American Fork Football

Timpanogos Sports Weekly
September 1, 2009

Publisher's Message

For this week's issue, we look at two American Fork wins on Aug. 28 that have given much pride to the Cavemen and Cavewomen's athletic programs. We also examine the Lehi Pioneers' hoping out to a 3-0 Region Seven record in girls'. We also cover four accounts of the American Fork Grass Relays, held Aug. 29, at American Fork High. Let's get to those stories.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

deanmemmott@hotmail.com

AF Cavekickers Post First Win At Expense of Copper Hills Grizzlies

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Awesome American Fork Cavewomen finally picked up a win in girls' soccer last week when they took down the Copper Hills Grizzlies, AKA the Cubbies, in an Aug. 28 game in West Jordan.

American Fork took a 3-0 lead during the first half of the game. Laini Kalbumbi scored the game's first two goals. Kalumbi scored her first goal on an assist from McKenzie Empey. Kalumbi's second goal occurred when a cross of hers got accidently deflected by a Grizzly into the goal net. Shortly before the end of the first half, Megan Hendricks scored the third Cavewowman goal.

In holding American Fork scoreless in the second half, the Grizzlies managed to claw their way back into the action through scoring two goals. However, a tough Cavewoman defense kept Copper Hills from scoring a tying run.

The victory came in the aftermath of two Region Two losses that American Fork had suffered at the hands of the Alta Hawks, AKA the Tweeties, and the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings, who currently own a 5-1 season record.

Jack of All Trades and Interceptor Enable AF Cavegridders To Post Home Win Against Riverton Silverpups Aug. 28
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

Both blessed with incredible quickness, two football players put their talents together Aug. 28 to help the Awesome American Fork Cavemen to win 34-27 at home against the Riverton Silverwolves, AKA the Silverpups, in a non-league game.

While Josh Brown used his quickness to get away with two key interceptions in the game, Cade Zarboc implimented his speediness to show why he's the Cavemen's Jack of All Trades. Zarboc's accumulated much yardage in single carries, and he punted long distances, hurting the Silverpups' cause at very points in the game.

As the game opened with Caveman Ethan Wright catching a kickoff in the American Fork end zone, Caveman fans had high optimism that their team would be able to avert the horrible fate that the Silverpups had dealt to the Lehi Pioneers the week before. In the Aug. 21 game at Riverton, the Silverpups ripped Lehi apart 44-0.

"Zarboc and [Kaiden] Worthington ran really for us in the early first half," said American Fork Coach Davis Knight. "Also, Zarboc punted really deep for us in the second half. His punting proved crucial, especially when we couldn't do much offensively in the third period. Worthington was a good counterpunch to Zarboc."

Early in the first half, American Fork quickly proved that it was not going to be another Lehi. After tossing an unsuccessful pass, quarterback Chase Hansen, a sophomore, connected a 64-yard pass to Kaiden Worthington, putting the Cavemen inside the Riverton 20. A seven-yard carry by Zarboc positioned American Fork inside the 10-yard zone. Taking a handoff from Hansen, Worthington swerved around to the left and raced eight yards for a touchdown at 9:15. Tyler "Comrade" Bahoravitch kicked an extra point.

The first Riverton march turned out to be a disappointment for the Silverpups. A key penalty knocked them back to their 17-yard line, and they had to punt before they could pick up a first down. With Worthington recovering the ball during a penalty called against Riverton, the Cavemen commenced their second successful march of the night. A six-yard carry by Wright sparked the attack. With Hansen guiding the Cavemen to the Riverton 47-yard line, Zarboc produced a run that thrilled American Fork fans and shocked Silverpup supporters to pieces. At 3:30, Zarboc caught a short pass from Hansen and raced 46 yards to the Riverton 1-yard line. On the next play, Zarboc slipped his way through a wall of Riverton linemen to score the second American Fork touchdown. Keeping Bahoravitch from scoring an extra point brought the Silverpups little comfort. They needed a touchdown immediately in order to be able to stay in the game.

