Lehi-Uintah Football

Timp Sports Weekly

August 24, 2010

Publisher's Message

Aug. 20 marked the start of the Utah high school football season. This week's cover story tells about the Uintah Utes, AKA the Little Braves, soaking up the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, 35-7 at Pioneer Stadium Aug. 20. We will also look at three high school girls' soccer stories that involve the Pioneers and the Awesome American Fork Cavewomen. Let's get right to those stories.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

deanmemmott@hotmail.com

Uintah Soaks Up Lehi 35-7 in Preseason Football Open Aug. 20

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

Although it's a new football season, the Lehi Pioneers have already found themselves facing the likelihood of going through the old story of experiencing another winless football season. The Uintah Utes, AKA the Little Braves, set the stage for that possibility by staging a 35-7 win on the Pioneers' home field Aug. 20.

The game did start on a promising note for Lehi. Led by Bubba Dempke, the Pioneer defense checked the Utes' starting drive in midfield. With their quarterback Kalin Leyba unable to guide them beyond their 35-yard line, the Little Braves punted. The Pioneers fumbled away the ball at the Ute 47-yard line while attempting the recover the punt. Little Brave Jarom Tollefson recovered the fumble. It turned out to be the big break that the Vernal team needed. After Lehi's Brayden Mortensen had broken up a long bomb attempt, Leyba threw a 24-yard pass that shoved the Utes into scoring position. As soon as Uintah had penetrated the Lehi 10, Colby Murray took a handoff from Leyba and raced five yards into the end zone during 8:49. Tanner Seitz kicked in an extra point. He went on to go five for five PAT tries.

AKA the Froggies, the Pioneers attempted to hop back from the Ute touchdown. Quarterback Mortensen guided Lehi into scoring position through handoffs to Jake Benson. However, Tollefson sacked Mortensen at the Lehi 31-yard line for an 10-yard loss that stopped the drive cold.

Darek Reasch's catch of a 32-yard pass set the stage for another Ute touchdown. Uintah moved the ball into the Lehi 10 again during the first quarter's closing minute. During the second quarter's opening minute, Little Brave tailback Jarin Daggett made a four-yard touchdown run.

Nine-yard runs by Benson and Mortensen gave Lehi a first down, but a series of fail passes shut Lehi down. The Ute defense kept the Pioneers on their side of the 50-yard line for the entire second period.

At 0:44, Leyba scored the third Uintah touchdown on a one-yard keeper play. It raised doubts that Lehi would be able to rebuild its morale enough to make a resectable comeback.

At the start of the second half, Pioneer Tyrell Fox's recovery of the ball on the Lehi 14 gave the Pioneers an incentive for moving the pigskin across the 50-yard line. However, in spite of Dallas Johnson's catch of a 16-yard pass from Mortensen, Uintah shut down the drive.

Like Lehi, the Little Braves couldn't put any points on the board in the third period. Dempke's recovery of a Ute fumble on the Lehi 21-yard epitomized the huge setbacks that the Little Braves' offense felt that quarter. However, it did end with them getting inside the Lehi 10. Twenty-two seconds into the final quarter, Reasch scored a touchdown on a four-yard pass.

Right after it, Lehi had Kenlock Graves quarterback its offense. The new QB succeeded where Mortenson had failed. After Sam Malit had returned a kickoff 41 yards, Graves threw straight two passes that gained 20 yards for Lehi. Additional passes from Graves soon put the Pioneers inside the Uintah 10. At 8:25, Benson made a five-yard touchdown run, and the Pioneers then tacked on an extra point.

More good news came Lehi's way when Tanner Willis recovered a Ute fumble at the Lehi 43-yard line. However, on the next play, Graves threw an interception. It did Lehi in, for on a first-down play, Murray raced 67 yards into the Lehi end zone. The Ute defense kept the Pioneers from turning the game into another Miracle Bowl.

Lehi Kickers Corral Mountain Crest Ponies 3-2 in Aug. 21 Soccer Thriller

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

In a girls' preseason soccer game at Lehi Aug. 21, the Pioneers corralled the Mountain Crest Mustangs, AKA the Ponies, 3-2.

The Ponies displayed much aggressiveness from the start of the game. Lehi Coach Brett Bergholm said, "They're a very physical team, and they often make the state playoffs. That was why we scheduled this game with them."

