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Show Esumssh Fk w? F IhM n Im o By KEITH DUNCAN Journal Sports LAYTON -- - The tender memories of life. le IT HAS TO be when two high school sweethearts drive away admist wedding bells, or when mom and dad dry a tear or two after becoming proud grandparents. And the tender times live on, even in the midst of a wild and frantic state basketball tournament. At least in the minds and hearts of those who love Layton High basketball, tender thoughts about such a courageous effort encouraged memories that are sure to live with the best of them. late-seas- THE LANDERS, who encountered more ups and downs through the 1982-8- 3 campaign than the roller coaster at nearby Lagoon, signed things off last Saturday evening in admirable fashion by capturing consolation honors in the state tourney. There were those, in fact some who were very close to the program, who gave up on Doug Moon and his kids mid-wa- y through the season. 4-- A PERHAPS YOU were one! Why not? After losing their leading scorer, Keith Williams, it looked bleak. Even Webers veteran coach, Dick Conolly prophesized, Losing Williams will hurt that ballclub. Bang, bang, bang, three losses in a row and no chance to win the league title they were so favored to win, fans tuned into the good weather settling in at the time and started thinking baseball and track. BUT THE GUYS who patiently waited to practice everyday at 4 p.m., guys like Jeff Moon, Brad Merrill, Brett Campbell, Jeff Passey, Tom Kidd, Steve Pearce and Daryl Martin knew the true story. Even though it took a few losses to figure it out, Williams wasnt the only one that could score consistently. As Jeff Moon pointed out, Five guys started shouldering the pressure of getting the job done, instead of just one. Bang, bang, bang, now three impressive wins in a row including ones over champs, Roy and Bonneville. Said Coach Moon about his club who won six of their last seven games, Once they found themselves, the spirit spread like wild fire in a wheat field. It was one of the precious moments in my basketball-related career. OPENING NIGHT in the state tourney was the only stumbling block for Moon and his crew. After staying close to Brighton for one d Salt Lake team blishalf, the tered Layton in the second half and went on to an easy victory. The Bengals finally finished fourth in the tournament and ended their season with a 17-- 6 mark. What a bounce back! After a terrifying loss to Brighton, Layton continued on in the consolation bracket by demolishing Cyrpus Nearly everyone on the club got a piece of the action that night. multi-talente- 82-4- 2. THE CYPRUS mauling was no fluke as Skyline found out the following afternoon. The Layton kids played their hearts out on defense, fitting the mold that Moon has tried to coach for years. The 8 win over the Eagles sent Layton into the final day of action. Only one team was hotter than Layton come Saturday and that was Woods Cross, the eventual state champion. The final game of the season pitted Moons club against Sky View, a team that had beaten them twice during the Region One schedule. But this time it was Layton's turn and the Bobcats didnt have a chance. The 5 victory over Sky View upped Laytons final record to 14-- 7 and enabled them to take home the consolation championship and a trophy to boot. 53-4- 82-6- THOUGH the Lancers didnt win the Region One title like they would have wanted to, some consolation had come in finishing higher than any other team from their region. Bonneville didnt even place, Roy was seventh and Sky View wound up eighth. The following is a run down of the state tournament games Layton participated in: Layton 82 - Skyview 75 Til forever hold a special place inside for each and everyone of them Coach Doug Moon confident and I felt those kind of vibes from the rest of the kids too. WITH THAT WE had a lot going for us. We were hot going into the contest and the revenge factor fueled the fire. We hadnt played well in our two previous losses to Sky View, so we really owed them one, said the head coach. Just as the Lancers had done in their outings against Cyprus and Skyline, they poured it on early against Sky View, enough in fact to carry a 0 lead out of the first quarter. Brad Merrill had much to do with the first half build-u- p by contributing 14 points and 20 overall. 26-1- FOUR MORE Lancers were in double figures in the season finale as Moon ended with 16, Brett Campbell 14, Jeff Passey with 12 and sophomore Darryl Martin 11. Its hard to put emotions on different levels and judge different feelings, but Saturday night had to be very close to the greatest moment in coaching me if not the greatest, stated Moon ; a day after the event. i GOSH, THESE kids just decided hey, w? are going to do it, continued Moon, Ill forever and ever hold a special place inside for everyone of them, just because of the dedication and hard work they stand for. Layton S3 - Skyline 48 j i y '' If there was ever a coach who loved h bunch of kids for efforts unmatched, it would have to start with Moon and his Layton cagers for their J impressive victory over Skyline. AS THE PLAYERS filed into the locker room for Moons post game remarks, emotions were thicker and happier as much as theyd ever been. Moons first stare and remark was, Brad Merrill, I love you. It was Merrill, along with the help from his teammates, that had possibly played their best defense game of the year. Anytime a coach can get his kids to play with that kind of intensity for an entire basketball game, every kid and not just one, what else is there in coaching. To me, thats what it is all about. I simply couldnt have asked for the kids to do anymore than what they did against Skyline, Moon said. THE EAGLES and Lancers were knotted at 0 after one quarter, but Layton pulled out to a 2 halftime advantage thanks to the scoring of Moon who ended the afternoon with 22 points. Merrill also did a bunch of damage on the offensive side through the second stanza, and totaled 13 points by games end. It was a long outside jumper by Moon that gave Layton a 2 lead over Skyline, a lead they never relinquished. Two key steals by Tom Kidd down the fourth quarter stretch helped secure the victory for the Lancers. 10-1- 25-2- 14-1- Layton 82 - Cyrpus 42 After being destroyed by Brighton in their1 first tourney game, Layton learned the lesson the Bengals taught them and promptly pinned the same kind of disaster on the Pirates. I KNEW ONE thing we had to do that we didnt do against Brighton, and that was to have more movement. I wanted the kids to create some movement even if it was out of the pattern of things, said Moon. And the only movement Cyprus saw was a flash! The closest the Pirates ever came besides the start, was being down 0 and 2-- 4-- 2. IT WAS CENTER Brett Campbell that drove the spear deeper. Though he hadnt played well in recent outings, the 4 prepster came alive and ended the contest with 25 points and a stationwagon full of rebounds. Campbell did just about everything. He popped in a couple of three-poiplays, stole a pass and raced the full length of the court for a lay up and swatted away several shots on defense. With Layton ahead 9 after three quarters, Moon began substituting regulars with others. In all, a total of 13 Lancers eventually saw some action including senior Ben Hayes who wound up with six points in the closing minutes. 6-- Jeff Moon summed up the victory over Sky View with these thoughts. Dad (Coach Moon) said it was something we should never forget, the fact we came back like we did to win the consolation. He told us hed won a state championship before, but admitted hed never felt for a bunch of kids like he did for us. HE ASKED US to remember what hard work and team unity can do, and to never forget it," said Jeff. Coach Moon admitted that hed asked his son a few hours before the Sky View game, what his feelings were. Jeff sorta summed it is no way Sky up the best when he said. There View can beat us three in a row. He was very nt 62-3- THOUGH MOON, Merrill and Kidd didnt score a lot of points, they can be credited with getting the ball continually inside to Campbell and junior Jeff Passey. |