Late in the first quarter, Riverton quarterback Eric Thoreson passed 12 yards to tight end Jacob Snow. Snow's catch gave the Silverpups the momentum they needed to keep the game a tight affair. They moved the ball into the Caveman 10 early in the second period. Taking a handoff from Thoreson, running back Faaitua Laei zipped seven yards into the end during 10:40. Matt Sullivan kicked an extra point that offered the Silverpups a chance for at least tying the game during their next possession.

With Wright returning a kickoff 10 yards to the Caveman 15, Hansen got a strong drive going -- until he threw an interception to Tyrone "Powers" Sagapolutele. That Riverton defensive back returned the ball to the Silverwolf 47-yard line. Runs by Taylor Evans and Dillon Draper moved the Silverpups to the Caveman 35-yard line. American Fork stopped Riverton cold there.

Caveman fullback Matt Healey picked up a first down at the American Fork 44-yard during a key nine-yard carry. On the next play, Zarboc took a handoff from Hansen and eluded Riverton defenders as he raced 56 yards into the end zone during 3:48. Bahoravitch kicked in an extra point, improving American Fork's lead at 20-7.

The American Forkers hurt themselves with a 15-yard penalty. It put the Silverwolves in a strong position. Long runs by Draper brought Riverton to the Caveman 5-yard line. Wide receiver Jordan Bennett caught a five-yard pass from Thoreson, and a Sullivan extra-point kick chipped the American Fork lead to 20-14, but that PAT didn't not end the first half's scoring. Zarboc returned a kickoff to the Riverton 28-yard line. Called against Riverton, a holding penalty put the Cavemen inside the Riverton 10-yard zone. On a second-down play, Hansen passed to Zarboc for a touchdown. A Bahoravitch extra-point kick finally finished first-half scoring.

"We didn't punt at all in the first half," said American Fork Coach Davis Knight. "In the third period, they didn't let us score at all. They blocked well against us. In the third period, their timing at the line of scrimmage was great. They did well in doing the wiggle and screen passes against us. That made me nervous."

In the third period, Riverton had running back Jordan Zymola do most of the rushing for the Silverpups. Zymola's long carries put Riverton at the Caveman 5-yard line mdway through the quarter. At 7:33, Draper took a handoff from Thoreson and raced the ball into the end zone. Hansen spoiled the Silverwolves' successful march by deflecting a pass during a try for a two-point conversion.

Riverton quickly iced the Cavemen's attempt to recover from the big slash to the point spread. Despite long carries by Worthington to the Caveman 43-yarrd line, the Riverton defense compelled the Cavemen to punt for the first time in the game. Zarboc punted to the Riverton 29-yard line, and Snow caught an 18-yard pass. Riverton marched clear to the Caveman 10-yard line in the third quarter's closing two minutes. An awesome show of Caveman defense stopped the Silverwolves there. During a third-down play, lineback Quyton Allsup's sacking Hansen at the Caveman 6-yard line. Riverton prevented American Fork from recovering from the sack.

After Zarboc had punted to the Riverton 47-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter, Draper carried the ball to the Caveman 15-yard through three straight plays. Just as a Riverton touchdown seemed certain, Brown picked off a Thoreson, screen pass and sped 85 yards for a touchdown.

"I'll take those interceptions anytime," said Knight. "By intercepting Riverton's screen passes, Brown showed how well he had learned to read the keys whenever he was out on the field. Brown has been taught to know where to go to get his picks."

After Bahoravitch had kicked in an extra point, the Silverwolves came close to recovering from Brown's first interception. As soon as they had marched to the Caveman 45-yard line, Thoreson threw a touchdown pass to Zymola. However, a Silverwolf penalty canceled that play out. The damage from the penalty grew for Riverton when Caveman Ryker Mathews nailed Zymola for a 10-yard loss. Riverton managed to recover, though, through Thoreson's firing a 22-yard pass that moved the Silverpups into the Caveman 21-yard line. On the next play, Thoreson passed to Skyler Fullmer for a touchdown, which Sullivan frosted with an extra-point kick.

American Fork had sophomore Ryan Pitcher quarterback its offense in the fourth quarter. Though Worthington and Zarboc gained yardage from the quarterback's handoffs, Riverton didn't let Pitcher reap the same kind of success that Hansen managed to have in the game.