Mountain Crest wasted no time in getting on the board. In quickly snuffing out Lehi's first attack, the Ponies moved the ball quickly into the Pioneer penalty box. With it crowded, Jaxson "Action" Hanson scored the morning's first goal. Juliette "Where Art Thou Romeo?" McCann stirred up further Pony attacks that kept Lehi on the defensive for much of the first half. Amazingly, Lehi goalie Ali Houghton didn't let the Ponies make any more goals in the period.

Pony goalie Kjersty Cook kept Lehi scoreless until 20 seconds before halftime. From inside Pony penalty box, Mikaela Kauffman kicked in a tying goal.

Early in the second half, Cook made a mistake of going outside the penalty box, letting Emily "Rocks" Fox have a clear shot. From 40 yards out, Fox kicked in a tie-breaking goal and hopped for joy. Lehi's 2-1 lead didn't last long. Pony Morgan "The Swift" Olsen tied the game at two.

The score stayed deadlocked until the last five minutes when Pioneer Abby Foster, a ninth-grader, made a breakaway play. Cook slipped out of the penalty box in hopes of stopping her. The ninth-grader outmaneuvered the goalie and booted in the goal to give Lehi the win. Bergholm said, "She had a bad first first touch in the last varsity game. She got her touches down today, and she put the ball in. That was impressive."

Awesome AF Cavewomen Shut Out Provo Bullpuppies 1-0 Aug. 17

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Awesome American Fork Cavewomen finished their two-game home stand with a 1-0 win over the Provo Bulldogs, AKA the Bullpuppies, in preseason girls' soccer action Aug. 17.

American Fork Coach Becca Murdock said, "We learned a lot from our loss to Mountain View last Thursday. We were more focused on our offense today. We spent more time on Provo's end of the field than we did theirs. So we outshot them 27-1. I must compliment their goalie for her performance against us. She let only one shot get by her. "

The Awesome Cavewomen gave Provo goalie Chelsea Jackson a long workout. She held American Fork scoreless in the first half. Only late in the second half did American Fork have any success against her. As the game entered its final five minutes, Awesome Cavewoman Abby Clements crossed the ball to Megan Hendricks, no relation to rock legend Jimi Hendrix, for a successful shot from just outside the Bullpuppy penalty box. The goal gave the Awesome Cavewomen more desire to keep the ball on the Bullpuppy end of the field.

Through the course of the game, Karina Perez and Becky Moore guided several Provo attacks on American Fork's wings. Calea Bagley, Kelsie Shuler, and Kylie Dibb came up with steals that snuffed out those assaults, despite efforts from Jamie Trewathra's efforts to kick the Bullpuppies back onto offense.

American Fork received an opportunity to score early in the second half when the Bullpuppies drew a foul inside the Provo penalty box. Jenn Packham made a penalty kick, which bounced off the goal bar. That setback became quickly forgotten through Hendricks' goal.

Awesome Cavekickers Suffer Biting Loss at Riverton Aug. 19

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Awesome American Fork Cavewomen suffered a biting loss at Riverton Aug. 19. The Riverton Silverwolves, AKA the Silverpups, routed them 6-2.

Led by Mallory Bostic and Darian Jenkins, the Silverpups proved to be overwhelming from the start. Four minutes into the game, for example, Jenkins put them on the board first. She went on to dominate American Fork right wing throughout both halves of the game.

As if Jenkins' impressive dribbling did not give American Fork enough headaches, Bostic would constantly zip through the Awesome Cavewomen's defensive network to make shots that turned the game into a blowout. By the final whistle of the game, Bostic scored three of the Silverpups' six goals.

American Fork did catch up with Riverton early in the game. From 50 yards out, Cavewoman Aurora "Ro" Moberly kicked in a goal to tie the game at one. The contest didn't say deadlocked for long. In the last 10 minutes of the first half, Bostic launched an aerial shot, which goalie Kiersten Newman, a "distant" cousin of Hollywood star Paul Newman, intercepted. However, the ball slipped from Newman's hands and dropped inside the mouth of the goal. Silverpup Cecilia Robbins-Mintner scored Riverton's third goal on a kick she made inches away from the American Fork goal line.

Six minutes into the second half, Awesome Cavewoman Kylie Dibb scoring a goal on a breakaway play. That should have tipped the momentum to the Cavewomen's favor. However, Silverpup Kenzie LeSeur kicked in a goal that sent the game on its way to becoming a blowout win for the home team. Janise Smith and Bostic each scored a second-half goal to put the game away.

American Fork Coach Becca Murdock said, "Today was a real learning experience for us. Riverton is a really tough team. They were really physical today. They showed us what we needed to do against teams like them."

