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Show C M C M Y K Y K A9 Sanpete Messenger-Sanpete Messenger/Gunnison Valley Edition Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Badgers defense holds Templars pull away from Cowboys for easy 45-21 win off Mesa to take win By Bob Bahlmann Sports writer MESA, Ariz.—The Snow College Badgers kept their WSFL record unblemished last Saturday by outscoring the Mesa 24-5 in the first half and then hanging on through a tougher second half. When it was all over but the shouting, Mesa had made a game of it, scoring 14 unanswered points in the second half. Still, the Badger defense was good enough to hold on for the win, 24-19. Defensively, Manti’s Saula Taufa had a good game for the Badgers, and Muka Atiga had one of the Badger TDs. But it was backup quarterback Quinn Mecham that stole the show. In his second start as a collegian Mecham showed that he’d learned something from his first game against Air Force Prep. Showing more poise in the pocket, he found open receivers and did a nice job of managing the offense. The frosting on the cake was Mecham’s three running touchdowns. The Badgers used a good mix of running and passing to move the ball throughout the game, as evidenced by their first drive that set up a 6-yard TD run by Mecham. Joe Phillips was perfect in the game on PATs. On its next possession Snow was forced by a pair of tackles on the backfield to punt for the first time this year. The snap was high and punter Chris Van Orden had to kick the errant ball out of the end zone for a Mesa safety. Snow got back on track, driving to the Mesa 16 where Muka Atiga ran through a truck-sized hole from the 16 for Snow’s second TD. Mesa used the pass to get deep in Badger territory. With a first and goal on the Badger 5 it looked like Mesa would cut the lead to five points, but the defense held, forcing Mesa to settle for a field goal. Mesa was moving the ball again when Snow’s Travis Barney broke on the ball to make a diving catch and come up with an interception. Mecham pitched the ball to Tyson Church who handed it to Regan Buck on the reverse. Buck got inside the 10 where Mecham took advantage of a de-cleater block by Kyle Hatch to go in from the 11. A roughing the kicker call kept the Badgers moving on the final drive of the first half, but the Badgers ran out of tim,e and Phillips drilled the 43-yard field goal attempt, giving Snow a 24-5 halftime lead. Mesa kept things interesting in the second half, scoring a pair of TDs while keeping the Badgers out of the end zone, but Snow held on for the five-point win to remain undefeated and in contention for the national championship. This week Badger fans will be able to see their team in action as Snow hosts their first home game of the season against the Phoenix Bears. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Parker’s Floor Coverings 690 W. Wakara Ave, Mt. Pleasant (Next to airport) 462-3965 Vinyl and Carpet By Bob Bahlmann Sports writer KANAB—Good special teams work and a pair of interceptions made victory easier for the Manti Templar football team last Friday as it defeated the Kanab Cowboys 45-21. “We knew they’d be prepared, well coached and come out to play hard,” said Manti Coach Cole Meacham of the Cowboys. Kanab stayed with the Templars in the first half, but couldn’t compete in the second. Manti took the early lead on a 5-yard TD plunge by Chase Stevens and then added a 44-yard run to the end zone by Griffin Aste. Kanab responded with a pair of TD passes in the second quarter to tie the game at 14, but a 10-yard scoring run by Russ Hugentobler gave the Templars a 21-14 lead. Robert Peterson made all three PAT kicks. Kanab responded with a 10-yard pass to tie it up again, but a dive from the one by Aste made it 27-21 at the half. When asked what adjustments the coaches made during halftime, Coach Meacham said, “It was more of an attitude adjustment. They realized we were in a ball game and we’d need to come out and play.” Play they did. Manti added three more scores, a 14-yard run by Callan Jones, a 5-yarder by Devan Fowles and finally a 1-yarder by Nick Tibbs. Manti’s defense kept the Cowboys out of the end zone for the entire second half. Led by Hugentobler with 125 yards and Stevens, who had 103, Manti rushed for 294 yards. The Templars had 66 passing yards for a total of 360 yards in offense. “That’s not a lot of yards for seven touchdowns,” said Meacham. He credits his secondary and special teams for giving them good field position throughout the game. Stevens and Nick Brown had interceptions and Jones had 97 kick return yards. This week the Templars will host the hard-hitting Millard Eagles. Millard was a preseason top five pick, but three straight losses have dropped them out of the rankings. Don’t let their record fool you. “They’ve played three solid 3A teams,” said Meacham. “If they learn from that and come in with more determination they’ll be tough.” Millard has a big and experienced line that will test the