Riverton received a final chance of forcing the game into overtime when Zarboc punted to the Silverwolf 22-yard line in the last two minutes. That opportunity vanished abruptly when Brown intercepted a screen pass and raced clear to the Riverton 8-yard line. Through Pitcher's leadership, the Cavemen ran down the clock to put the game away.

Lehi Shocks Westlake 6-0 in Girls' Soccer Aug. 27
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

In their firstever showdown in girls' soccer at Lehi Aug. 27, the Lehi Pioneers washed away the Westlake Thunder, AKA the Shockers, 6-0. The game improved Lehi's Region Seven record at 3-0.

In the first half, Lehi took a 2-0 lead through shots kicked by Makelle Yates and Tosha Price. The Pioneers did not rest on their lead. They extended it in the second half.

Jada Muse opened Lehi's second-half scoring through booting a shot from inside the Shockers' penalty. Kyleigh Royall scored the next three Pioneer goals on short shots. Royall's hat trick epitomized what kind of day Lehi had against the Shockers, who were staffed with mostly inexperienced players.

"We wen into the game emotionally exhausted after having won 3-0 over Timpanogos two days ago," admitted Lehi Coach Brett Bergholm. "With Westlake having mostly young players, who had played only recreational soccer, we had a hard time getting up for the game in the first half. We played too casual during it. In the second half, we were able to score on more set pieces and do a better job in putting the ball away."

While Lehi goalie Briar Sands kept the Shockers from scoring in the game, Westlake did make an effort to give the Pioneers some competition. Shockers Tess Brightburg and Forrest Astill guided several deep Shocker peneterations of Lehi's territory while sweeper Kassa Guerra did beat the Pioneers to the ball on various occasions. Having played for the Hillcrest Huskies, AKA the Puppies, goal Kyla Robb put on a performance that impressed Bergholm. He admitted, "Their goalie came up with a lot of saves that kept the game from being way more ugly for them than it was."

AF Cavemen Win Varsity Boys' Title at AF Grass Relays Aug. 28
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Awesome American Fork Cavemen won the varsity boys' division of the 13th Annual American Fork Grass Relays through posting the time of 53:35. The Awesome American Fork Cavewomen finished third in the varsity girls' portion of the annual meet.

Its format calls for each member of a five-member team to carry a baton twice around a mile-long course behind the American Fork High School.

American Fork boys' coach Timo Mostert said, "This only the second time we have won this. I didn't know that we had won it until after the race was over. We have a lot of work to do in the weeks to come. Four of our region's schools finished in the top five in the varsity boys' division."

In addition to American Fork, the other Region Two teams that finished in the top five were the Timpanogos Timberwolves, AKA the T-Pups, the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings, and the Hillcrest Huskies, alias the Puppies.

Timpanogos finished second (54:32), Davis third (55:09), Pleasant Grove fourth (55:42), and Hillcrest fifth (55:41).

All four of the varsity Cavemen's relay team finished among the race's top 15 baton carriers. Robby Lee took second, Austin West fourth, Clayton Young fifth, and Corey Jackson 14th. The fifth Caveman on the team was Jeff Nelson.

While American Fork took third in the varsity girls' division, it still had two representatives among the division's top 15 baton carriers. For the Cavewomen, Jamie Lee took second and Morgan Warner seventh.

American Fork Coach Bruno Hunziker said, "Over all, they got a lot to do to become really competitive, even though they are the second-rank, girls' 5-A team. They came within 1:40 of Davis, which won today. We're a veteran team with a lot young talent participating in the program. Morgan Warner is only a freshman, and she showed what she could do today. Jamie Lee was second over all today. Last year, she was third or fourth. She really pushed it today."


PG Boys Finish Fourth at AF Grass Relays
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

By posting a time of 55:42, the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings finished fourth in the varsity boys' division of the 13th Annual American Fork Grass Relays, held Aug. 28 behind American Fork High School.

The top five runners on the Vikings' boys and girls' teams participated in the varsity races, which involved racers each taking a turn at carrying a baton twice around a mile-long course.