Start of 2010 Girls' Soccer Season

Timp Sports Weekly
August 17, 2010

Publisher's Message

This week's issue deals primarily with the opening of the 2010 high school girls' soccer season. For this issue, we look at the Awesome American Fork Cavewomen, Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings, and the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies. With that said, let's, as they say in Lehi, hop right into stories from last week's thrilling soccer action.

Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com

Lehi Pioneers Open Preseason Soccer Play With 2 Wins at Home
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

AKA the Froggies, the Lehi Pioneers opened their girls' soccer season with two wins at home last week. On Aug. 12, Lehi washed out the Woods Cross Wildcats, AKA Wild Kittens, 2-0. The Pioneers then finished out their week with a 1-0 over the Snow Canyon Warriors, AKA the Flakies, in a double overtime thriller Aug. 14.

The Aug. 14 game went down as a classic rematch between the Pioneers and Flakies. The last time that the two teams met, it was in a contest for the privilege of playing the state 4-A semifinals. Lehi shut Snow Canyon out 1-0 in that quarterfinal contest. However, this time, bragging rights were the only things on the line for the Aug. 14 game.

Nevertheless, the Warriors still played as if they were battling for a fresh chance for making to the Final Four of the state 4-A girls' playoffs. Led by Celcilee Horlacher, Callie Stewart, and Autumn Shipp, the Flakies put much pressure on the Froggies' defense. However, Snow Canyon couldn't dry up defensive efforts.

Lehi Coach Brett Bergholm said, "Our defensive effort was much better today than it was against Woods Cross. In the Woods Cross game, we made some mistakes early, but we managed to correct them in time before they could do us any serious damage. We didn't make any mistakes on defense today."

Lehi goalie Ali Houghton didn't let Horlacher make any goals in indirect kicks. In an exhibition game on the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings' field the night before, she had scored on an indirect kick in the final two minutes, giving the Flakies a 2-1 win over the Ferocious Vikings.

Houghton also held her own against Shipp, Stewart, and Jaycie Shotwell. Houghton's biggest save occurred when she picked off a direct shot that Shotwell booted in the second half.

Lehi came really close to leaping ahead during the first half. In its final minutes, for example, both Pioneers Mikaela Kauffman and Dylan Downs dribbled into the penalty box, only to be thwarted by Tori Berger and Brooke Merrill respectively.

In the second half, the Froggies' efforts got checked by shots bouncing off goal posts and zooming out of bounds. Lehi's breathtaking defense kept the Flakies from scoring any goals in regulation.

The game went into overtime. In both overtime periods, Lehi kept the ball on Snow Canyon's side most of the time. Flaky Arianna Weide almost ended the game in the first overtime when she passed to Horlacher for a direct shot. It flew into Houghton's hands. The catch forced the game into the second overtime.

A minute into it, Lehi maneuvered the ball into the Flakies' penalty box, and Michelle Russon kicked in a shot that ended the game and caused spontaneous celebration among the Froggies.

Orem Tiggers Bounced Past Ferocious PG Vikings 2-1 in Preseason Soccer Opener

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

AKA the Tiggers, the Orem Tigers had plenty of reason to be bouncing for joy in their Aug. 10 preseason opener at home. In that game, they overpowered the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings, embedded with only two seniors.

Viking assistant coach Kaycee Zimmerman said, "I'm pleased that our defense worked together. We just need to be finding a way to get the girls to stay on offense. We got to work a little harder in pushing the ball up the field, so we can be able to finish more shots. We're going to be working on opportunities for scoring."

Ferocious Viking Kourtney Dinehart opened the game with a deep drive right through the middle of the Tiggers territory. However, Tigger goalie Hilary Smith snuffed out that attack. Tiggers Monique Bori and Vicky Cuello led attempts at bouncing all over the Ferocious Viking defense. Led by Britney Johnson, Alicia Daniles, and goalie Kennedy Williams, Pleasant Grove kept the Tiggers from dominating the first half completely. The Ferocious Vikings came really close to breaking the scoreless draw in the first half when Dinehart took a direct shot at the mouth of the goal. Getting into the way of the shot, Smith intercepted the ball as the referee sounded the end of the half.

Four minutes into the second half, Tigger Rosalie Jones scored the game's first goal. It gave the Tiggers much momentum. For a considerable while, they kept the ball on Pleasant Grove's end of the field. The combined efforts of Williams and Johnson kept the Tiggers from stretching lead to 2-0.

