Froggie-Loner Hoop Game

Timp Sports Weekly

February 19, 2013

Publisher's Message

For this week's issue, we look at the Feb. 15 boys' basketball game between the Lone Peak Knights (AKA the Loners) and the Lehi Pioneers (AKA the Froggies). The contest was one about two squads of contrasting extremes. Ranked No. 1 in national high school basketball polls, the Loners boasted an unbeaten Region Four record. As for the Froggies, they were winless in region play, and although they did win three games on the road, they had not won a single home game this season. Let's hop straight to  the story to find out if Lehi finally did pick up a home win.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

magnanovelist@gmail.com

Lone Peak Loners Silence Lehi Froggies 90-71 in Region Four Boys' Hoop Play Feb. 15

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

In Region Four boys' basketball action Feb. 15, the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, silenced the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, 90-71 at Lehi. 

During the first quarter, the Loners had trouble keeping the Froggies from hopping ahead of them. After Loner Talon "Ted" Shumway, a "distant cousin" of TV comedy character Alf Shumway, got the opening tipoff, Lone Peak drew a violation. The Froggies quickly capitalized on it. A Blake Cleveringa trey put the Froggies on the board first. Before Lehi could build upon its 3-0 lead, Froggie Chris Macula drew a technical foul. A brother of BYU Zoobie hoop star Jackson Emery, Slick Nick Emery hit a technical foul shot, and teammate Eric "Stuffer" Mika laid in a dunk shot to tie the game at three.

Ninth-grader sensation Frankie "That's All Right" Jackson nailed a jumper to poke the Froggies ahead 5-3. The ninth-grader proved to be the Froggies' big gun through the course of the game. Jackson's impressive shooting would prove not to be enough to enable them pull off one of the greatest prep basketball upsets of 2013.

A very close relative one-time Zoobie basketball star Andy Toolson, Connor "Mr. Terminator" Toolson tied the game at five, only to see Jackson give the Froggies a 7-5 lead. Soon, Tanner Pittard puled down a defensive rebound for the Froggies and connected a long pass to Collin Anderton for an inside shot.

The Froggies' 9-5 lead gave their fans something to be quite happy -- correction, quite hoppy about. Froggie fans jumped about excitedly as they expected Lehi to stretch its lead wider. However, Shumway hit a trey that caused the tempo to shift slowly to the Loners' way. Even though two Jackson foul shots widened the Froggie lead to 11-8, Shumway continued working on setting the stage for Lehi getting dried up in the quarter. Shumway produced a three-point play that tied the game at 11, and he then swished in two tie-breaking foul shots. Cleveringa hit a go-ahead trey in hopes that the Froggies would be ahead at the end of the first quarter. 

A distant cousin of David Dean, Utah's state 3-A MVP for 1976, T.J. Haws hit a trey that not only put the Loners ahead 16-14, but it also sent them on a 21-0 scoring run that slipped over into the second quarter. During that long shooting spree, Emery wowed Loner fans with steals and layups while Talon and Shumway dropped in devastating three-pointers. By the time Cleveringa renewed Lehi scoring with a trey, the Loners had built up a 37-17 lead. Cleveringa became the Froggies' main shooter in the first half's final four minutes, but Lehi couldn't closer to the Loners than 15 points.

In the third period, the Froggies didn't let the Loners push the lead past the 21-point mark. However, despite efforts from Anderton, Jackson, Cleveringa, and Derik Beeston, the Froggies couldn't reduce the lead to single digits. No Froggie could shut down Emery, Mika, or Haws. Those crack shots frustrated Lehi's defense to no end. By the end of the third quarter, the Loners commanded a 72-54 lead.

The fourth quarter opened with Jackson and Jordan Peck guiding the Froggies on a 6-2 scoring run that put them within 74-60. The Loner defense didn't let the Froggies get any closer than 14 points in the quarter. While Loner fans went wild over a Shumway dunk shot, Emery produced steals that eventually lead to Toolson hit a trey which improved the Loners' lead at 85-64.

Jackson finished his fantastic evening with a trey that put Lehi within 85-67. Jackson soon left the floor with the other Lehi starters to watch Froggie second-stringers like Jacob Barnes and Dallin Driggs play out the final two minutes of the game. It ended with Loner McKay Webster hitting two foul shots to put the final score at 90-71.

Jackson led the Froggies with 25 points while Cleveringa added another 16. Emery led the Loners with 21 points while Haws and Mika each added another 15 and Shumway 11.

The End of the Lehi Froggie Girls' Home Seaon

Timp Sports Weekly

February 11, 2013

Publisher's Message

This week's issue looks at the final two home games of the Lehi Pioneer girls' basketball season. Those two games presented Lehi fans their final chances to see Troy Gifford, Lehi's head girls' basketball coach, mentor his players at home. He had resigned recently for reasons I won't go into here. Don't worry, the reasons didn't involve any inappropriate behavior on his part. He's a decent guy. He has simply decided to move on doing other things. Anyway, the games we will look at in this issue will be the ones that the Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, played against the Bingham Miners, AKA the Pickers, and the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings. As they say in Lehi, let's row straight to those stories.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

magnanovelist@gmail.com

Bingham Pickers Cave In Lehi Froggies 50-28

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

In Region Four girls' basketball at Lehi Feb. 5, the Bingham Miners, AKA the Pickers, caved the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, 50-28.

Even though the Feb. 5 was the Froggies' second-to-the-last home game of the season, they still marked it as Senior Night. So Lehi Coach Troy Gifford had five of his seniors serve as starters in the game. Gifford's underclassman starters came in a little bit later in the game.

In the meantime, the Froggies had a difficult time in hopping onto the scoreboard. An Emily Anderson trey sent the Pickers digging their way out to a 13-0 lead. True to his usual strategy, Bingham Rand Rasmussen employed two quintets of Pickers to throw the Froggies off their game. As Pickers Madison Aulai-Roe, Kenzie Bruggerman, and Ashton Henderson took firm control of the boards, questions abounded about whether the Froggies would get onto the scoreboard before the end the first quarter.  Thirty seconds before the first-quarter break, Tyra "T-Rod" Rodriguez produced a three-point play to put Lehi on the board. A "distant cousin" of late pop singer Diane Washington, Monique Washington hit an inside shot that left Bingham ahead 15-3 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Gifford employed the use of his regular, underclassman first-stringers like Reesie Tua and Faitoto'a Faleao. However, the Pickers held the Froggies to four points in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Picker fans cheered at seeing Jilian Powell and Whitney Daniels sink treys that fueled an 11-4 scoring run for Bingham during the quarter.

