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Show ,/THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE QUARTERBACKS BYU—Making his second-to-last start for the Cougars at quarterback this weekend wiil be three-year starter Max Hall, who is 1-1 in his career against the Utes. Hall is first in all major passing categories—yards, touchdowns and yards per game—in the MWC and leads the conference in interceptions. Nationally, he is ranked eighth in passing yards (2,857) and fourth in touchdowns (23). Hall's experience gives him the edge over true freshman Jordan Wynn. U T A H — W y n n is now looking ahead to the fourth start of his young college career. Although he has been fortunate to face two of the worst teams in the MWC—-New Mexico and San Diego State—at home, he has been thrust into the heart of Utah's MWC schedule. After facing No.4TCU on the road, he now will have to face BYU on the road. Wynn has shown improvement each week but still needs time to develop into the quarterback he wants to be. EDGE-BYU ' ,'• '. • *. , " RUNNING BACKS ' BYU—Coming into 2009, BYU's junior halfback Harvey Unga was expected to run away with the MWC rushing title, but after he missed BYU's matchup with New Mexico, the race with Utah's Eddie Wide is neck and neck. Unga has rushed for more than 800 yards in 2009 and is the Cougars' leading rusher by 600 yards. He's averaging 5.6 yards per carry and is 92.6 yards per game to this point in the 2009 season. Backing up Unga Is J J. Di Luigi, who has just over 200 yards in 2009 but is right behind Unga in yards per carry with 55. t i . : • -•- .- ['.' U T A H — U t a h junior Wide has proven to be not only the ; . most consistent part of the Utah offense, but also the most : consistent back in the conference. Since taking the starting • job from the injured Matt Asiata, Wide is the only back in ; the conference averaging more than 100 yards in all games : he has started. Backing up Wideis redshirt freshman Sau• san Shakerin, who has recovered from early season injury 1 troubles to become a solid backup to Wide. Shakerin is more ; ofabruiserandoffersanicechangeofpacefromWide,who '• is more of a slasher. i EDGE-UTAH ;^ ; WIDE RECEIVERS BYU—Leading the Cougars in receptions and yards is tight end Dennis Pitta. Normally, the tight end is listed under offensive line, but when your tight end is your leading receiver, exceptions are made. Pitta also leads the Cougars in touchdown catches, but seven different Cougars have caught at least two touchdowns in 2009. Wideout McKay Jacobson returned from his mission for The Church of Jesus flvjsJ^Utter-day Saints earlier this yeat^andhas helped fill the void left by wideout Austin Collie. Although Hall does, a good job spreading out the ball, the Utes have the edgebecause of theirthreats on the outside. - • UTAH—David Reed and Jereme Brooks have proven to be one of the best tandems of wideouts in the conference this season. Although Reed has the edge in receptions and yards, the two have battled all season to lead the Utes in touchdowns and have gone back and forth week to week. The Utes are deep at the wideout position with the likes of John Peel and Aiona Key backing up Reed and Brooks. Look for the Utes to use four and five receiver sets to spread out the Cougar pass defense, which is sixth in the conference. EDGE-UTAH v '*"•""*' " OFFENSIVE LINE BYU—The BYU.offensive front is anchored by center RJ. Willing, who stands at 6-foot-5-lnches and weighs in at 308 pounds. As the lone senior on the line, Willing has been the leader of the Cougars' huge offensive line, which averages 321 pounds. Lining up to the right of Willing is 340-pound, 6-foot-3 sophomore Terence Brown. Brown is the largest of the BYU offensive linemen and has been a major part of protecting Hall all season. '?:\u-,?, <\ : . & ^ ^ # s £ j r UTAH—This will be the final regular-season game of senior Zane Beadles' college career. He has been a four-year . starter, and coaches say he has all the talent to be drafted next spring. Beadles is the lone senior on the Utah offensive line. The group has not only helped Wynn make his transi' tion to the college game, but has also helped Wide be successful since becoming the starter. DEFENSIVE LINE > BYU—BYU utilizes a 3-4 defense with three down linemen. The trio is led by all-MWC selection Jan