The members of the boys' varsity team included Darren Gleason, Evan Argyle, Carson Fugal, Hyrum Gurr, and Haven Shelton. Two Vikings ran fast enough to end up among the race's top 15 baton carriers. Gleason took 11th and Argyle 13th.

Though the Vikings didn't finish among the top five schools in the varsity girls' division, they still had a representative among the race's top 15 finishers. Julie Mazeika finished sixth among those 15 runners.

The other varsity girls in the race included Devin Guinn, Alicia Henninger, Tabby Boreland, and Emily Eldredge.

LP Harrier Wins First in Varsity Boys' Division at American Fork Grass Relays
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

Although the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, didn't finish among the top five teams in the 13th Annual American Fork Grass Relays' varsity boys and girls' divisions, they still had something to be proud about.

One of the Knights' fastest male distance runners won the varsity boys' division at the Aug. 28 meet. Steve Morrin finished first among the division's fastest 15 baton carriers in the race, which involved a racer running twice around a two-mile course.

The other members of his relay team included Zach Sabin, Spencer Hughes, Dave Warner, and Joe Wales.

Lehi Harriers Show Potential at AF Grass Relays
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

Although the Lehi Pioneers didn't row home with a trophy from the 13th Annual American Fork Grasss Relays, their varsity boys' team still used the meet as a chance to create unity among its members.

The Pioneer relay team consisted of Dallen Ruff, Rex Measom, Preston Yardley, Cody Winn, and Cody Peterson. Each of them took a turn at carrying a baton twice around a one-mile course behind American Fork High School.

The Pioneers didn't have a varsity girls' relay team compete at the meet. Lehi Coach Matt Rowe had his girls run the meet's junior varsity races.

Preseason Girls Soccer

Timp Sports Weekly
August 25, 2009

Publisher's Message

Last week marked the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year. With it had come another fall of high school autumn sports. This week's issue will look at three high school girls' soccer games played in northern Utah County. One of them was between the American Fork Cavewomen and the Bountiful Braves, AKA Bravettes. The other two games pitted the Lehi Pioneers against the Orem Tigers, AKA the Tiggers, and the Wasatch Wasps, AKA the Bugs. We will also look at an easy about behaving responsibly while blogging. Let's get to the stories of those games and the essay.

Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com

AF Cavekickers' Preseason Schedule Ends With Home Loss to Bountiful Aug. 18
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Awesome American Fork Cavewomen finished their preseason girls' soccer schedule with a home loss to the Bountiful Braves, AKA the Bravettes, Aug. 18. The Bravettes blanked American Fork 3-0.

American Fork Coach Becca Murdock said, "It could have been worse for us, because Bountiful is one of the best teams in 4-A. They were beating us a lot on 50-50 balls, and we were timid on offense. We played good enough defense to be able to hold them to 1-0 at the half. They didn't score their last two goals until the final 10 minutes of the game. We count ourselves fortunate that the final score turned out to be 3-0.

Throughout the first half, Cavewoman goalie Makenzie Empey held up well under the immense pressure that the Bravettes put upon her. Bountiful stayed on the offensive for most the game.

Amy Krommenhoek, Laini Kalumbi, Maria Fuller, and Kylee Dibb led the few Cavewoman attacks deep into Bountiful territory. A sophomore, Bravette goalie Carly Longhurst kept the Cavemen from slipping any of their three shots past her.

Bailey Furmanski and Mary Leloudis guided concentrated Bountiful attacks deep into the American Fork center. Midway through the first half, Leloudis kicked in the first Brave goal. It motivated the Bountiful players to stay on the offensive for most of the first half.

Early in the second half, a Brave foul canceled out a successful shot kicked in by Jessica Noakes. The cancellation did nothing, though, to spur the Cavewomen on to fight more aggressively to grab the offensive from the Braves.

American Fork showed a tenacity, though, to hold up well under much stress from an opposing team's offensive efforts. Dibb and McKell Palmer frequently cleared the ball out of American Fork's penalty box before the Braves could kick in a goal.

The Cavewomen received a good opportunity for tying the game midway through the second half when Fox made an indirect kick over the heads of a wall of Bountiful players. However, Longhurst's quickness kept the Cavewomen from tying the game.