After a Powell trey improved the Bingham lead at 29-7 at the start of the third period, Rodriguez hit an inside shot that launched a brief 6-4 scoring run for the Froggies. Faleao started becoming hot in her shooting during the third quarter. Aided by Brooklyn Willes, Micala Downs, Kylie Bartholemew, and Beth Beeston, Faleao proved to be hard for Bingham to shut down during the second half. Faleao's efforts couldn't shift the game back to Lehi's favor. Through efforts of Carynn Duke, Cheril Lyman, Henderson, and Powell, Bingham managed to keep its lead in double figures throughout the entire second half, even though the Froggies outscored them 12-9 in the final quarter. Froggie Megan Nelson hit a last-minute shot to give Lehi something to cheer about.

Faleao led the Froggies with 10 points while Rodriguez added another five. Powell led the Pickers with 12 points while Anderson and Daniels each added another seven.

Ferocious PG Vikings Drain Lehi Froggies 55-43 in Feb. 7 Girls' Hoop Showdown

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

In a Region Four girls' basketball showdown at Lehi Feb. 7, the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings drained up the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, 55-43.

The road win at Lehi earn the Ferocious the privilege of playing at this year's state 5-A girls' basketball tournament. For a little while, the Froggies looked as though they would wash away the Ferocious Vikings like they did the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, a few weeks ago.

Ferocious Viking Megan Wilde opened the game's scoring with an inside shot. Even though Froggie sophomore Faitoto'a "To'a" Faleao tied the game at two, the Ferocious Vikings rowed ahead 5-2 on a Hailey Albretch foul shot and a Lilly "Sego" Evans jump shot. Kaylie Bartholemew put a shot back in, hoping  to prod her Froggies into jumping out in front of Pleasant Grove. However, a Rachel Eldredge trey improved the Ferocious Viking lead at 8-4. The Froggies appeared at that point destined to be drained by the Ferocious Vikings. However, Beeston hit a crucial trey for the Froggies. Making an offensive rebound, Reesie Tua put Lehi ahead 9-8 near the end of the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Tua sank a layup during a steal, improving the Froggies' advantage at 11-8.  Pleasant Grove seemed doomed like Lone Peak did when the Loners played at Lehi last month. Pleasant Grove Coach Glenn"Record Hop" Larson said, "We began playing great defense. They had a hard time with getting the ball to To'a. That enabled us to snatch the momentum from them."

CiCi Alder hit an inside shot that tipped the momentum back to the Ferocious Vikings' favor. Two McKenna Miles foul shots nudged the Ferocious Vikings ahead 12-11. That lead didn't last long for Pleasant Grove. A recent addition to the Froggies' varsity roster, Nicki Fitz hit a three-pointer that put them leaping ahead 14-12. A Mile trey restored the lead to Pleasant Grove. The Ferocious Vikings held Lehi to one point during the second quarter's final four minutes. Meanwhile, Miles' foul shooting a 25-15 lead that the Ferocious Vikings took with them into the second half.

With the Ferocious Vikings keeping Faleao from scoring into double figures, the Froggies had to look for other crackshots to enable them to hop back into the game. Beth Beeston became Lehi's main shooter for the night. Beeeston's work got undermined by the combined efforts of Evans and Miles. Together, those two players enabled Pleasant Grove to maintain a double-figure lead throughout the entire second half, which saw some great rebounding from Ferocious Vikings Jessica Matheson and Eldredge.

In the final quarter, Sam Slater, Bartholemew, and Brooklyn Willes joined Beeston in a shooting spree that saw the Froggies outscore the Ferocious Vikings 14-9. However, the bad second quarter proved to be too much for Lehi to recover from.

Beeston led the Froggies with 13 points while Faleao and Bartholemew each added another eight. Miles led Pleasant Grove with 21 points while Evans added another 13.

Bingham-Lehi Wrestling Meet

Timp Sports Weekly

February 5, 2013

Publisher's Message

For this week's issue, we look at the Lehi-Bingham dual wrestling meet and the Feb. 1 boys' basketball game between my Awesome American Fork Cavemen and the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies. As they say Lehi, let's stroke straight to those stories.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

magnanovelist@gmail.com

Bingham Pickers Dig Out a 39-23 Win Over Lehi Froggie Grapplers

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

In Region Four dual wresting meet at Lehi Jan. 31, the Bingham Miners, AKA the Pickers, digged out a 39-23 win over the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies.

Late in the meet, the Pickers showed why their program had produced through the generations wrestling legends like Darling Darren Miller and Eric "Burial Plot" Lott. Lehi did show that the Pickers  that it had its share of talented grapplers, too.

The first Froggie to do well in the meet was 132-pounder Reagan "The Pagan" Bodily. In his match against Chase "Count Handsome" Hanson, he opened scoring with a takedown. In the second period, Count Handsome tried pinning The Pagan through applying the Picker Grip. The Pagan broke it and he went on to scored two two-point near falls to enable him to win 8-0. The Pagan's win gave his team a 4-0 lead.

Bingham quickly tied it at four through Aaron "The Harsh" Marsh subduing Ian "The Driller" Miller 12-4.

Involving Froggie Dave "Ambusher" Busko and Picker Jake "The Blue Flash" Curtis, the 145 weight class match went down as one of the evening's most exciting contests. The two grapplers battled to a scoreless tie in the first period. In the second period, The Blush Flash escaped Ambusher's grasp. Ambusher took him down, then went on to thwart the Blue Flash's third-period attempts to pin him. Ambusher won 2-1.

Bingham's T.J. "Hot Dog" Wenner took an early 2-0 lead over Lehi's 152-pounder, Wyatt "Brave Herbie" Herbert. Brave Herbie reversed Hot Dog, and a tight match ensued. Late in it, Brave Herbie took Hot Dog down and pinned him, improving Lehi's lead 13-4.

For the 160 weight class match, Lehi's Caiden "The Pin" Taylor took a 4-1 lead over Jake "Milk Shake" Funes. Milk Shake refused to melt away. He battled back to tie the match at 5-5. The match saw frequent trades in leads. In the third quarter, The Pin scored a takedown to tie the match at 12. Milk Shake reversed The Pin and scored a two-point near fall to win 17-12 over his Froggie opponent.

