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Show JTHZ DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE Thursday, November 13, 2008 STEVENSON accepting rave reviews. "Being here the last coucontinued from Page 5 ple years has taught me a lot," he said. "I had to learn years of starting football a lot. Just like anybody, you games is starting to turn gotta wait for your turn to into something special for come up. Mine came up Utah defense. and I'm just trying to take "Sly is a very good lead- advantage of it." er," Andersen said. "It's a Sylvester was elected job that he's kind of had as one of four captains of to learn to accept. He had the team. He and senior a lot of success here as a defensive back Brice Mcyoung player, and usually Cain were elected defenas a young player, you're ex- sive co-captains to begin pected to be a leader once the season. The 180-degree you're a junior or a senior; spin that Sly has on and off now he is a leader." the field is apparent. His Sylvester's emergence 59 tackles stand out on the for this team has been field just as easily as his both eye-opening for the fun-loving nature does off 20-year-old and humbling of it. "Sly is a kid that has a all at the same time. He runs alongside two tal- lot of emotion," Andersen ented linebackers, Mike said. "He plays with a lot Wright and Nai Fotu. Al- of emotion, he lives life though he is currently en- with a lot of emotion." c.kamrani@ joying this undefeated seachronicle.utah.edu son, he still has a hard time TtlETtCOBBfThtOoiiyUtahChrmide Utah fans rush the field and celebrate with the team after Utah defeated TCU on November 6. Utah fans have rushed the field twice this season. Rushing the field felt out of place magine taking your little brother to a college party for the first time. He's only 18, but responsible, so you don't mind condoning a little underage drinking. The party you take him to is amazing. Cute girls, full kegs, the whole caboodle. Everyone's having a good time until suddenly you see little brother doing keg stands in between body shots. Soon, brother has stripped off his clothes and is running around the house calling himself the "vanishing ninja" with his underwear on his head. Everyone recognizes little brother is having a great time, laughs at his expense, but then concur that he's had a little too much to drink. "Jackass," one partygoer says. "This must be that kid's first time at a college party," says another. That's kind of what Thursday nights have turned into at Rice-Eccles Stadium this year. I am going to enjoy this season more than any other football season in my life, including 2004. I remember the names of 2004.1 remember the way Utah slaughtered teams, the lack of satisfaction with the win over Pittsburgh and how Urban Meyer's club could have competed I TONY PIZZA with eventual National Champion USC Trojans. But I don't have the snapshot moments of 2004, not like I will of 2008 anyway. Fans are going to remember where they were when Utah was down by eight to Oregon State with less than two minutes to play. Fans are going to remember exactly where and when they saw Freddie Brown haul in a fourth-and-5 pass from Brian Johnson against TCU that kept the final touchdown drive alive. Those were absolutely special moments that will embed memories in your mind, even when you're gray and wrinkled and talking about the good old days. I'll also remember how naive college football fans rushed the field and confused the thrill of two last-second, come-from-behind, amazing wins with something that actually warranted that BASKETBALL "Our team functions very well with Kepkay and Green coming off continued from Page 5 the bench right now," Boylen said. When Boylen experimented come in." with this idea last season, Bryant Boylen isn't the first coach in bas- was the second-leading scorer on ketball to have star players coming the team with 14 points per game, off the bench rather than starting. right behind Luke Nevill. He averThe San Antonio Spurs have one aged starter minutes with 27 per of the most versatile players in the game contributed, just as if he were NBA to come off the bench with a starter. Manu Ginobili, and the rings speak "It got to the point where Johnfor coach Gregg Popovich on that nie wouldn't even let me talk about decision. putting him in the starting lineup," The Utes have enough depth Boylen said. "He's so comfortable this season to allow two of their in that roll. Obviously what Tyler offensive starts to come off the did on Saturday with 26 points bench. Boylen said he wants to and what Shaun did with eight start as a defensive-minded team, rebounds and five steals, they've rattle up the opponent a little bit, bought in." then send in the shooters to close' m.villano@ it out. chronicle.utah.edu TYLER COBB/Jhe DoifytUahOtmHtle Shaun Green has been a starter at the U for three years, but this season head coach Jim Boyten will bring Green off the bench to give the team a lift. kind of celebration. If Utah continues to wear its new black jerseys every week, instead of once every few years, the occasion would lose some of its luster. If you go out and get bombed off your gourd drunk every week, it's going to lose its appeal. The two times in history that I can remember a Utah venue getting rushed was when the Runnin' Utes upset then-No. 1 Alabama Dec. 30, 2002 in the Huntsman Center and when the football team beat BYU in 2004 to become the first non-Bowl Conference Series team in history to qualify for a BCS bowl game. That just about sums up the convention behind rushing the field. You rush the field when your underdog team upsets the No. 1 team in the country. You rush the field when you make national history. Texas Tech fans rushed the field after a last-second win over then-No. 1 Texas. Oregon State fans did the same when the Beavers knocked off then-No. 1 USC at home back in September. Don't get me wrong, though. I realize the compulsion to do keg stands. I get why fans rushed the field after See RUSHING Page 6 e Daily Utah Chronicle Stevenson Sylvester has been a big part of the success the Utah defense has had this year. Sylvester has led the team in tackles in three of the Utes'10 games. SOCCER Young Utes winding down from successful MWC season Bryan Chouinard against Arizona and Georgia. of the Utah attack, leading the way in Refusing to give up, the Utes earned goals scored, as well as game-winning their second win of the season when goals. Many questions surrounded head they hosted in-state rival Utah State On the defensive end of the field, coach Rich Manning and his squad on Ute Field and sent the Aggies the back line of Morgan Skeen, Lauhome with a 2-0 loss. entering this season. ren Porter, Lauren Dudley and Nicole With a large freshman class comUtah closed out its non-conference Cardon gave Utah fans something to ing in, there were questions of how schedule by dropping only one game look forward to for seasons to come. Utah would handle the college game over the course of its final five match- The back line of Utah had quickly beand how it would come together as a es. The Utes were 4-6-2 in conference come the Utes' biggest strength. Not only did the Utah defense have four team. play. There were also questions for the Although the non-conference sea- shutouts in non-conference play, but Utah attack. After losing Adele Letro son left Utah with a losing record, as a group, it also had three goals. to transfer and sophomore forward Manning and the Utes learned a lot But conference play is when Utah's Erin Dalley to a pre-season knee in- about their team. Kelly Isleib, who season really started to come tojury, where was the Utah offense go- had been known mostly for her passing to come from? Who would step up ing as a sophomore, took the reigns See SOCCER Page 8 and lead the Utes' attack? Although the team got off to a slow start, losing four of its first five matches, the Utes rallied together midway through the season to finish as No. 2 in both the Mountain West Conference Tournament as well as the MWC regular season. The Utes had little, if any, time to work out any preseason kinks when they kicked off their regular season on an East Coast road trip to North Carolina. The Utes opened their campaign against ACC powerhouse Wake Forest. With seven of Utah's starting 11 being either sophomores or freshmen, the Utes were forced to learn to play with each other on thefly.While the Utes did fall to the Demon Deacons in overtime, the young team showed its resilience and came back to defeat UNC Greensboro 2-1 in another overtime game that same weekend. The Utes' first weekend of the season would prove to be their most powerful defining trait. But Manning's team still struggled to find its rhythm early on. Utah would go on to AARON SCHVIBHD\MAN/TheDaily Utah Chronidt lose its next four games, including the Kelly Isleib stepped in to fill the void left in the Utes' scoring attack after the loss of Adele Letro and first two home games of the season Erin Dalley in the off-season. STAFF WRJTER |