Midway through the half, Ferocious Viking Bekhah Webster tied the game at one. Daniels led attempts to break the 1-1 tie. However, Smith proved to be too quick for the Vikings. She didn't let a single Ferocious Viking sneak any further shots past her.

In the meantime, the game stay deadlocked until 3:49 when Megan Sackett put the Tiggers ahead 2-1. Sackett's shot shocked the Ferocious Vikings so much that they couldn't get an effective defense together.

Mountain View Teddy Bears Shut Out Awesome AF Cavewomen 3-0 in Preseason Girls' Soccer

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Awesome American Fork Cavewomen opened their girls' soccer season with a heartbreaking loss to the Mountain Bruins, AKA the Teddy Bears or T-Bears. Mountain View shut the Ae

Awesome Cavewoman Coach Becca Murdock said, "I saw today some bits and pieces of great things we're capable of doing. We need to see more offense from our girls. They're a very young team. They just need to get more varsity experience."

The first 20 minutes of the game went down as a deadlocked goalkeeping duel between T-Bear Sherri Riggs and Awesome Cavewoman Kirsten Newman, a "distant" cousin of movie star Paul Newman and Alfred E. "Me Worried?" Newman of Mad magazine fame. The two goalies' combined efforts kept fans wondering whether T-Bears or the Awesome Cavewomen would score first. At the 20:00 mark, Teddy Bear Lexi Robinson scored the afternoon's first goal during an indirect kick. Further T-Bear attempts for scoring a first-period goal all failed. Before halftime, T-Bear Kiouna Christensen went on a breakaway play. A relative to former American Fork wrestler Justin "The Ferocious" Brocious, Lauren Brocious, the Awesome Cavewomen put up a strong defense that kept the Teddy Bears stuck on their 1-0 lead.

With Kanaui Munoz organizing a deep T-Bear attack at the start of the second, American Fork lost control of the momentum. Sinking their claws deep into it, the Teddy Bears spent most of the final period on the Cavewomen's side of the field. Early in the period, McKell Salmon scored her first goal. She delivered the knockout blow with a shot from just outside the American Fork penalty box several minutes before the final whistle.

American Fork got some great offensive efforts from Jenn Packham, Kylie Dibb, and Meagan Hendircks, no relation to the late rock legend Jimi Hendrix. However, Riggs was just to quick for the Cavewomen to handle.

Snow Canyon Freezes Ferocious PG Vikings 2-1 in PG Home Opener Aug. 13

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

AKA the Flakies, the Snow Canyon Warriors froze the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings 2-1 in a preseason girls' soccer game at Pleasant Grove's Viking Stadium Aug. 13.

The loss came in the aftermath of the Vikings' preseason loss to the Orem Tigers, AKA the Tiggers, at Orem Aug. 10. Pleasant Grove had hoped to get over its pain by winning at home against Snow Canyon, based in St. George, home of the Dixie State College Red Storm, AKA the Partyin' Red Storm.

Pleasant Grove dominated the first half of the Snow Canyon game. The Vikings kept stabbing deep into Warrior territory. However, Flaky Amy Harris kept the Ferocious PG girls from getting onto the board until the final five minutes. Around that time, Viking Lydia Anderson passed to Sam Daly for a successful shot kicked from inside the penalty box.

In the second half, the Vikings became stuck on their 1-0 lead. Despite strong offensive efforts from Kourtney Dinehart, Megan Wilde,Marci Johnson, Shelby Hilton, and Alyssa Taylor, Pleasant Grove couldn't sneak any shots past Harris.

During both halves of the game, the Flakies got strong offensive efforts from Callie Stewart and Cecilee Horlacher. Those two players eventually sealed the game's outcome. In the last 10 minutes, Stewart tied the game at one. She then kicked in another goal, which got canceled by a Snow Canyon penalty. The setback proved to be only a minor inconvenience for the Flakies. During the final two minutes, Pleasant Grove drew a foul in its penalty. Horlacher thereupon kicked in a goal to win the game for Snow Canyon.

On the next morning, the Flakies would get washed out 1-0 by Lehi.

Ferocious Vike Kickers Score 2 Wins August 14

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

It took the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings only one day to post a two-game winning streak in girls' soccer. Still smarting from their 2-1 loss to the Snow Canyon Warriors, AKA the Flakies the night before, the Vikings cruised back Aug. 14 to win 3-1 over the Uintah Utes, AKA the Little Braves, and 3-1 over the Pine View Panthers, AKA the Kittens.

