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Show A6 The Emery County Review, Tuesday, November 18, 2008 SPORTS Basketball Fever Returns! Spartans and Lady Spartans prepare to hit the court with big hoop dreams for the season C. Josie Luke Emery basketball fans can expect great play and exciting games this season according to both the boy’s and girl’s head basketball coaches. The Spartan boy’s head coach Todd Jeffs confidently reported that this year’s team “will be better than last year,” possibly winning Region 8, and though girl’s coach Steven Gordon is hesitant to make a prediction before he has had more practice with his team, he is optimistic. Boy’s Basketball The size and depth of this year’s Emery Spartan Boy’s Basketball team are exciting for Jeffs. He believes the combination will help the team to perform even better than they did last year. In fact, he believes that if they perform up to their potential, the Spartans have the ability to win Region 8. “Our depth is really good, and we’ll have some post players that we haven’t had the last few years,” Jeffs reported. The team will field a nine-man rotation this sea- son, uncommon for a high school team. “Nevin Jensen started last year as a junior and is coming back. We also have six seniors who have played a lot. It gives me a nine-man rotation, which is a great for a high school team,” Jeffs explained. He also said that the size of Karson Jensen, Colton Barnett and Tanner Procarione, will help them against the team he expects to be their biggest rival— Carbon. “Those are three good bodies and that will help us out,” he said. In describing their region, the coach revealed that both Delta and North Sanpete lost many of their starters from last year, but stressed they should still have solid teams. Jeffs is unsure of how Juan Diego’s team will look this year, but with the quality big men that Carbon has, he believes the Dinos will prove to be their main competition. Tryouts for the boy’s team began Nov. 10, and the team held their first full practice on Nov. 14. The Spartan’s season begins Nov. 4-5, when the team travels to St. George. They will play their first home game Dec. 14 when they host the annual Coal Country Classic tournament. Jeffs will serve as Head Coach, with Ty Jensen as junior varsity coach, and Scott Stilson and Cole Pitchforth as coaches for the sophomore team. Dempsy Jeffs and Kevin Diaz will also help with the team. The Spartan basketball team prepares to hit the court for practice. Girl’s Basketball Emery High will have a very young and talented girl’s basketball team this year according to Gordon. The team, comprised of four seniors, two juniors, seven sophomores and five freshmen hopes to avoid the disappointment that hit last year’s very talented Region 8 championship team who lost in the second round of the state tournament. The team will have three returning starters, two players who played a lot of minutes last year, and a large group of young players who will have the opportunity to fight for playing time: “It will be whoever shows me that they can play throughout the year,” Gordon comented. As the team began tryouts last week, Gordon was faced with choosing how many players to keep, especially when 23 sophomores and freshman turned out for the team. Though it was exciting to see how popular the sport is among girls in the area, Gordon had a difficult time choosing Spartans Lady Spartans Seniors: ShiAnne Allred Frankie Komar Lacey Montgomery Jodi Robertson The Lady Spartans warm up. Photos by C. Josie Luke Juniors: Abbie Kay Tiffany Tuttle Sophomores: Brooke Jensen Tayler Jewkes Taylor Mann Jessica Murray Makia Sherman Markette Tanner Courtney Tuttle Freshmen: Mandy Davis Jolynn Jennings Kim Oldroyd Whitney Roper Shailee Stokes just 18 girls for the team. “I think we have a pretty good bunch that we did keep,” he said. “ They all work hard, they all have go attitudes, and I think we’re going to be OK. “It’s early and we don’t know a whole lot yet, but I’m just excited to get going and see what we can do,” Gordon concluded. Emery’s first game will be at home on Nov. 25, when the Spartans face North Sevier. Assisting Coach Gordon will be Lynn Tuttle and Jon Faimalo. Seniors: Jason Giles Karson Jensen Cameron Hansen Gatlan Huntington Brett Mecham Taylor Tanner Juniors: Colton Barnett Jake Fortner TJ Furner Mark Guymon Nevin Jensen Tanner Procarione Derek Tuttle Sophomores: Gage Bell Ty Benson Chance Huntington Kash Jewkes Jordan Lake Quinn Montgomery Kashe Potter Nick Stoddard Junior High Wrestling The Canyon View and San Rafael wrestling teams squared off on Nov. 13 at San Rafael Junior High. A psyched Cougar team clobbered the Bulldogs in the match-up, 63-24. Though neither school had a full team, fans were treated to an exciting exhibition of the county’s upcoming wrestling talent. Results by weight: Jax Gardner wins by forfeit; 81 - Wyatt Oveson wins over Cezly COllard; 87 - McCoy Allred wins by forfeit; 93 - Cameron Allred wins by forfeit; 99 - McKlane Allred wins over Stetson Bennett; 105 - Jeremiah Luke wins over Derrick Dawes; 111 - Colten Collard wins over Hunter Hatch; 118 - Taven Miller wins over Jorgen Allred; 124 - Taylen Nielson wins over Dominic Rondinell; 132 - Blake Noyes wins by forfeit; 140 -Chase Bishop wins by forfeit; 148 - Caleb Woolsey wins by forfeit; 155 - Tyler Dasch wins by forfeit; 165 Kenden Huff wins over Bret Sorensen; and unlimited, Brandon McCandless wins over Kalin Reynolds. Taven Miller pins Jorgen Allred. Stetson Bennett and McKlane Allred. Brandon McCandless pins Kalin Reynolds. Photos by C. Josie Luke |