After battling Froggie Brandon "The Barrel" Terrill to a 2-2 in the first period of their 170 weight class match, Picker Nate "Lord Great" Naylor pulled ahead 4-2 and built up a 9-4 lead. The Barrel battled back to get within 13-9 on an escape and two reversals. Lord Great didn't The Barrel get any closer to him.

In the 182 weight class match, Nick "The Derringer" Henninger pinned Eli "Bullfrog" Sosa in the first period to put the Pickers ahead 15-13. That match marked the beginning of Bingham's domination of the meet. After Binham's Sitakeli "The Squid" Finefeuieki pinned, his 220-pound foe, Deryke "Prince Barbaric" Terrill, Froggie Fracken Bracken stuck Austin "The Bunker" Bunkall in hopes swinging the momentum back to Lehi's favor.

That was not to be the case. Lehi fans looked on with frustration as they watched Pickers Alex "Prince Toro" Romero, Jake "The White Snake" Barton pin Laken "The Anchor" Muir and Nick "Mr. Quick" Austin respectively. A 120-pounder, Froggie Daltono "The Vise" Rice interrupted Bingham's string of wins by outlasting Calton "The Pencil" Schieving 19-5. The meet ended with Bingham's Tanner "The Pistol" Weston pinning Tyler "Big Chief' Tahbo.

Awesome AF Cavemen Drain Lehi 79-67 in Region 4 Boys' Basketball Feb. 1
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Awesome American Fork Cavemen cruised into Lehi Feb. 1 and drained the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, 79-67 in Region Four boys' basketball play.

The game climaxed a weeklong celebration of Lehi High School's heritage. A lot of the Froggies showed up at the game in clothes worn by teenagers in the '70's, '80's, and '90's. Also, the Froggie basketball player wore trunks that were  popular before the 1990's: ones that were above the knees.

The game itself, for a little while, went down an example of the huge rivalry that existed between the Froggies and the Awesome Cavemen a generation ago.

As Caveman fans awaited junior center Ryan Andrus, a "distant cousin" of Hollywood actress Ursula Andrus, to inflict tremendous to the Froggies' defense, his teammate Tyler Rawson went on a shooting spree that opened the night's scoring. The shooting spree began with Rawson sinking a three-pointer. He followed it up with a layup that improved the Awesome Caveman lead at 5-0.

A "distant cousin" of pro baseball legend Reggie "Mr. October" Jackson, Lehi's Frankie Jackson answered Rawson's shots with three successful foul shots. As they put the score at 5-3, Lehi anticipated tying game really soon. Ryan Pittard made the anticipation strong through pulling down a defensive board. A bad Froggie pass cost Lehi a chance to even the game at five.

Two Chris Wells free throws stretched the lead to 7-3. Pittard trimmed it to 7-5, and teammate Tanner Nygren stole the ball, only to miss a layup, which Andrus rebounded.

Hit by comic strip character Beetle Bailey's "distant cousin" Brenden Bailey, two foul shots set of a 14-4 scoring run led by Wells and Rawson during the first quarter's final four minutes. An Andrus three-point play left the Awesome Cavemen owning a 21-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the early second quarter, a Chris Macula trey and two Blake Cleveringa foul shots guided the Froggies on a 5-2 scoring run that put them within 23-14. Andrus undermined Lehi's effort to keep the point spread in single digits. With held from Dan Nyman, Andrus' shooting put the Awesome Cavemen more than 10 points ahead. In the last two minutes of the half, Rawson dunked a shot that stirred up cheers from among American Fork fans and reminded the Froggies of the fate that Awesome Cavemen had in store in for them. Four straight unanswered points scored by Taylor "Needles" Larson improved the lead at 39-17. Just before intermission, Pittard sank two foul shots and a layup that clipped the lead to 39-21.

In the early third quarter, Cleveringa  led his Froggies on a 6-2 run that put them within 41-27. Despite great boarding and shooting from Macula, Jackson, Cleveringa, and Nygren, Lehi couldn't get any closer to the Awesome Cavemen than 14 points, for Brody Childs and Wells aided in Andrus stretching the lead as wide a 57-34. The third quarter concluded with a Macula jump shot sending the Froggies on a 9-0 scoring run. It concluded with a Macula trey in the early fourth quarter. Receiving an inside pass, Rawson sank a hook shot that opened fourth-quarter scoring for the Awesome Cavemen.

They led by as far as 18 points in the final period. The wide lead persuaded American Fork Coach Doug Meacham to employ the services of his reserves in the game. Second-stringers like Brayden Fairbanks, Dallin Childs, Kyle Line, Brayden Harris, and Jace Gibb showed they could hold their own against the Froggies. Lehi managed, though, to hop back within 76-67 on shoots from Ryan "Mountain Man" Johnon and Dallin Driggs. Three Harris foul shots left American Fork owning a 79-67 lead at the end of the game.

Meacham said, "We're trying to get our guards to become more aggressive on the floor. They've been making progress. Tonight showed it. They prevented Lehi from completing a lot of catches. We put Lehi on the free throw line too often, though. Tyler Rawson reall shined tonight. He had seven assists, 11 rebound, and 13 points. As for our guards, they were able to toss the ball to our bigs to give us the key inside baskets."

Andrus led American Fork with 27 points while Rawson added another 13, Wells 11, and Bailey 10. Cleveringa led Lehi with 17 points while Macula added another 15 and Jackson 13.

Froggie-Silverpup Girls' Hoop Game

Timp Sports Weekly

January 29, 2013

Publisher's Message

For this week's double issue, we look at the Jan. 22 girls' hoop contest between the Lehi Pioneers (AKA the Froggies) and the Riverton Silverwolves, alias the Silverpups.  We will also have an account of a wrestling dual meet that the Froggies lost to the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners. Also, we have an exclusive account of the Froggies' first-ever win over the Loner girls' basketball team. Finally, we look at two Lehi boys basketball games, which were both riveting -- correction ribbiting. As they say in Lehi, let's stroke straight to those stories.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

magnanovelist@gmail.com

Riverton Silverpups Howl Past Lehi Froggies 65-35 in Jan. 22 Girls' Hoop Game

Bt Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

AKA the Silverpups, the Riverton Silverwolves howled past the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, 65-36 in a Region Four girls' basketball rematch at Lehi Jan. 22.