In the final five minutes, American Fork's defensive game finally weakened. Kate Kuykendall scored the second Bountiful goal from inside the penalty box. Felicia Sturgeon scored the third goal on a breakaway play.

Lehi Opens League Plays With 2-0 Win at Home over Orem
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Lehi Pioneers opened their girls' soccer league season with a 2-0 win at home against the Orem Tigers, AKA the Tiggers.

The Pioneers and Tiggers battled to a 0-0 tie in the first half. Two minutes into the second half, however, Aliese Burningham scored the first goal. Lehi's lead stayed at 1-0 until the final 12 minutes when Jessica Vanderhoef scored the final goal to flood away the Tiggers' attempt to bounce back to force the game into overtime.

Lehi Coach Brett Bergholm said, "Offensively, Orem is one of the best teams in 4-A. To be able to shut them out says something about us after what we've had to do in working on our communication and cooperation on the field. Problems with those things were what cost us in our games against Bingham and Judge. Makalle Yates and Briar Sands came up with great defensive efforts for us. Makalle did exceptionally well at sweeper while Sands held up well as our goalie.

"Emily Fox and Dylan Downs peformed really well on the offense for us. Their efforts helped us get those two goals. Thanks to them, Aliese was about to score our first goal on an assist from Tosha Price, and Kyleigh Royall made a big pass to Jessica Vanderhoef for the goal that put the game away for us in the final 12 minutes.

"Our game here against Wasatch this Saturday promises to be a good one. Wasatch always has a good girls' soccer program."

Lehi Steps On Wasatch Wasps 6-1 In Non-League Girls' Soccer Game Aug. 22
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

In their final non-league girls' soccer game for this season, the Lehi Pioneers stepped on the Wasps, AKA the Bugs, 6-1 at home Aug. 22.

Lehi Coach Brett Bergholm said, "This was a great way to finish our preseason schedule. Usually, Wasatch has been able to play us closer games. Our timing on the field allowed us to catch them off balance. We managed to finish our shots much better today than we did against Judge and Bingham recently. We missed a lot of key shots in those two games. Also, our timing in those games was sloppy. It was great, though, that we learned a lot from them, so we were able to play much better this morning against Wasatch."

The Wasatch game was supposed to have have been played at the Real Salt Lake's Sandy stadium. However, the game got moved to the Pioneers' soccer field. This gave the Pioneers a chance to carry on the momentum, which they had gained from their 2-0 win over the Orem Tigers, AKA the Tiggers two days before.

In flooding away the Heber City-based team Aug. 22, Lehi had no trouble that it had learned from its losses from the Bingham Miners, AKA the Pickers and the Judge Memorial Bulldogs, AKA the Bulldoggies.

Lehi didn't waste no time in building up a 4-0 lead over Wasatch in the Aug. 22 game. Ten minutes into the game, Alex May scored the game's first goal to spur the Pioneers into hopping all over the Wasps.

Tristen Lowe attempted to spark the Wasps into buzzing back into the game before Lehi could swamp them with a big lead. Lowe's efforts were not to be. During the next 20 minutes of the first half, Kyleigh Royall scores two fo Lehi's next three goals. Jada Muse kicked a goal to help Lehi secure a 4-0 lead.

Royall showed in the second half that she was not willing to be satisfied with her first-half performance. When the Wasps drew a foul in midway through the second period, she scored her a goal on a penalty kick.

Lehi's Briar Sands kept the Wasps from scoring anywhere outside the penalty box during the whiole game. However, the Pioneers drew a foul late in the game. This allowed the Wasps to get onto the scoreboard finally. Wasp Annie Fitzgerald scored the a Wasatch goal on a penalty kick. It was the only shot that marred Sands' perfect performance as a goalie.

In response to that Wasp shot, Royall dribbled by Wasatch sweeper Natalie Pennington and Sierra Wardle to score a goal for Lehi. Royall led the Pioneers with four goals.

Bergholm said, "The biggest game for us so far this year will be at Timpanogos."

The Pioneers' next home game will be against the Westlake Thunder, a spinoff of Lehi.