Pleasant Grove Coach Caitlin Young said, "In the Uintah game, they [the Little Braves] scored first. Marci Johnson tied it for us. Sam Daly kicked in a goal to put us ahead 2-1. Taylor Kirk scored the third goal to clutch it for us."

For the Pine View game, the Kittens controlled the first half. With Kitten goalie Jessica Stone keeping every Ferocious Viking shot from flying across the line, Pine View improved its chances for scoring first. Midway through the opening period, Kitten Karlee Brundage booted in a goal from inside the Viking penalty box. The successful shot pumped the Kittens up so much that they put more pressure on Viking goalie Kennedy Williams. She didn't let Pine View jack up the score, though, no matter how many times Kittens Kali Stubbs, Tahlia Egbert, and Taylor Wade led deep drives into the Ferocious Vikings' territory .

Williams got much support from Britney Johnson, Lucy Borland and Kourtney Dinehart during the first period. Those Vikings kept stealing the ball and dribbling it onto the Kitten side of the field. Borland even tied tying the score just before halftime, but three Kittens harassed her so much that she couldn't find a spot for a good shot selection.

The Vikings' ferociousness finally paid off. Thirty seconds into the second half, Marci Johnson booted in a goal. The game stayed tied at one until 19:32 when Johnson scored her second goal. Unrelated to Marci, Britney scored the third Ferocious Viking goal in the last five minutes. Stubbs led a desperate, comeback effort. However, Pleasant Grove snuffed it out.

Young said, "We did a better job of finishing our shots tonight. When we have possession of the ball, we should finish as quickly as we can. Though they're not related, Marci and Britney have proved to be big pluses for our team. Britney sparks our defense and Marci is the creator of our offense. They proved that to be true tonight."

Ferocious PG Viking Girls' Soccer Preview

Timp Sports Weekly

August 9, 2010

 Publisher's Message

For this week's issue, we look at the upcoming Pleasant Grove Viking girls' soccer season, and we will have an essay on what moms tend to do with their sons' new girlfriends. Let's get to those items.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

deanmemmott@hotmail.com

Vike Kickers to Begin Home Season with Two Games This Weekend

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Ferocious Pleasant Grove Viking girls' soccer team are going to be opening its home seasons with two games against St. George area schools this weekend.

 On Friday, the Ferocious Vikings will battle the Snow Canyon Warriors, AKA the Flakies. This Saturday will see Pleasant Grove finish its two-game home stand with a  duel against the Pine View Panthers, AKA the Kittens. Both games will be at 6 p.m.

The Vikings have a new head coach this fall. The third one to skipper the Viking program in these last three years, Caitlin Young brings with her years of coaching club girls' soccer and experience of having played soccer for the Mountain View Bruins, AKA the Teddy Bears.

"I've coached a club team called Celtic Storm, and in the off-season, I'm going to form a new club squad named Utah Soul," Young said. "I was going to play college women's soccer, but I got married."

Through her youthful appearance, she could easily mistaken for the 36 Ferocious Vikings she'll be coaching this fall. Young said, "We had 46 girls come out, and we had to cut 10 of them. Among those we've kept are goalies Alisa Daniels and Kennedy Williams."

Kourtney Dinehart is another Ferocious Viking back this year. A starter last year, she emerged as one of Pleasant Grove's top scorers. Dinehart is a senior.

The coach said, "The philosophy that I'm going to pass on to the girls this year is to maintain possession of the ball 51 percent of the game. If we do that, we will win."

Young admits the Vikings will be playing in a really tough region this year. The coach pointed out, "Region Two is home to really strong teams like Lone Peak, Jordan, Hillcrest, Alta, and Brighton."

Those four schools usually do well in post-season play.

This season will give Young a chance to coach against two longtime acquaintances who were involved in the Teddy girls' soccer program years ago: Becca Murdock and Mike LaHarogue. Murdock played for the Teddy Bears while LaHarogue coached them. Murdock is now the head coach for Awesome American Fork Cavewomen's soccer team. LaHarogue is now mentoring the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, in both boys' baseball and girls' soccer.

"I'm still friends with Becca and Mike, but I'm looking forward to coaching against them," Young said.

Publisher's Column

That's What Moms Do With Their Sons' New Girlfriends

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

While at his then girlfriend Jade's home last May, Ryan Pitcher, a quarterback for this year's Awesome American Fork Cavemen's football team, received a surprising command from the girl's mom. She said, "Ryan, load up the dishwasher."