A longtime 5-A girls' basketball powerhouse, Silverpups placed their paws on the lead in a hurry. After receiving the opening tipoff, Silverpup Kristy Spencer tried for a bucket. Spencer missed her shot, but teammate Gerika Ballard rebounded it and put it back in. Balldard and Whitney Saunder soon created a 6-0 lead for the Silverpups. Beth Beeston tried to make the contest a close one. She and Cherish Mansfield guided their Froggies back within 7-6. However, the Froggies' 6-1 scoring run couldn't tip the momentum to their favor. Saunders and Shelby Richards each took a turn at stealing the ball and sinking layups for the Silverpups to stretch their lead to 11-6. Even though Beeston answered those layups with a bucket, which put the score at 11-8, Lehi couldn't snatch the momentum from Riverton. Two Elyssa Marchant buckets left the Silverpups with a 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

For the second quarter, a Ballard bucket sent the Silverpups on a 9-0 scoring run, which saw Jamie "Smitty" Smith sink a lay and a three-pointer that proved fatal to the Froggies. That didn't stop Lehi's Faitoto'a Faleao from being aggressive on the floor. She scored four of Lehi's six second-quarter points, and she made her second bucket on an offensive rebound at the end of the half. By that time, the Silverpups commanded a 32-14 lead.

Wtih Faleao, Annika Hancock, and Tyra "T-Rod" Rodriguez coming up with some steals for them, the Froggies attempted to keep Riverton from its lead past the 20-point mark in the third quarter. However, the efforts of Silverpups Tiena Afu and Kylie Currie undermined that effort. The two Silverpup reserves pulled down key boards and made some shots that helped Riverton to move past the 20-point park. With the score reading 48-22, Riverton, at the end of the third quarter, the bell start tolling for Lehi.

After a Saunders' free throw in the early fourth quarter, Froggie Anga Ah Quin scored on an offensive rebound to stir up a rally for Lehi. The rally couldn't stop Afu and Mallory "Fearless" Bostic from pacing the Silverpups out to a 30-point lead. A dunk shot by Riverton's Morgan Littlewood epitomized how much her Silverpups dominated the game, even though the Froggies did get good fourth-quarter performances from Faleao, Beeston, Micala Downs, and Rodriguez.

Beeston led the Froggies with 13 points while Faleao added another 12. Richards led the Silverpups with 13 points while Saunders added another 12.

Lone Peak Loner Grapplers Muscle Past Lehi  Froggies 34-23 in Jan. 17 Dual Meet
By Dean Von Memmott 
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

In a dual wrestling meet at Lehi Jan. 17, the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, muscled their way to a 34-23 win over the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies.

Very few pins were scored during the grappling fest, which saw some really thrilling matches like the for the 170 weight class belt, involving Lehi's Brandon "The Barrel" Terrill and Chris "String Ray" Clay. In that contest, Sting Ray stirred up lots of cheers from Loner fans as he twice came close to pinning The Barrel. The Barrel proved too wiggly to be pinned, and so String Ray had to settle for being awarded six points for scoring two three-point near falls. Although the Barrel twice escaped from Sting Ray's clutches, he couldn't take his Lone opponent down at any time during the match. Sting Ray won it 7-2.

In the 182 weight class match, Matt "The Bad Kitty Cat" Christensen pinned Froggie McCloy "The Hustle" Pace 1 1/2 minutes into Period 1, improving the Loner lead at 9-0. However, in the 195 weight class down,  Lehi's Eli "The Bullfrog" Sosa managed to secure a 6-0 lead over Loner Nate "The Sickle" Farnsworth, giving Lehi fans hope that their Froggies would soon have team points on the board. However, The Sickle battled back to get within 9-6. Before that Loner could tie the score, The Bullforg reversed him and then pinned him, cutting the Loners' lead to 9-6. The 220 weight class match saw Lehi's Dereyk "Prince Barbaric" Terrill outlast Loner Josh "Lord Arrow" Bowman 5-0, tying the team score at nine.

The Froggies looked as though they would soon hop ahead when their 285-pounder, Smackin' Bracken Stringham opened his match's scoring by taking down Loner Austin "Razor Blade" Kruger, unrelated to movie character Freddie Kruger. Escaping Smackin' Bracken's Froggie Clutch, Razor Blade took his Lehi foe down and pinned him.

Even though Loner 106 pounder Steve "The Sleeve" Achley found out quickly. that not all Lehi Froggies could be beaten. The Sleeve's foe, Laken "The Anchor" Muir took him down and built up a 9-3 lead. Even though The Sleeve scored a two-point near fall in the third period, The Anchor proved to be too squirmy for him to pin. The Anchor defeated The Sleeve 12-5 to cut the Loner lead to 15-12.

Lone Peak's 113-pounder, Austin "Mighty Powers" Walker pinned Quick Nick Austin in the second period of their match, thereby limiting the amount of damage that Lehi's Dalton "The Vise" Rice did in a 120 weight class match against Troy "Horsey" Tebbs. The Vise defeated his Loner foe on a technical fall.

Even though Loner Porter "Tom-Tom" Thomas couldn't pin Lehi's Stony Tony Mackintosh in their 126 weight class match, the Lone Peak wrestler still dominated the contest. It ended with Tom-Tom winning 9-1.

Involving Froggie Reagan "The Pagan" Bodily and Loner Andy "Count Dandy" Larsen, the 132 weight class match went down on as one of the tightest battles of the night. The match opened with The Pagan taking Count Dandy down. Count Dandy scored a reversal, and then received a penalty point that made him the 3-2 winner of the match.

More close matches followed. In the 138 weight class contest, for instance, scoring occurred until the third period when Lehi's Dave "Tidal Wave" Busko took down Jacob "Black Snake" Taylor and went on to win the match 4-2. During the 152 weight class match, Loner Trent "The Greatest Stud" Colton outmaneuvered Froggie Wyatt "Brave Herbie" Herbert 7-1 to improve Lone Peak's lead at 34-20.

The dual meet concluded with a thrilling showdown between Lehi's Garrett "The Baddest Dude" Braxton and Braxton "The Poison" Berry. A nephew of American Fork wrestling legends Captain Scotty Parrish, Chad "Mad Dog" Parrish, and Tyler "The Rottweiller" Parrish, The Poison showed why he had inherited the Parrish genes for being a  talented wrestler. He built up a 3-0 lead over The Baddest Dude in the second period. However, the Baddest Dude scored a reversal,  and he then won the match through scoring a two-point near fall while applying the Froggie Clutch.