Publisher's Column

Blogosphere is No Place for Defaming People
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

I watched a recent broadcast of Good Morning America talk about a supermodel forcing Blogspot.com reveal in court the identity of a blogger who had defamed her. Watching that story made me think about the importance of bloggers agreeing to a promise that when they sign up to be members of Blogspot.com they will not defame anyone.

When I created Timpwriter.Blogspot.com, I did say some bad things about the Provo (Utah) Daily Herald. However, those things were criticisms of that newspaper's disregarding the importance of sports sections of weekly newspapers and the Daily Herald's decision to do away with the weeklies which norther Utah County residents had read for many years. However, never did I write defamatory things about people who work at the Daily Herald. While there are folks employed there there I still don't like, I am not going to say bad things about any of them on this website. This blog is still strictly for sports news for northern Utah County, Utah, readers. That will always be the case.

When people write defamatory things on the Internet, they create all sorts of legal problems for themselves and the owners of Internet services like Blogspot.com. If a person is going to write defamatory things about folks he doesn't like, he put those things in a diary and then destroy it when he is of more clear mind.

The Internet is no place to publish vicious things a person feel about somebody. A blogger must not present to the world his hated for anyone. It must stay private. Making it public presents too many legal problems.

Cross Country

Timp Sports Weekly
August 18, 2009

Publisher's Message

With the high school autumn sports season now unfolding this week, we'll look at a preview of the upcoming American Fork Cavemen's cross country season. We'll also catch some girls' soccer action. Let's get to those stories.

Dean Von Memmott
Publisher

AF Harriers To Begin Season With Highly Experienced Squads
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The American Fork Cavemen and Cavewomen's cross country teams are stacked with veterans this year, according to their head coach Bruno Hunizker.

He said, "We have among our returning girls Alexis Laws, who took 10th at state last year. She was one of our outstanding seniors. Other senior girls to watch out for are Dani West and Lakyn Lux. We have some really great underclassmen on the girls' team including ninth-grader Morgan Warner, Jamie Lee, and Kaysa Anghofter.

"As an eighth-grader last year, Morgan won the women's portion of the Caveman Football 5-K. This year, she took third in it. Dani West won the women's division this year.

"So far, the makeup of this year's varsity girls' team include West, Lux, Warner, Lee, Anghofter, Laws, and Erminia Martinez."

"We have the largest boys' team in recent years," said Timo Mostert, the Caveman boys' coach. "We had 20 boys come out for our cross country camp. Among the ones we'll have back this year are Jeff Nelson, brian Vawdry, Derek Day, Chris Boone, Brady Pulsipher, Mackay Morris, Mike Richards, Robbie Lee, and Jake Healey.

"Robbie's our No. 1 runner so far. He won the men's division at last Saturday's Caveman Football 5-K.

"Our guys are going to start their season at the Judge Memorial Invitational Aug. 22 at the Cottonwood Complex, which will be the course run for our region meet this year."

American Fork will be competing in Region 2, a cross-county league. Among the Region 2 schools the Caveharriers will be competing against are Brighton, Hillcrest, Riverton, Bingham, Pleasant Grove, and Lone Peak.

AF Cavekickers Drop Preseason Opener to Mountain View T-Bears In Overtime
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The American Fork Cavewomen opened their preseason girls' soccer campaign with an heartbreaking loss Aug. 11. In an overtime thriller that afternoon, the Mountain View Bruins, AKA the Teddy Bears , defeated American Fork 3-2.

American Fork Coach Becca Murdock said, "We have a lot of defenders on this team. They all hustled on defense. Four of those girls can also do very well as forwards. They did really well on offense today. We have a really young team, and they're trying to make up for their youth much desire.

"Laini Kalumbi did really well on offense. She scored a goal that forced the game into overtime. She's one of our most experienced players back this year."

The game went down as a tight affair from the opening kickoff to the game-ending goal. Stefani Solorazano and Lexi Robison led strong attacks down the center for the Bruins. Those Teddy Bears' efforts paid off in the middle of the first period.

From the top of the American Fork penalty box, Bruin McKell Salmon kicked in a shot past goalie Mackenzie Empey. The Teddy Bears' 1-0 lead could not survive the first period.