Jorgensen. The senior defensive end leads all BYU down linemen in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks. Defensive tackle Bret Denney is second in tackles and sacks of all down linemen, Hie defensive front spearheads a BYU defense that is second in the league in rush defense and is only allowing barely more than 100 rushing yards per game. UTAH—Senior defensive end Koa Misi has been a standout on the Utah defensive front all season. Despite missing the first game of the season, Misi is nearthe top of the Utah defense In tackles and leads the league in tackles by a down lineman. The Utes will still be without defensive end Derrick Shelby, who tore his ACL two weeks ago against TCU. Despite giving up more rushing yards, Utah's depth makes this one too close to call. .. . . . . EDGE-PUSH vC , LINEBACKERS B Y U — T h e Cougar linebackers are made up of three seniors and a lone sophomore. Seniors Brandon Bauman, Shawn Doman and Coleby Clawson will all be playing in their final home game as Cougars. Doman is second on the team in1 tackles, and Clawson is second in sacks. Sophomore Jordan Pendleton is one of only two BYU players who have recorded a sack and an interception this season. Both linebacker corps are loaded with seniors, but Utah gets the edge in pass coverage. UTAH—This will be the last regular-season game for all three Utah linebackers. Mike Wright, Stevenson Sylvester and Kepa Gaison will all be graduating at the end of the season. This is an experienced, veteran linebacking corps that has shown the ability to stop both the run and the pass and has recovered nicely from the TCU game. Expect inspired play from the three seniors and keep your eye on who wiil be covering BYU tight end Pitta. The matchup could decide the game. EDGE-UTAH SECONDARY ^ B Y U — T h e BYU secondary has given up an average of 234 yards per game in 2009, which is good enough for sixth in the conference. Safety Scott Johnson and comerback Brian Logan are tied for the team lead in interceptions, and safety Andrew Rich leads the Cougars'defense in tackles. The key matchup to watch will be how BYU's third and forth comerbacks will hold up against Utah's three and four wide receiver sets. ., -:.< .• . , .... .-;. U T A H — J u s t as it has been all season, Utah's secondary is led by Ail-American candidate Robert Johnson. The free safety has ruled the middle of the field for Utah all season with strong safety Joe Dale making his presence felt against both the run and the pass. Comers Brandon Burton and RJ. Stanford have both improved in single coverage and have helped the Utes to the third-best passing defense in the conference. . .. .. ; . SPECIAL TEAMS BYU—Mitch Payne has handled all the place-kicking duties for the Cougars in 2009 and is 66 percent on the year, with his season-long as 44 yards. Wideout O'Neill Chambers handles both kick and punt returns for the Cougars and averages 27 and 4.9 yards per return respectively. Chambers has yet to bring a kick or a punt back for a touchdown. UTAH—Since replacing senior Ben Woman, Joe Phillips has settled nicely into his starting role and has become one • of the best kickers in the conference. The Utes have had a slew of people return kicks in 2009, ranging from David Reed to OeVonte Christopher. On the season, the Utes also have two blocked punts. EDGE-UTAH Compiled by Bryan Chouinard DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE Advertising 801-581-7041 News801-581-NEWS Fax801-581-FAXX r.hanson@chronicle.utah.edu MANAGING EDITOR: Sara C o p e l a n d s.copeland@chronicle.utah.edu PRODUCTION MANAGER: Alyssa W h i t n e y a.whitney@chronicle.utah.edu ASST. PRODUCTION MANAGER: Rebecca Isbell r.isbell@chronicle.utah.edu NEWS EDITOR: Michael McFall m.mcfatl@chronkle.utah.edu ASST. NEWS EDITOR: Trent Lowe t.lowe@chromde.utah.edu OPINION EDITOR: Craig Blake c.blake@chronicle.utah.edu SPORTS EDITOR: Paige Fieldsted p.fieldsted@chronicle.utah.edu ASST. SPORTS EDITOR: Bryan C h o u i n a r d b.chouinard@chronicle.utah.edu Haka creates controversy as pre-game ritual Kelsey Price STAFF WRITER Performed from Texas to Tonga, from the prep level to the Olympics, the haka—a traditional Maori dance—is ingrained in the psyche of sports culture across the world. Since New Zealand's legendary All Blacks rugby team performed its first haka in 1884, the