Lehi Froggies Score First-Ever Win Against Lone Peak Loners in Jan. 24 Girls' Basketball Showdown
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Lehi Pioneer girls' basketball team finally had something to croak about Jan. 24 when they posted a 63-53 win at home against the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners.

In addition to the game being the second win this season for the Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, it also went down as the first time ever that they defeated the Loners in girls' basketball. All prior attempts to take down Lone Peak had ended with Lehi getting dried up by wide margins. This time, Lehi flooded away the Loners, who had clearly didn't learn anything from American Fork's visit to Lehi. In that prior  game, the Froggies had managed to keep leaping ahead of American Fork until the final five minutes when the Awesome Cavewomen came from behind to beat Lehi by 10 points.

During the Jan 24 game, though, the Loners never led in the game, even though they did tie the score at 33 in the third period. A very happy -- correction, hoppy Troy Grifford, the Froggies' head coach, said, "It was great for us to finally get a jump on an opposing team instead of the other way around. We managed to get a double-digit lead early, and it was swell that we never fell behind tonight."

The Froggies had Faitoto'a Faleao as their lead gun. In fact, she scored their first 13 points. After Faleao had created a 7-0 for her Froggies, Loner Emily Krout swished in a three-pointer. It didn't stir up a scoring run for the Loners, for Faleao swished in another shot that put the lead 11-3. When Loner Petyon Beverride sank a baseline shot, her team went on a 5-4 scoring run led by Lyndsee "Danger Wilma" Robinson. Aided by Beth Beeston, Micala Downs extended the Froggie lead to 17-8 by the end of the first quarter.

With a Reesie Tua foul shot putting the Froggie lead at 18-8 in the early second quarter, Lehi fans became quite joyful about the chance that their Croakers would soon flood the Loners out of the gym. Treys from Audrey "O Gee Ms." Wilson and Angela Call blow the Loners back within 18-17. Just as the Loners were about to row past the Froggies, Lehi's Anga Ah Quin twice stole the ball to buy enough time for a  Faleao shot to put the score at 20-17. Through Robinson and Krout's shooting, the Loners thrice pulled within two points during the quarter's final three minutes, but treys from Ah Quin and a Tyra "T-Rod" Rodriguez foul shot enable the Froggies to keep the Loners from catching up with them during the quarter.

In the third quarter, a Beeston shot improved the Froggies' advantage at 31-26, but an Abi Johnson bucket opened for the Loners a 7-2 scoring run. At the end of it, Krout put a shot back in to tie the game at 33. It  then seemed that like American Fork, the Loners, too, would be able to escape the humiliating fate of losing to Lehi. Before Lone Peak could charge out in front, Faleao dropped in a tie-breaking shot. Ah Quin contributed a trey that tightened the Froggies' hold on the lead. Faleao sank a bucket just before the buzzer to put the score at 40-33.

The final quarter opened with Wilson dropping in a three-pointer that opened a 7-3 scoring run for the Loners. Through Robinson's shooting, the Loners got within 43-40. That turned out to be the closest that Lone Peak could get to the Froggies. A Beeston three-pointer unleashed a 18-13 scoring run led by Kaylie Bartholemew, Faleao, and Ah Quin. Rodriquez, Tua, and Faleao pulled down key boards, the Loners desperate chances for second shots. Lehi's aggressive offensive earned the Froggies a 61-47 lead in the final two minutes. When the final buzzer sounded, a person could safely guess that the Loners were so humiliated about losing to Lehi that they wanted to walk all the way back to Highland rather than ride the bus. (The Awesome Cavemen's football team almost did that once when they lost at Lehi in 1963, but their team bus picked them all up before they reached American Fork.)

At any rate, some Lone Peak fans weren't gracious losers. Soon after the game, one Loner's mom told Lehi fans, "Your girls are dirty players." The truth was that the Froggies didn't play any more dirty than the Loners did. Moreover, Lehi played well enough to win.

Faleao led the Froggies with 21 points while Ah Quin added another 15 and Beeston 14. Robinson led the Loners with 17 points while Wilson added another 10.

Lehi Froggies Drop Jan. 15 Game to Bingham Pickers
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

In Region Four boys' basketball Jan. 15, the Bingham Miners, AKA the Pickers, fished out a 80-68 win on the home court of the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies.

The little brother of Bingham volleyball legend Danica Youngblood, Daylor Youngblood got the opening tipoff, and he connected a pass to the Pickers' biggest gun, Brandon Morley, who got fouled while attempting to sink a bucket. Morley dropped in two foul shots, sending the Pickers on their way to an early 5-0 over the Froggies. No relation to '60's pop sensation J..J. "That's All Right" Jackson, Frankie Jackson opened Lehi scoring with an inside shot. Jordan Peck, the late actor Gregory Peck's "distant cousin," produced a three-point play that sent the Froggies hopping back to tie the game ahead. Before Lehi could jump ahead, Picker Dalton "Sergeant" Shultz broke the 5-5 tie. Even though Jackson evened the game at seven through sinking two foul shots, Braxton "Oui-Oui" McKee hit a jumper that unleashed a 7-1 scoring run for the Pickers.

As the first quarter ended with Picker Lance Harrison sinking a trey, Bingham was looking at spreading  its lead past the 10-point mark. Morley, Harrison, and Jordan "River" Evans guided the Pickers on a 6-0 scoring run that shoved the lead out to 20-8. Just as Lehi appeared certain of getting dried up on its home floor, Blake Cleveringa hit two foul shots that unleashed a comeback for the Froggies. The combined scoring of Cleveringa, Peck, and Chris Macula guided the Froggies in jumping back within 28-21 during the ensuing 13-8 scoring run. A distant cousin of Daylor Youngblood, Deerik Beeston contributed two treys to the Froggie cause during the second quarter. Lehi couldn't get any closer than seven points during the second quarter. A Harrison three-point play left the Pickers owning a 37-26 lead at halftime.

At the start of the second half, Collin Anderton rebounded a missed, 18-foot shot launched by Jackson, and he sank a layup opening a 6-2 scoring run for Lehi. It stroked back within 38-32 on shots from Cleveringa and Ryan Pittard. All through the third period, the Froggies held their on on the boads as they kept the point spread in single digits, but the Pickers never let them tie score. Froggie fans stayed optimistic about their Croakers as Peck and Gavin Rasmussen guided Lehi within 43-40 and 51-48.