Kalumbi, Amy Krommenhoek, Maria Fuller, and Kylie Dibb guided Cavewoman efforts to have the period end in at least a tie. The Cavewomen encountered stubborn resistance from Bruin goalie Sherrie Riggs and sweeper Heather Petersen. Fifteen minutes before halftime, though, Cami Fox scored a tying goal from inside the Bruin penalty box. Riggs prevented Cavewoman attempts to break the 1-1 deadlock.

Early in the second half, Peterson scored a tie-breaking goal. It didn't flatten the Cavewomen's spirit. Led by Kalumbi, they kept attacking Mountain View's center. Within several minutes after Peterson's goal, Kalumbi tied the score at two.

Usually in preseason game, play does not spill into overtime. However, Murdock didn't want her Cavewomen taking home a tie. So she and Mountain View's coach agreed to have the game to have an overtime period.

American Fork staged frequent attacks on the Bruin penalty box during the overtime phase. However, Mountain View's defense proved to be too strong to snap under the stress of overtime.

Eight minutes into overtime, Solorazano scored the game-ending goal.

Ferocious PG Vikekickers Open Girls' Soccer Season With 4-0 Win Over Provo Bullpuppies
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings didn't let a lightning storm dampen their hopes for beginning their 2009 girls' soccer season with a win Aug. 13. With a new head coach at the helm, they won 4-0 at home against the Provo Bulldogs, AKA the Bullpuppies.

For a little while, the nighttime game looked as though it would not be played at all. A passing lightning storm pushed back the game's starting time by 15 minutes. Once it did finally get underway, the Vikings proceeded to demonstrate that they were not like the Pleasant Grove girl soccer teams of recent years: squads vexed with a problem of being unable to maintain a strong performance throughout 90 game minutes.

Pleasant Grove's new first-string goalie, Alicia Daniels, kept the Bulldogs from sneaking any of their three shots past her. Led by Myca Rouse and Mason Magelby, Provo kept looking for spots from where it could kick the ball into the goal net. Vikings Megan Palmer, Holly Green, and Annie Atwood frequently came up with steals that denied the Bulldogs chances for launching shots.

The Vikings experienced their own share of frustration of scoring goals. Bulldog goalie Allison Barnes kept fending off Pleasant Grove attacks led by Lydia Andersen, Amy Castleberry, Kourtney Dinehart, and Lauren Andersen. The Vikings did not let the first half end in a scoreless tie.

Dribbling within 30 yards of the Provo goal line, Castleberry launched an angle shot five minutes before halftime. Green and Palmer kept the Vikings on the offensive after the successful shot. Rouse frequently stole from Palmer to keep the Viking lead stuck 1-0 at halftime.

Six minutes into the second half, Viking Marci Johnson went on a breakaway play and scored the second goal. The score then stayed at 2-0 until the final 20 minutes when Dinehart came up with two plays that knocked Provo out of the game.

Dinehart said, "I scored my first goal on an 18-yard chip shot. For my second goal, I beat it a couple of players, including the goalie, to kick the ball into the net."

Pleasant Grove's new head coach, Alexis McMurdie said, "In the Provo game, we pulled her out and talked to her. She said she had a dream about her not playing any more soccer after tonight's game. She said she wanted to play it hard as if it were going to be her last game ever. She did really good in those final 20 minutes of the game. Those two goals she made were pretty ones."

Ferocious PG Vikings Silence Westlake Thunder 3-0 in Girls' Soccer Aug. 15
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings improved their preseason girls' soccer record at 2-0 by posting a 3-0 win at home Aug. 15 at the Westlake Thunder, AKA the Shockers.

That was the best start for a Pleasant Grove girls' soccer team in the past three years. Pleasant Grove's ability to put together two straight wins gave an early impression that the Vikings' new head coach, Alexis McMurdie, would be able to guide them to their first appearance in post-season play this October. Pleasant Grove had not been able to start with a 2-0 record since the middle of this decade.

Unlike the Provo game two days before, scoring occurred early in the Westlake contest. Viking Amy Castleberry dribbled into the Shockers' penalty box and scored the first goal. Attempts by Westlake goalie Kayla Robb to hold the Viking lead to 1-0 proved to be in vain. Twenty minutes into the game, Viking Lauren Andersen received a corner kick, and she booted the ball into the net before Robb could get in her way.

