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Show Defense pulls down Dugway, gridders gallop to 1 5-6 win by Randy Hanskat The combination of a stingy Miner defense and two strong Miner offensive drives spelled doom for the Dugway Mustangs last Friday evening in Dugway as Park City won its third game of the season, 15-6. The win, the first in league play for the Miners, evened the team's - record at 3-3, 1-1 in region. More than just a victory, the win gave the Miners a shot at finishing at least third in Region 11, a distinction which would earn Park City a playoff berth. Split end Greg King had the game's most exciting play, a 66-yard touchdown reception from quarterback quarter-back Jay Worley early in the forth quarter. That score clinched the game for Park City, which led 7-0 until then. Miner Coach Bob Burns credited the play of his defense with much of the team's success against Dugway. Except for two lapses, one early in the game, the other late in the game, "we played very well for three and a half quarters," he said. He singled out the six interior defensive linemen: Todd Mather, Todd Mullen, Tony Bean, Nate Smith, Bruce Buckner and James Clahane for special praise. Also, Brian McReynolds, starting his first game at defensive back, nabbed an interception; and Ocey Leavitt, starting his second game at defensive back, grabbed his second of the year. Again the Miner offense was tough on the ground. "Both backs were running hard," Burns said. "They picked up the hard yards when we needed them." On the night, Geoff Palmer had 108 yards on 19 carries, while Erich Fouse had 56 on 14 attempts. Miner quarterback Jay Worley was five for eight for 109 yards. He threw one touchdown and one interception. Fullback Fouse attempted at-tempted his second pass of the season, but came up empty. The . Miners gained 273 total yards. ' Dugway also gained good yardage, yard-age, 115 on the ground. 125 in the air, but Burns said much of that was earned on the first and last drives of the game. In between, the Miners shut down the Mustang offense, he said. Dugway opened the game looking strong. The Mustangs took the opening drive and marched to the Park City 18. But then two penalties pushed them back to the 48, the drive stalled, and they were forced to punt. The Park City offense, enthused by the effort of the defense, took the ball at its own 12 and went a-marchin like the Roman Army. Palmer and Fouse were the head gladiators on this drive, charging through the Mustang defensive line and into the secondary. A Fouse one-yard run put the ball in the end zone for Park City late in the first quarter. Kicker Craig Griffin added the extra point for a 7-0 Miner lead. That drive lasted 20 plays, of which 3 were passes; the other 17 were the domain of Fouse and Palmer. Brian McReynolds shut down the next Dugway drive. The Mustangs had galloped down to the Miner 30 after Park City kicked off, but McReynolds picked off a third down pass and returned it to the Miner 42. Park City turned around and marched to the Dugway 25. But there a fourth down pass from Worley to Fouse came up four inches short and the Mustangs took over. The third quarter was a battle, Bums said, as Park City clung to its 7-0 lead. Neither team could manage much offense. Then early in the fourth quarter Park City took the ball at its own 28-yard line. A few plays later the Miners faced a third and 16 to go at their own 34. Worley dropped back to pass, spotted Greg King breaking behind the Dugway defensive backs, and lobbed a perfect strike. King galloped the remaining 35 yards for a 66-yard TD reception. It was his first reception on the season. To that Fouse added the two-point ' conversion on a run around the left to make the score 15-0 Park City. With time running out Dugway mounted an 11-play drive, helped by a 30-yard halfback pass. The Mustangs scored on a one-yard run by their fullback with 1:30 left to go. The conversion was no good, so the score stood at 15-6. That is the way it ended. The press time of this paper precluded coverage of the Union rematch at Miner Field yesterday afternoon. But Burns said he was going into the contest looking at it as strictly a practive game. As at North Sevier, he planned to start 22 players. He thought it would be a good indicator of the Miners' progress this season, comparing this second Union game to the matchup earlier in the season (where the Miners lost 41-0). The next region game will be Thursday, Oct. 18, at Miner Field against the top-ranked South Summit Wildcats. That game is Mother's Day, where the mothers of the Paik City players will wear their sons' away jerseys (the white jerseys) to the game. Game time is 4 p.m. |