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Show Miners take advantage of fumbles to shock North Sevier Wolves 27-1 5 by Randy Hanskat Miner Football Coach Bob Burns went into last Friday night's game with North Sevier looking at it as strictly a practice game. After all, it didn't count in the standings. And the Wolves were ranked either number one or number three in state 1A football, depending on which poll you read. So Burns decided to start 22 players, many of whom had no previous starting experience. The Miners would go in loose, determined deter-mined to have a good time. And the Miners may have had even more fun than they thought they would, as they handed North Sevier its first loss of the season, 27-15. The story of the game was fumble-itis and interception fever on the part of the Wolves. All the Miners' scores came after they had either recovered a fumble or intercepted a stray North Sevier pass. But don't think Park City was turnover free. The Miners also had a bad case.... at first. The Miners fumbled the first punt of the game, and the Wolves recovered. On the next two Miner possessions quarterback Jay Worley threw interceptions, each time on the first play from scrimmage. In the first quarter the Miners had the ball on offense a total of two plays the two interceptions. But amazing as it may sound, they trailed only 7-5 to North Sevier, ranked as a state 1A powerhouse. If the Miner offense in the homecoming game against North Summit belonged to Craig Griffin, it was comfortable in the arms of Erich Fouse and Geoff Palmer against North Sevier. The two combined for 192 yards, the entire Miner offense. Fouse had 91 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. Palmer added 101 yards on 16 carries. In case you wondered where the other Miner score came from, you can thank Victor Clark, who started his first game Friday. Clark had two interceptions and one fumble recovery recov-ery at his linebacker position. One of those interceptions he returned 40 yards for the first Park City touchdown. It was not a game which quarterback Worley wants to remember. re-member. After his inauspicious start, he was called on to throw only two more passes on the afternoon. He ended up 0 for 4 with two interceptions. Total yards in the game were almost dead even: 192 for P.C., 197 for North Sevier. But the Wolves self-destructed so often that they could do little on the scoreboard. The game opened with Park City kicking off to North Sevier. After the Miner defense stopped the Wolves, Park City received the punt at its own 32. The ensuing fumble was recovered by North Sevier. Four plays later the Wolves were in the end zone, making it look easy. The Miners started on offense after the kick at their own 32. Then came the interception that the Wolves returned to the 26, and looked ready for more scoring. But the Miner defense pushed them back to the 42 on four plays, and Park City took over. Interception. Intercep-tion. Wolves take ball back at their own 33. Then it was Victor Clark's time to wake up the Miners. Clark picked off a Wolf pass at the 40 and took it all the way in for the first Miner score. The extra point was blocked, but the-score the-score stood at 7-6 North Sevier, even though the Miners had run only two offensive plays. Burns said the Wolves came out after the kickoff looking determined. They marched from their own 16 to the Park City 38. But on the last play of the quarter Miner defensive back Ocey Leavitt put an end to the drive with an interception which he returned to the North Sevier 36. With that impetus the Miners needed only four plays to get into the end zone. Palmer ate up 30 of the 36 yards by himself, then Fouse chewed through the final six for the TD. Palmer's two point sweep made it 14-7 Park City, early in the second quarter. Still, North Sevier didn't seem to want the ball. After the kickoff, the Wolves fumbled the ball back to P.C. on the first play from scrimmage. The Miners started at the 32. One play for 15 from Fouse, another for 15 from Palmer the Tweedledee and Tweedledum of the Miner backfield. Then Fouse dived in from two yards out for the score. The conversion was blocked again to make the score 20-7 Park City. On the next kickoff the Wolves fumbled yet again, but this time the Miners chose not to make the most of it. Then the half mercifully ended North Sevier's agony. The Wolves' coaches may have hoped the break would cure the team's fumble-itis. It didn't. On the first North Sevier possession of the second half, the Wolves coughed it up again, and Park City recovered at the 33. Fouse took the first handoff from Worley, went straight up the middle, and found himself in the end zone shortly thereafter. 27-7 P.C. North Sevier managed a late score to bring the total to 27-15, but that was all she wrote. Burns said he was proud of the way the kids hustled and didn't get discouraged by the early turnovers. He said that although the Wolves had a much bigger team (they have a noseguard nicknamed the Blob who weighs 260 pounds), the Miners took it to them throughout. He said Fouse and Palmer were dragging tacklers four and five yards in the fourth quarter, gaining crucial first downs when the Miners were trying to kill time. "As a team we worked hard and had a lot of fun," Burns said. The game experience gained by the many new starters could prove valuable later in the season, he noted. Next on the Miner schedule is Dugway in Dugway tomorrow. Burns said Dugway is 1-0 in region play, while Park City is 0-1, making it an important game for both teams. |