ritual has become commonplace in athletics, especially in Utah. BYU is no exception, gaining national prominence for its pregame performances of the "Ka Mate" haka. Although the haka is usually seen as a routine used to excite the crowds and promote team unity, it has also been criticized as an unsportsmanlike attempt to intimidate opponents. Incidents have provoked responses from the Utah High School Activities Association, game officials and the WAC. High schools have been warned by the UHSAA that they face penalties for performing the haka, citing it as a safety concern. The University of Hawaii eventually stopped performing the "Kapa o Pango" haka after receiving a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for the haka in a 2007 game. The WAC then sent out a letter to coaches asking all pregame rituals to be performed in locker rooms only. BYU's performance has also come under fire. In the 2005 rivalry game, the haka was performed facing Utah instead of the student body. When several BYU players performed the ritual at a pep rally on Fremont Street before the 2006 Vegas Bowl, Oregon players attempted to jump the crowd barriers to confront BYU. Last season at the rivalry game, safety Joe Dale and linebacker Stevenson Sylvester crossed over to BYU's side of the field when BYU began to perform the haka. Soon, a score of Ute players followed, leading to a heated confrontation between the teams before the referees broke up the argument. "They can't do that on ourfield,"said then-Ute quarterback Brian Johnson. "That shows disrespect." Head coach Kyle Whittingham agreed. "Our guys got the feeling they were disrespected a little bit," he said. "But it is what it is." BYU, however, insists disrespect is not its intent. Rather, the Cougars say the haka ritual promotes team honor, support and unity. BYU's performance of the haka dates back to the 2005 season opener against Boston College. The tradition began as a way of supporting re- The haka is a player-initiated effort to show support and unity for the BYU team. Other teams, such as Utah, see it as disrespectful and interrupted the dance last year. ceiver Bryce Mahuika, the only member of the team of Maori descent. Bryce Mahuika's father, Michael Mahuika, passed away from Hodgkin's lymphoma during spring training Michael Mahuika was the son of Nepia Mahuika, chief of the Maori Ngati Porou Iwi tribe, which is credited for the "Ka Mate." Michael Mahuika throughout his life believed the haka should be used to teach about his tribe's culture. The haka was performed at Michael Mahuika's funeral, which several of Bryce's teammates attended. Upon returning from the funeral, the players who attended, including running back Curtis Brown, suggested the team perform the haka as a means of honoring Michael Mahuika. BYU received special permission from the Ngati tribe to perform the haka, said football communications coordinator Brett Pyne. "We received permission to perform it, and then the haka just became this great player-initiated effort to show team support and unity," Pyne said. However, the tradition, which received national media acclaim, has dwindled in the 2009 season. To date, the haka has only been performed twice by BYU, after the defeat of Oklahoma and before the Tulane game. Pyne says the haka has not been performed lately for many reasons, among themt^e^oog altercation between Utah and BYU players. Bryce Mahuika's last season was also in 2008. The tradition, however, is far from over"It's all player-driven," Pyne said. "Many of the seniors and juniors hope and expect the team will continue to perform (the haka). It's a fantastic way of building team unity." k.price@chronicle.utah.edu EDGE-UTAH .THE EDITOR IN CHIEF: Rachel H a n s o n Wednesday; November 25, 2009 ARTS EDITOR: Joseph Peterson j.peterson@chronicle.utah.edu PHOTO EDITOR: Tyler Cobb t.cobb@chronicle.utah.edu ASST. PHOTO EDITOR: Mike M a n g u m m.mangum@chronicle.utah.edu COPY EDITOR: James Copeland COPY EDITOR: Rebecca Saley COPY EDITOR: Brittney Banning PROOFREADER: Lauren Hendriksen ONLINE EDITOR: Richard Payson PAGE DESIGNER: Maggie Poulton GENERAL MANAGER: Jake Sorensen j.sorensen@chronicle.utah.edu DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING: Tom Hurtado t.hurtado@chronicle.utah.edu ADV. 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