Lehi's determination finally paid off early in the fourth period. Despite two Morley foul shots, Ramussen, with some help Peck, cut the lead to 54-53. A Morley free throw didn't prevent Peck from tying the game at 55. Lehi fans croaked excitedly and leaped for joy. At last, their Froggies seemed destined to hop ahead and post their first home win of the season at the expense of the Pickers. Suddenly, an Evans trey broke the tie. The game proceeded to downhill for Lehi. For a little while, the Froggies managed to stay close to Bingham. However, in the final three minutes, the Pickers stretched their lead into double figures again through good foul shooting from Harrison, Youngblood, and Morley. Morley also did some severe damage to Lehi via sinking layups on steals. Lehi would have to wait until Jan. 18 for a showdown against the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings for a chance to win at home.

Peck led the Froggies with 17 points while Cleveringa added another 15. Morley led the Pickers with 20 points while Harrison added another 15 and Evans 14.

Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings Survive Quadruple-Overtime Thriller at Lehi Jan. 18
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings survived a fierce, quadruple overtime game at Lehi Jan. 18. The Ferocious Vikings had to play until close to 10 p.m. in order to sail home with their 109-107 win over the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies.

With a look of relief, Ferocious Viking Coach Randy McAllister said, "We had six guys foul out, and we had to send into the game players, who had never played varsity. Fortunately, they came through for us in the fourth overtime."

There could be no doubt about it that the Pleasant Grove-Lehi game was the most riveting -- correction, ribbiting prep contest for the night. The Froggies came really close to actually winning the game in regulation if it weren't for some key Ferocious Viking shots in the fourth quarter.

A "distant cousin" of Civil War General Robert E. "Bobby" Lee, Ben Lee got the game's opening tipoff and sank a layup. Jordan Peck, a "distant relative" of Hollywood legend Gregory Peck, tied the game at two. Shots from Matt Conway and Forest "Tree" Pinnock gave the Ferocious Vikings leads of 4-2 and 6-4. Midway through the first quarter, Frankie Jackson tied the game at six, and he then produced a tie-breaking three-point play. Just before the first quarter, Blake Cleveringa hit a three-pointer that sent Lehi swimming with a 14-6 lead into the next quarter.

The Froggies' eight-point lead woke the Ferocious Vikings up to the fact that Lehi had to be taken seriously. That fact became all the more alarming to Pleasant Grove when the combined efforts of Ryan Pittard and Tanner Nygren created a 17-8 lead for the Froggies. Three-point plays from Riley Court and Mark Sheffield paced the Ferocious Vikings within 19-16 during an 8-2 scoring run. Hitting two foul shots, Blake Cleveringa became a really hot scorer for the Froggies during the second quarter. Peck and Cleveringa's scoring kept them narrowly ahead throughout the rest of the period, undermining the efforts of Riley Court, who guided the Ferocious Vikings within 25-24 late in the quarter.

The second half opened with Tyson Rupp improving the Froggie lead at 29-24. Suddenly,  a Pinnock bucket opened a 12-6 scoring run for Pleasant Grove. A Jake Robby trey tied the game at 29, and Pinnock put his Ferocious Vikings ahead 312-29. Even though Jackson tied the game at 31, a Court three-pointer restored the lead to Pleasant Grove. The Ferocious Vikings stayed ahead for much of the third quarter. However, helped by a Jackson three-pointer, Nygren hit a trey of his own to tie the game at 38. Cleveringa hit a tie-breaking layup. Despite two foul shots from Matt Conway, a "distant cousin" of TV comedy star Tim Conway, the Ferocious Vikings could slip back out in front during the quarter. Cleveringa and Nygren pumped in shots that enabled the Froggies to take a 49-43 lead into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Froggie fans cheered at seeing Joe Blackburn produce steals and rebounds that helped protect that Froggies' narrow lead. Through Cleveringa, Peck, and Nygren's shooting, the Froggies managed to get as far ahead as 58-51. However, Conway and Court's shooting kept the Ferocious Vikings really close to Lehi, especially when the lead got shortened to 60-58 in the final minute. Despite a Cleveringa free throw, Conway rebounded a missed Pinnock shot and sank a layup. With his team leading Pleasant Grove by just 61-60 in the final 30 seconds, Blackburn went to the foul line in hopes of icing the game for the Froggies, but he missed both free throw. A Ferocious Viking rebounded Blackburn's second missed foul shot and connected a pass to Pinnock for an attempted trey. Pinnock shot bounced off the glass. Cleveringa got fouled by court, and the Froggie hit the first of his one-and-one shots. Cleveringa missed the second one in the final nine seconds of regulation. Conway soon got fouled, and he hit a free throw that sent the game into overtime.

In the first overtime, the Ferocious Vikings built up a 64-62 lead on foul shots from Sheffield and Conway. For a little while, Pleasant Grove managed to stay ahead in the first overtime, but Cleveringa scored four straight unanswered points that put the Froggies ahead 67-66. Nevertheless, Pinnock and and Conway put the Ferocious Vikings back ahead 70-67, but a tying, Nygren trey forced the game into a second overtime.

In the second overtime, Pinnock fouled out, and two Jackson foul shots put the Froggies ahead 72-70. As Pittard fouled out, Lehi fans wondered if all of their starters would be lost to fouls. Fortunately for the Froggies, Cleveringa never fouled out. His shooting kept frequent switches in the lead going. With a Court trey bringing on a third overtime, folks had to wonder if the game would be going on past 10 o'clock. Cleveringa tried hard to get the game to end in a Lehi win, so Lehi students could celebrate it at a dance scheduled to be held in the Commons Area immediately afterwards. Aided by two Collin Anderton foul shots, Cleveringa gave Lehi a 91-89 lead in the final seven seconds of the third overtime.   However, Court hit a 10-foot shot that forced the game into the fourth overtime.

With two Conway foul shots breaking the 91-91 tie, Court went wild in scoring. He produced a 104-96 lead for Pleasant Grove. After he finished his work with sinking a trey, he fouled out at 1:06. The Froggies refused to choke. After Blackburn hit a foul shot, Jackson sank a layup on a steal, and a Cleveringa trey put the Froggies within 105-102. Free throws from Nate Diderickson and Mitch Brown  enabled the Ferocious Vikings to build up a narrrow lead strong enough to save the Ferocious Vikings from getting done in by Cleveringa, who put Lehi within 109-107 just before the final buzzer.