While watching this scene, his dear longtime friend, McKay Lewis, snickered, because he knew what Jade's dearest mom was going to do next. As Pitcher proceeded to load up the dishwasher, the mother proceeded to ask him all sorts of personal questions.

On the way home, Pitcher asked Lewis, "Why did she put me to work and then ask me all sorts of questions?"

"I didn't bother telling him the answer, because I knew he wouldn't understand," Lewis later recalled.

I turned out to be the one who provided Pitcher the answer. In discussing the above story with him, I said, "Your girlfriend's mom wanted to find out what kind of son-in-law you might make."

Pitcher was a unique subject of an old practice that moms often employ in selecting mates for their kids. Usually, guys' new girlfriends are the ones that moms have come work with them in the kitchen.

"My mom [Diane] did that with my older brothers' girlfriends," Lewis said. "As she would put those girls to work, she would ask them lots of questions about themselves."

That practice is not carried out in every home. At an American Legion baseball game, a junior high girl said she never knew about that moms putting their boys' sweeties  to work "until a few months ago. My boyfriend's mom, out of the blue, told me to come help her with fixing dinner, and while we worked, she interviewed me. When I got home and told my mom about it, she said, 'Your boyfriend's mom wanted to find out what kind of daughter-in-law you might make.'"

I divined that purpose while I was writing the first draft for my novel Strong Preference for Gentile Girls, now available online at www.lulu.com. In portion of that book, its main character, Ken Griffith, tells his 17-year-old son, Doyle, to bring over for Thanksgiving dinner Camille Mason, a Methodist, college coed, that the teenager has been trying to date secretly. Doyle tells his father, "I'll bring her over on one condition. That you order Mom not to have her come work with her in the kitchen."

Ken's wife, Emily, disregards Doyle's wishes and has Camille come work with her in the kitchen. Ken tells his angry son, "Sorry, Doyle, but wives don't take orders. Besides they have a right to have their sons' girlfriends come work with them in the kitchen, so they can find out what kinds of daughters-in-law they're going to get."

After putting that scene in my novel, I started asking acquaintances if such an incident was believable. Not only did they tell me it was, but it was something that had been a common occurrence for generations.

Last June, I warned an American Fork High soccer players what they might be in for, once their boyfriends had introduced them to their mothers. Through her body language, the girl showed she didn't want to believe me. Suddenly, one of her younger teammates shouted, "My mom puts older brothers' girlfriends to work."

Teenage boys don't understand that purpose, though. A father of Awesome American Fork Caveman baseball player Nick Slater, Brian Slater said, "When I was in high school, my mom would have every girlfriend I would bring home come work with her in the kitchen. That made me feel both frustrated and embarrassed all through high school. Now I understand why she did.

"When Randy, my oldest boy, would  bring home girls to meet me and my wife [Valerie], Valerie would have them come work with her in the kitchen. That bothered Randy, and I explained to him, 'She just wants to find out if this girl is going to be a good daughter-in-law.'

"Randy had one particular girl that didn't impress Valerie. My wife said, 'I just don't like this girl. She's a player.' Valerie's suspicions about were confirmed when Randy went on his [Mormon] mission. Five months after my boy got out into the mission field, the girl got engaged to another guy, and then she broke up with him. She then wrote Randy a letter, asking to get back together with her upon his return home. My boy, though, decided he didn't want anything more to do with her."

When he played baseball for the Brighton Bengals, AKA the Bad Old Puddy Tats in the 1980's, Jason Reynolds, father of Awesome Caveman baseball player Jeremy Reynolds, had a twin sister, named Lisa, who always ended up working in kitchens with moms of his friends that she dated. During a ride home from an American Fork baseball game at Brighton last June, Jason told me, "My friends would complain to me about how their mothers would have my sister come work with them in the kitchen. I didn't appreciate hearing that. I would tell, 'Stop talking about my sister. You're with me now. I want us talking about us.' Lisa didn't marry any of them. She married a really nice Catholic guy she met at work in New York."

Yes, high school boys can view as infamous the practice of their moms putting their new girlfriends to work. Still, mothers have a right to find out what kinds of daughters-in-law they're going to get. Jason's wife, Stephanie, agreed with me on that point. She said, "It is a good idea to have a girl come work me with in the kitchen."

Dads wisely endorse that practice, because their wives know how to get potential daughters-in-law to reveal more about themselves than they wish to.

Furthermore, the practice enables young women to form bonds with older women who just might turn out to be their mothers-in-law. Those bonds can turn out to be really vital down the road.