OCR Text |
Show ports WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2008 - B1 Covering what matters most All about He nson is back in basketball was faced with the nine to 12 month re-habilitation that comes after having ACL reconstructive surAfter a junior year where she gery. Many people would find was named first team All-Region, this just too hard to handle, first team All-State and lead the state but as most people who know of Utah in scoring at 21 points per her have said, the one word it game, who could blame Spanish that describes Jenna JohnFork senior Jenna Johnson for being son is heart. pumped for her upcoming senior Having already lost year? her senior year on the Imagine, then, how she felt while volleyball team, Jenna playing for a club team in a tourna- turned her focus to ment in Oregon this last summer, rehabbing her knee and playing her usual aggressive style of getting ready for basketball defense, and stepped the wrong way, and region play, which causing her ACL to blow out. Now with her senior campaign at SpanSee JOHNSON ish Fork starting in November, Jenna Mike Norris STAFF WRITER Kelsey Hall / Spanish Fork News BIG MAN: Devin Nelson lays it off the glass for two. Nelson had 13 points against Timpanogos. Dons sink T-Wolves background photo, Chad Carter www.cartsphoto.com; other photos, Kelsey Hall / Spanish Fork News Wrestlers upend Lehi, 41-26 On the Mat Steve Wilson The Spanish Fork Dons traveled to Lehi Thursday night to battle with the Pioneers to determine who was going to be the only undefeated Region IV team heading into the championship tournament in two weeks that will determine the region champion. Both Lehi and the Dons had waltzed through their four region duals undefeated, so Thursday's showdown would establish two things. One, the winner claims bragging rights for a year; and two, individual victories ensure a higher seeding for the critical region championship tournament. Based on the level of season long competition each team had faced, it was clear that the Dons, at least on paper, were the stronger team. In a strange twist for the Dons, however, the team received disappointing news just days Namon Bills / Spanish Fork News before this final dual match of the year. Two of their sea- CARRYING HIS WEIGHT: Rod Cox carried his own weight — and that of his Pioneer opponent. son long starters had been disqualified from competi- events could easily have start, survived a couple of setting the favored Braden tion for the remainder of the dimmed the team lights a bit chinks in their armor and Anderton of Lehi in the first year and thus would not be for Clark's charges, but in raced to an easier than ex- match of the night. His win able to compete for the team genuine championship style, pected 41-26 thumping of seemed to set the tone for any longer. the Dons seemed to simply the Pioneers. the entire team and sent a Forced to empty his dig deeper, rally around one Kade Christensen con- message to the Pioneers that JV cupboard at those two another and come determined tinued to show the wrestling the Dons were coming after weights, coach Dave Clark to not let this minor bump community why he has be- them. called up two freshmen to in the road upset their apple come the darling of the Dons Heavyweight Brock Wilfill the two empty spots and cart. as he overcame a first round son ran into the secondwrestle varsity for the first Mission accomplished. deficit and powered his way See WRESTLERS • B2 time this year. That turn of The Dons got off to a solid to an impressive pin in up- Chad Vest STAFF WRITER The Mighty Dons (9-5) hosted a (6-7) Timpanogos team, who came into the game with a 2-1 region record. Spanish Fork's league record was just the opposite, having already played top dogs Lone Peak and PG, but nonetheless it was a Region 4 foe and anything could happen. Luckily for SF, there was only one lead change in the game. Unfortunately for the road team, it came just after the opening tip-off as they went on a quick 5-0 run. However, down the stretch, the T-Wolves made it interesting. With one minute left in the game, Timpanogos cut the deficit to only three on consecutive steals, which resulted into easy buckets. The Scoreboard read 63-60 when Coach Bailey called timeout. After a good pep talk, the Dons took care of the ball and hit clutch shots from the charity stripe to pull away for good. Spanish shot 5-6 free throws in the final seconds, which sent the T-Wolves packing by the final score of 68-60. Soon after a hot start by their opponent, the red and gray erupted for 14 unanswered points. Dallin Naulu looked like a wizard as he dished several no-look passes to teammates for some big shots. Naulu finished with a game high of 10 assists, nine of them in the first half alone. Three of them benefited the "Money Man" Zac Clayton. He had the hot hand as he sunk three treys in the first frame to help build a comfortable lead. Spanish had built a 15- point lead midway through the first period of play, but the T-Wolves made some nice adjustments to combat the Dons blazing streak. Their half-court press began to give SFfits.Multiple turnovers resulted from Timp's tenacious defense and the visiting team capitalized on some easy lay-ups to cut the lead to seven with the score 34-27 at the break. The SF crowd caught fire (especially the sombrero boys) when their red and gray went on a 9-2 run to go up 48-35, forcing a Timpanogos timeout. The T-Wolves were once again hungry, and continued to crawl their way back. They again converted off of several turnovers, before narrowing the lead to nine on a big trey to end the quarter. Despite numerous turnovers, Spanish Fork's solid shooting and great rebounding allowed them to maintain their lead throughout the night. Seniors Juan Vergara and Devin Nelson both knotted a double-double with outstanding play in the paint. It may not have been the Dons' best overall performance, but they came out victorious. "It was a good win," said Coach Bailey. "It was a win, and I saw a lot of good positives from it, but some things we can work on." Bailey also commented on his team's breakout first quarter. "We were hitting the right passes and guys were just knocking them down," he said. Four players finished in double figures. Vergara led the Dons with 17. Matt 'Gardner finished with 14, while Clayton and Nelson pitched in 13 apiece. FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE, SEE B2 AND B10 |