Cleveringa led the Froggies with 45 points while Jackson added another 20 and Nyrgen 15. Conway led Pleasant grove with 30 points while Pinnock added another 18, and Court 17. 

Awesome Cavewoman-Froggie Barnburner

Timp Sports Weekly

January 15, 2013T

Publisher's Message

Every often,  we read stories of basketball teams vexed with horrible records turning out to be tough opponents for powerhouse squads. That is the theme for this week's issue, which will focus on the surprisingly close game between my Awesome American Fork Cavewomen and the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies. The Jan. 10 game was the most riveting -- correction, ribbiting contest I had ever witnessed between the Awesome Cavewomen  and the Froggies. If it weren't for some American Fork foul shots in the last five minutes, those Froggies would have had a win to croak about for days to come. Well, as they say in Lehi, let's dive into the story about the game. It was swamped with excitement. I guarantee you.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

magnanovelist@gmail.com

Awesome AF Cavewomen Narrowly Survive Upset Attempt in Jan. 10 Game at Lehi

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Awesome American Fork Cavewomen went into Lehi's gym Jan. 10, expecting to dry up the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, in a hurry. After all, Lehi had won only one game so far this season: a 63-50 win over the Payson Lions, AKA the Kitties, on Dec. 20. Thus on paper, American Fork should have throttled those Croakers within the first five minutes. However, the Awesome Cavemen didn't take the Froggies seriously, enabling Lehi to dominate the game until the final five minutes. Thanks to some free throws at the end, the Awesome Cavewomen managed to win 50-49.

Missed free throws proved to be a big problem for the Awesome Cavewomen during the course of the night. Cavewoman Amy Bergeson, for one, went 2-8 at the line. Teammates Cassidy Fraughton and Megan Eliason also had problems with swishing in foul shots. Bryanna Adams went 8-8 at the line, but her foul shooting didn't come on strong until later in the game. 

Poor foul shooting was not the only problem that hampered American Fork through most of the game. The Awesome Cavewomen also vexed themselves with bad passes and other frequent turnovers, which provided the Froggies opportunities that they quickly hopped at. The American Forkers also let Lehi clobber them on the boards through most of the game.

Adams did put her Awesome Cavewomen on the board first. Reesie Tua tied the game at two. Aided by a Jaylee "Shep" Shepard tie-breaking shot, Adams and Fraughton each swished in a trey to create a 9-2 lead for the Awesome Cavewomen. Just as it appeared that Lehi would get dried up early as it had done in most of its games so far this season, the Froggies began a comeback that should have made clear to the Cavewomen that Lehi had to be taken seriously. Beth Beeston nailed an inside shot, and Faitoto'a Faleao became the Froggies' go-to girl for scoring inside with shots. With the Froggies dominating the boards, they kept feeding the ball to Faleao. Her shots from outside the key and at the foul line soon tied the game at 11. Before the Awesome Cavewomen could pull ahead, Froggie Brooklyn Willes stole the ball and passed to Micala Downs for a tie-breaking layup. Downs frosted it with a foul shot to complete a three-point play. Although Awesome Cavewoman Alynn Breinholt hit a trey to tie game at 14, a Faleoa bucket gave the Froggies a 16-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter went down as a story of the Froggies breaking practically every tie created by the Awesome Cavewomen. Early in the second quarter, Adams tied the game at 16, but Willes broke the tie. After sophomore Maile Richardson hit two foul shots to tie the game at 20, Fraughton scored four unanswered points on two layups that she made within seconds of each other, putting American Fork ahead 24-22. However, the Froggies soon retook the lead. After teammate Tyra "T-Rod" Rodriguez tied the game at 24, Willes extended it to 26-24. An Eliason free throw put the Awesome Cavewomen within 26-25. Before American Fork could row ahead, Falaeo hit an inside shot that gave Lehi a 28-25 advantage.

In the second half, a Willes trey opened third-period scoring, giving Lehi a 31-25 lead. It became the Froggies' biggest lead of the game. In the meantime, the third quarter saw the Froggies remain able to keep hopping ahead of the frustrated Awesome Cavewomen, who continued hurting themselves with poor efforts on the boards and frequent turnovers. Even though Fraughton and Bergsono did guided the Awesome Cavewomen within 33-32 and 35-34, Rodriguez's rebounding prodded the Froggies to keep jumping a few points ahead. By the end of the third quarter, the Froggies commanded a 39-36 lead. If it had not been for Adams' incredibly accurate shooting, the Awesome Cavewomen would have definitely been flooded out of Lehi's gym well before the start of the fourth quarter.

The arrival of it gave the Froggies hope of scoring one of the biggest upsets in 5-A girls' basketball this month. No doubt Lehi would have done, if American Fork had continued not taking the Froggies seriously. The Awesome Cavewomen rowed within 39-38, but Tua nailed two foul shots and put a shot back in to create a 42-38 lead that gave the impression that the Froggies would keep staying narrowly ahead clear to the final buzzer. 

"We started playing good basketball in the last five minutes," said American Fork Coach Corey Clayton. "Thank God they were the right five minutes. We got a lot to work on."

Beginning at the 5:00 mark, Bergson and Eliason guided the Awesome Cavewomen within 43-42, Pulling down a defensive board, Fraughton connected a long pass to Richardson, who got fouled while going for a layup. Richardson hit both of her foul throws to tip the Awesome Cavewomen ahead 44-43. Richardson hit another two a short time later. The momentum swung to the Awesome Cavewomen's favor. Richardson pulled down some key defensive rebounds while Shepherd came produced some steals that enabled American Fork to tighten its hold on the lead. The Froggies became more aggressive in hopes of leaping back out in front. Their efforts ended up sending Adams and Fraughton to the foul line several times each, enabling American Fork to build up a 60-47 lead. The game ended with Rodiguez sinking a meaningless bucket.

"Maile was pretty tough on the boards tonight," Clayton said. "That helped us a lot down the wire."

Adams led the Awesome Cavewomen with 16 points while Fraughton added another 12. Faleao led the Froggies with17 points while Tua added another eight.

