher out of it by piling up a When Chris advantage 64-3Card scored in the fourth they were once up by 31 points 1. nt 5. 76-4- Its the first time Mike Gardner can remember a team of his scoring over 90 points as the final score readDavis91 and Woods Cross 70. AS A team the Darts were simply from the field. For the evening they poured in 36 of 67 shots for a clip and hit 79 percent of their charity stripe tosses. red-h- ot Casey Lloyd was possessed or something like that. The guy hit from everywhere all night long, ending up with 26 points in 12 of 17 shooting from the field. One time he had no less than 25 fingers in his face (five hands that is) and still managed to hit nothing but net. He een developed a modified hook shot on one play that sent the Davis fans in a frenzy. AND THERE were other brilliant efforts. David Kinard passed out 10 more assists to bring his league-leadin- g total to 43 for the year. Mike Taylor netted 15 points and gained 10 rebounds in perhaps his best effort of the year, (remember hes just a junior). Scott Moon was sensational again with 18 points and 10 rebounds himself. Moon now leads the club in total rebounds in league play with a whopping 42 at only Taylor is second with 38. Plagued by foul trouble in the beginning, Brent Meier came back in the third to hit three straight which only moved the dagger in deeper. 6-- done everything together from doing the camps, to hunting and fishing to just sitting around for hours and getting to know one another. Some of the first players Leo became friends with included folks like Ken Gettes (now with Seattle), LIKE I said, had the starting five not played so amazingly well, the night wouldn't have been what it was. But they did play well and when you add to that a perfect rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by the Davis High band, a halftime show that had the crowd by the Isiah Robertson, Hacksaw Reynolds (now with San Francisco), Rich Saul (played in seven pro bowls), Dave Elmadorf (defensive back for years with Rams), Larry Brooks (now a defensive line coach Sports Commentary goes beyond your wildest imagination how things work. ITS GOT to the point over the es David Skip Leo has been places many only fantasize about. smiling and laugh'ing as they took off their short skirts and boots and traded them in for basketball trunks and tanktops, frisbees a Davis Scott Moon flips in two. flying in the third quarter compliments of the cheerleaders, an evening that had the Davis High administration in the best of moods and a lot of heat being generated to offset a major winter storm that was taking place outside. WISH YOU could have been there. After the game it was Davis Highs principal Richard Stevenson that remarked, It's been a great night. You keep thinking these kids won't keep up their hot shooting but next time comes along' and they shoot even better. THIS IS Davis High tradition, the kids, the fans, the band. And when you add a quick good quick team like ours, its fun. Im having lots of fun. EVEN GERALD Purdy, the assistant principal and mayor of the city, was having a ball as he and his wife spent a good part of the night laughing and enjoying the It's always fun when game. you're w inning like this." he said. Its an exciting team to watch because it's like five guards who are always moving and doing the extremely active because they were loving this one like anyone was. When the starting five were finally rested in the fourth quarter, the area where the football players were sitting stood up and gave their basketball friends a rising ovation. IT WAS a fun performance to said Gardner who also stated this is the kind of team people like to watch. We just want to keep playing hard and hope that our bubble doesn't burst. he said watch, Assistant coach John Robison who has coached at Kearns. Woods Cross and Bountiful High Schools, noted something about the night to remember. "The thing that sets this community apart is that they come on Friday night to watch D ivis High play and on Monday they go to work. It's the coaches' job to coach. Dick Stevenson's job to administrate, the teacher is to teach and the parents raise kids. People know their roles here and they have confidence in what Mike does. That's what high school basketball is all about. unexpected. IT'S ALWAYS nice to be winhe continued as he remarked too that Friday night saw the biggest crow d of the year come to Sam Morgan Ficldhouse. The cheering section where the Davis High football players sat was ning, WINNING isn't everything here. People don't bale out just because we lose. They go to church on Sunday, go to work on Monday and come back the next Friday to see what happens the next time around," said Robison. Darts Humiliate WX As Nets Catch Fire By KEITH DUNCAN Journal Sports KAYSVILLE The way things got started last Friday night here - when Davis High took on Woods Cross you'd never have guessed the finish. THE FIRfiT five shots the Darts attempted they missed 'em all. But when David Kinard drove the length of the court and laid in CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE Cats Stum Darts Reign In Wrestling By KEITH DUNCAN Journal Sports - KAYSVILLE Despite the fact there were six Davis Darts in the finals of the 1985 Region Four Wrestling Championships and two of those six became region champs, it wasnt enough to help Jim Dickson and his Darts defend their supremacy over this region in wrestling. WOODS CROSS, coached by the ever-patieBob Steele, won the 84 title he and his kids prob nt ably deserved on their own mat and in front of their own studentbody. There's no question that Dickson and '85 club found the saying Its tougher to stay on top than get there in the first place," to be truer than the words themselves. Seniors like Rody Meacham and Vaughn Casdorph could attest to that after having helped this school break out on top three years ago but only to see their hopes for three in a row vanish into the cold night. THE DARTS, who placed third at the region meet, fought as hard as theyve ever fought but the exact kind of chemistry lacked from start to finish, a chemistry which helped them dominate this region for the previous two years. But even though the team never celebrated in the end, a couple of Davis individuals did. They included the two lightest Darts, junior Justin Julander at 98 and Reed Harrison at 105. Both won their respective region titles and advance into this weeks state tournament as potential first or second seeds. JUSTIN dominated his only two matches with authority. Many Steady Reed Harrison won only two matches too but the last one was the important one as this Davis wins the 105 chamHigh move-i- n pionship to close out a very re- Smoot from Box Elder, who won Region One and who has tied Harrison in the past. AND THERE were more bright spots. One of the brightest had to be the effort of Robert West at 119 who battled in the same weight class as Vaun Hall and Adam Howard and settled for third. "I was proud of Robert." said Dickson. course its not officially over because Harrison will be competing for all the marbles in the state tournament this week. Some of his stif-fecompetition will come from showed poise by getting into the finals and taking second. Another sophomore Clint Allen did well by taking fourth in the 145 pound class. Allen lost in the semis 7 in thought he should have received the Outstanding Wrestler" in the lighter weights but wrestling just two matches didn't help him. spectable wrestling career. Of st Sophomore Russell Porter 9-- i a match that could have gone either way. MARK And erson, junior, finished fourth in the 138 category in a tough weight division. Casdorph, Roger Horne and Meacham all gained the finals of the tournament and all had to settle for second. Meacham did gain sweet revenge over Brian May of Highland by pinning him with 13 1:30 in the second round. THE DARTS were hurt, point class w here wise, l y the Bruce Hinckley failed to make weight and could not compete. 1 |