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Show Miners win two to advance to state playoffs in football r by Randy llanskat The Park City High School Miner football team had to win two games this past week to eam a spot in the state playoffs. And they did it with a vengeance, racking up 66 points to only eight for the team's two opponents-South Rich and East Carbon. But if the Miners want to go any farther this season they must knock off the top-ranked team in the state in 1A football the South Summit W ildcats. The last meeting between the teams two weeks ago ended in victory for the Wildcats, 18-0. Friday's quarter final game begins at 1 :30 p.m. Friday at Kamas. To qualify for this year's playoffs, the Miners first had to beat region foe South Rich last Friday. And Park City did it with ease, controlling the game and winning 33-8. That game gave them the third place spot in Region 11 and earned them a playoff game with the third place finisher in Region 13. The winner would advance to the quarterfinals. That playoff against East Carbon Tuesday afternoon was a Miner defensive gem which ended 33-0. Coach Bob.Burns of Park City said the two games were very different. The South Rich game was dominated by the Miners with a ball control offense where both backs gained over 100 yards, and a containing defense. , Against East Carbon it was the defense which set the tone, scoring two of the first three Miner touchdowns, one on an interception return, the other on a fumble recovery in the end zone. W ith that kind of early advantage East Carbon got discouraged and was soon out of it. In the South Rich game the Miner offense was very impressive, tallying 427 yards in total offense. Of that, 263 was ground out by the legs of fullback Erich Fouse and halfback Geoff Palmer. Fouse set a school record for rushing attempts with 29. He had 123 yards on the day. Palmer took only 19 tries to gain 140 yards. Craig Griffin picked up 25 yards on an end around, winding up in the end zone for the second Miner score. Also, backup quarterback Victor Clark had 20 yards on one attempt. Second string running back Ron Matthews had 19 yards on five carries. Miner quarterback Jay Worley completed five of 14 passes for 100 yards against South Rich. He had one touchdown and no interceptions. Defensively, Eric Olson nabbed one interception and had a fumble recovery. Tony Bean also nabbed a fumble. The game started out well for Park City as South Rich fumbled on its own 35 on the second play from scrimmage. Six plays later Palmer ran 20 yards for the touchdown and Griffin added the extra point to make it 7-0. Olson's interception started the next Miner scoring drive. The 10 play drive was highlighted by a 25-yard bomb from Worley to split end Greg King. On the next play Griffin scored on the end around: , . 14-0 P.C. On Park City's first possession of the second half, Palmer galloped 50 yards on a counter play, then scored two plays later on a one yard dive: 20-0 P.C. South Rich scored late in the third quarter after recovering a Miner fumble on the three yard line and completed a two-point conversion to make it 20-8, but the Miners were to add two more scores before the game was complete. The first was a 76-yard drive highlighted by a 26-yard pass from W orley to Palmer. Fouse then went in on a three-yard run: 27-8 PC. And to end it up King grabbed a 36-yard TD pass from Worley to cap a 75-yard drive. Final: 33-8 PC. Bums said he was most impressed by the way the Miners controlled the game at South Rich. "We must have run three plays to every one of theirs," he said. "Both backs had excellent days." As if not to be outdone by the offense, the defense took charge early at Orem Tuesday in the East Carbon game. Only about three minutes into the game, Miner defensive back Brian McReynolds picked off an East Carbon pass, and sprinted 45 yards untouched into the end zone. Griffin's kick made it 7-0 very early. Then the game slowed, Burns said, as both teams tried to feel each other out. Finally, midway through the second quarter the Miners mounted a drive, fueled mainly by Fouse running. Worley scored on the quarterback sneak, Griffin added the extra point, and it was 14-0 at the half. The second half also started quickly for Park City East Crbon bobbled the kickofl. -j, strarted the offense in a hole at the o-yard line. On a first down sweep to the right side, the East Carbon back was hit and fumbled the ball into the end zone. There Todd Mather jumped on the pigskin for an easy Miner touchdown. Griffin's boot gave the Miners a 21-0 lead. Burns said after that second defensive score the East Carbon kids got discouraged. Park City added two more scores for good measure. The first was a 25-yard W orley- to-Grif fin bomb for a touchdown: 27-0 P.C. The second string players continued contin-ued the momentum with a drive which ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Ron Mathews. Final: 33-0 P.C. Against East Carbon the stats were again good for the Miners. The offense ground out 285 yards while the defense held East Carbon to a measly 86 yards. Fouse and Palmer each had 48 yards on the day, while Griffin had 21 in two carries. Through the air Worley was four of 10 for 80 yards an one touchdown. He threw one interception. Burns said the Miners were favored in "the East Carbon game, but not by 33 points. He said he was pleased with the team effort. He also appreciated playing on a field with no snow. "That was the first time we had been out of the snow in three weeks," he said. "But it created some problems because the kids were used to the snowy conditions, and were unsure how to react. After Tuesday's game Park City had a little time to prepare for Friday's playoff game with South Summit. Burns said there was talk of scheduling the game on Saturday, but that was scratched because of a confl:ct with the SAT college entrance exams. In the meeting between the Miners and the Wildcats two weeks ago Park City played strong defense, and had many scoring opportunities but simply couldn't convert. Having now seen the Wildcats, Park city may be able to do more offensively. Still, Burns said the Wildcats will be heavy favorites. "They are much bigger than we are, and they have good team speed," he said. Game time is 1 :30 at Kamas. |