Having played goalie for the Hillcrest Huskies, AKA the Puppies, Robb didn't let the Vikings go on a scoring spree during the last 20 minutes of the opening period. This gave teammates Heather Fuhr, Kendy Redd, Jessica Green, and Forrest Astill chances to direct Westlake drives deep into Viking territory. However, the Shockers encountered strong resistance from the Pleasant Grove defense, captained by goalie Alicia Daniels.

In the early second half, Pleasant Grove received several chances to score goals on indirect kicks from Britney Johnson. The Shockers blocked those kicks as thick, gray clouds passed overhead, causing a rainstorm to erupt.

With bursts of thunder occurring frequently, the Vikings and Shockers battled fiercely for the ball while the rainstorm became so heavy that Viking Stadium's field came. The crackling of distant lightning bolts caused many fans to wonder whether the game would be stopped before the expiration of its official time period. The referee let the action continue of the Vikings' AstroTurf field.

From 20 yards out, Kourtney Dinehart scored the third Viking goal. As far as Westlake was concerned, though, the contest had not yet been put away. Westlake's Brook Brost frequently cleared the ball out of the penalty box, much to the consternation of the Andersen sisters and Castleberry.

Late in the contest, Redd, for instance, came out the winner in a battle with Palmer for a drop kick. Upon getting it, Redd passed to Tess Brightenburg, only to see Viking Chunnie Johnson steal the ball.

Vikings' ability to keep staying on the offensive chewed up much time, erasing Westlake's chances for scoring before the final whistle.

With the Vikings now enjoying their first 2-0 start in years, their new head coach Alexis McMurdie said, "This year is an all new program for the girls. We have an entirely new coaching staff."

Her assistants this year are Jose Marzan and his daughter, Felicia, who had played soccer for both the Vikings and Mountain View Bruins, AKA the Teddy Bears.

"I feel these girls have more confidence now than they have in recent years. They have the hardest region to play. So they need to be mentally, emotionally, and physically prepared to play in it. We're teaching the girls to believe in themselves. Though I am new as head coach, the girls already know me. I was their jayvee coach when Erik Bayless ran this program. We have opened up the varsity team. Those who work really hard at practice will get a chance to dress varsity. We want to promote competition for spots on the varsity team, so we can harvest the talent that the girls have brought to the program," McMurdie said.

In looking at his players' performance during the past two games, Westlake Coach Adam Brown said, "I think they need to be a little more competitive for 50-50 balls and work harder on their transition games. They also must work harder on trusting each other's confindence. We're a young team; we have fifth ninth-graders on varsity. So we have a lot to work with during these next few years."

AF Cavegridders Hold Annual Red-White Scrimmage
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The American Fork Cavemen held their annual Red-White football game at American Fork High Aug. 15. The scrimmage gave the Cavemen an opportunity to see what weaknesses they needed to fix before their Aug. 21 preseason opener against the Cedar City Redmen, AKA the Red Studs.

American Fork Coach Davis Knight, "On our defense, we made too many mistakes in procedure penalties. That has to be ironed out during our practices for Cedar City. I am pleased with how our two varsity quarterbacks did tonight. They are Ryan Pitcher and Chase Hansen."

Pitcher made a name for himself in the American Fork baseball program this year. Pitcher played infielder for the Cavemen and a Colt League team. This past summer, he came up with some big extra-base hits.

A sophomore, Hansen, meanwhile, comes from a family with deep ties to American Fork athletic. His dad and five uncles played football for American Fork. Chase's older sister, Alex, meanwhile, ran for the Cavewomen's cross country team. Chase Hansen himself made the winning touchdown in the Cavemen's come-from-behind win over the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, in the Cougar Conference championship game last year.

"We're going to be using both quarterbacks in the Cedar City game," said Knight.

The quarterbacks got to show what they had learned in participating in summer leagues that the Cavemen had played this year. At the Aug. 15 scrimmage, they hurled long passes to Cade Worthington, Cade Zakras, and Scott Newman. Newman and Hansen each made touchdowns in the scrimmage. The Red team defeated the Whites 26-0.