younger Templars in the trenches, but Meacham isn’t worried. “I’m so pleased with our line,” he said. “As we go through the year I think they’ll be able to play with anybody.” Snow player gets Salazar Scholarship for improved athletic performance By Jacob Thomas Staff writer EPHRAIM—Snow College football player Weston Sampson has been awarded the Tim Salazar Opportunity Scholarship for improved athletic performance. The award is worth $2,348 over two semesters. Each year, one player on Snow’s football team is awarded a scholarship based on his improved ability to contribute to the team. Sampson, a third-year special teams and defensive player, red-shirted his first season but has since earned a starting position. Head football coach Steve Coburn expects that Sampson will “be a big performer defen- sively” when the regular season starts. The private scholarship comes from a donation by Snow College alumnus Tim Salazar, who walked onto the football squad as a special teams player several years ago. Salazar played sparingly in the beginning, but after impressing the coaches earned a starting position and an unexpected scholarship. Now Salazar hopes to afford the same opportunity to a Badger athlete each year. Snow Athletic Director Kevin White says that the scholarship is an encouragement to players who were not initially expected for high performance, but with tenacity have made an impression on the Wes Sampson field. “It shows [the players] to not ever give up,” White said. By accepting the scholarship, Sampson has agreed to play football for Snow College for the 2008-09 year. REMNANT SALE • Cabinets & Countertops Save up to 30% • We Bind Carpets • Carpet, Vinyl, Hardwood, Laminate, Tile, Area Rugs The 1870 cabin that Craig Rasmussen, chairman of Ephraim’s new Historic Committee, tried unsuccessfully to move to his home lot. He is waiting for Barclay Mechanical to bring in a crane from Salt Lake City to complete the job. The 2008 Sanpete County Ephraim historic committee chair Telephone sets example with cabin restoration wasn’t able to move the cabin with older furniture that fits the By Ben Fox Directory has now with the equipment available to feel of the cabin. Staff writer him. He will have a plaque gone to press, EPHRAIM—The chairHe is waiting until a crane made detailing the history of man of Ephraim’s new Historic owned by Barclay Mechanical the cabin, he says, and offer and should be Committee is setting a personal of Manti, which is currently tours during special events in example of historic preserva- being used in Salt Lake City, Ephraim. distributed early tion by working to restore and returns to the county in Novem- Rasmussen says he enjoys relocate a log cabin built in the ber. the workmanship of old build1870s. An old outhouse is located ers and what they did with October. Craig Rasmussen, who on the same property as the what they had to work with. Look for a improved community section, reverse directory, expanded yellow pages, and accurate, easy-to-read white pages. The only phone directory produced locally, by the Sanpete Messenger and CentraCom Interactive! retired a couple of years ago as principal of Sanpete Academy, says his goal of preserving the city’s historic treasures is “a deeply held belief, not a passing fancy.” The cabin he’s working on has been photographed for various Sanpete County travel promotion brochures and cited as an example of pioneer architecture. It is currently located on private property at 360 S. 400 East. The owners want to use the property for other purposes and have been looking for someone interested in moving the cabin. Rasmussen agreed to move it to his own property west of Main Street. But he ran into obstacles. In three attempts, he cabin, and Rasmussen is hoping to move that building, too, if it can survive a move. “It’s rather fragile, and it’s one of those things you need to be cautious with because you don’t want to fall in the pit” under the structure, Rasmussen said. The old cabin measures 17 feet by 15 feet. Originally, it had a single room with an attic that was accessible by an exterior staircase. A kitchen was later added, but Rasmussen has torn down the addition to return the cabin to its original configuration. Rasmussen says he plans to keep the small cabin as historically intact as possible. He plans to make it into a guesthouse, including furnishing it “I can’t do any better with all the modern power tools at my disposal,” he says. He has installed braces on the interior of the building and tied the exterior logs together in preparation for the move. Rasmussen tried to move the cabin using a type of forklift able to lift 10,000 pounds. He even tried to move just the roof, and then the base. “The cabin is just too heavy,” he said. “I couldn’t lift it an inch with the equipment I currently have.” He says the big Barclay Mechanical crane should do the trick. “You know what, I have had so many disappointments that it has become almost haunting,” Rasmussen said. C M C M Y K Y K |