Froggie-Kitten Contest

Timp Sports Weekly

January 8, 2013

Publisher's Message

This week's issue covers the Jan. 2 thriller that the Kearns Cougars, AKA the Kittens, hosted against the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies. Although the boys' basketball game was an exhibition contest, it was as physical as games between my University of Utah Utes and the BYU Cougars, AKA the Zoobies. The Jan. 2 game was quite riveting -- correction, ribbiting. As they say in Lehi, let's hop straight to that story.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

magnanovelist@gmail.com

Kearns Kittens Outlast Lehi Froggies 62-56 in Boys' Exhibition Game

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

In a non-league boys' basketball game at Kearns Jan. 23, the Kearns Cougars, AKA the Kittens, clawed their way to a 62-56 win over the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies.

The Kittens got a lot of firepower from Dayon "Night" Goodman, Bushman "Numbia" Ebert, and Darrion "K-Town" Brown through the course of the night.  The Kittens got their claws on the lead first via an Ebert jump shot;.

Lehi's Frankie Jackson answered it by putting a shot back into a hoop. Before the Froggies could hop ahead, Brown hit a go-ahead trey. Before long, the Kittens commanded a 7-3 advantage. Aided by a Chris Macula rebound shots, Froggie Cleveringa hopped rapidly with a steal that ended with him sinking a tying layup. Ebert broke the 7-7 with a trey. Despite efforts from Jackson and Jordan Peck, the Froggies couldn't leap ahead of the Kittens in the first quarter.

Lehi attempted to turn its situation around on rebounds from Tanner Nygren and Tanner Pittard in the second quarter, but the Kittens stayed narrowly ahead through the shooting of Hank "H-Rod" Rodriguez, Taylor "Needles" Martchiz, Jared "Big J" Anderson, Goodman, and Brown. McKale Downs and Peck's foul shooting as well as a Cleveringa jumper enabled the Froggies to narrow the Kitten lead to 18-16 in the second quarter. That was the closest Lehi could get to overtaking the Kittens. With Ebert getting really hot inside the paint in the first half's closing minutes, the second quarter ended with Brown dropping in a three-pointer a fraction of the second before the buzzer.

After Amone "Kiwi" Finau hit a free throw for the Kittens in the early second half, Macula hit a trey, but two straight Ebert layups extended the Kearns lead 39-30. Efforts by Jackson and Cleveringa prevented the Kittens from pulling more than 10 points ahead.

Late in the third quarter, Jackson got really hot in scoring, and he eventually tied the game at 41. However, Rodriguez sank a tie-breaking layup, and a Goodman set shot permitted the Kittens to take a 45-41 lead into the finally quarter.

That period saw Lehi unable to contain Goodman. He fried the Froggies both inside and outside the paint. Jackson and Cleveringa, though, managed to keep Lehi in the game. The Froggies got as close as 58-56 on a Cleveringa basket in the final two minutes. However, free throws from Goodman and Brown clutched the game for the Kittens,

Cleveringa led the Froggies with 28 points while Jackson added another 11, Peck eight, and Macula seven. Goodman led the Kittens with 18 while Brown and Ebert each posted 15 and Rodriguez 10.

Awesome AF Cavemen at Jordan Holiday Classic

Timp Sports Weekly

January 1, 2013

Publisher's Message

This week's issue looks at the Awesome American Fork Cavemen's adventure at the recent Jordan Holiday Classic, a preseason tournament that gave them the kind of experience that they needed to learn in order to survive in the state 5-A boys' basketball tournament. At that tournament, my Awesome Cavemen posted a 2-2 record. We will look at each of the four games that their varsity team played in. This issue will also feature an essay on what freshman college athletes should consider doing to cope with living in faraway college towns. Let's get to the stories of the tournament and the essay.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

magnamovelist@gmail.com

Awesome AF Cavemen Defeat Copper Hills Cubbies in Octafinal Action at Jordan Holiday Classic

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

Held at Jordan High, home of the Jordan Beetdiggers, AKA the Plowboys, the Fourth Annual Jordan Holiday Classic opened with the Awesome American Fork Cavemen defeating the Copper Hills Grizzlies, AKA the Cubbies, 48-39.

Having taken five days off after their trip to a preseason tournament down in St. George, home of Dixie State College, the best party school around, the Awesome Cavemen came out rusty in the opening quarter against the Cubbies. American Fork Coach Doug Meacham admitted, "We looked like we had done nothing for the past five day but play X-Box. We didn't play as good as we should have. We got up by 18 points in the fourth period, but we let them charge back within seven. When you're up by 18, you can't let up. Maybe we ought to drink some Red Bulls to maintain our intensity when we have wide leads."

During the first quarter, the Cubbies looked as though they would be able to take down the Awesome Cavemen like they had done the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, in an overtime game at Lehi two weeks earlier. Early in the Dec. 27 contest, Cubbie Danny "Long Shot" Martinez opened scoring with a 17-foot jumper. A "distant cousin" of Hollywood starlet Ursula Andrus, Ryan Andrus produced a three--point to put the Awesome Cavemen ahead 3-2. A series of switches in the lead followed as the Awesome Cavemen attempted to battle to show that Copper Hills was going to take them down like it down the Froggies. Aided by a Chris Wells trey, Andrus improved an Awesome Caveman lead at 10-7. Mitch "Sing Along" Eyre hit a 10-foot, buzzer beater to put his Cubbies within 10-9 at the end of the period.

The second period opened with a Martinez trey putting the Cubbies out in front 12-10. The Awesome Cavemen answered that three-pointer by holding Copper Hills scoreless for the rest of the quarter. Meacham said, "All of their turnovers that quarter turned into baskets for us. We also got a lot of offensive rebounds in the second period." Andrus scored on one of those offensive rebounds seconds before the arrival of intermission.

While Quarter 2 ultimately proved fatal for the Cubbies, it enabled the Awesome Cavemen to pull away through the shooting of Well, Andrus, and ninth-grader Brendan Bailey, a "distant cousin" of comic character Beetle Bailey. By halftime, American Fork had created a 21-13 lead.

Efforts to recover from the second period proved frustrating for the Cubbies. After Andrus had laid in a hook shot, teammate Danny Nyman produced a three-point play that extended American Fork's lead to 26-13. Assisted by a Martinez three-pointer, Darius Maluia racked up four straight points to guide his Cubbies back within 26-20. A Wells trey unleashed a 14-2 scoring run that spilt over into the final period. 

It opened with Awesome Caveman Brayden Harris scoring on a fastbreak play that left his team owning a 40-22 lead. It could have convinced the Cubbies to throw up their paws and let the Awesome  Cavemen clobber them by 30 points or more. However, Martinez swished in two consecutive treys to open a big comeback for his Cubbies. Encouraged by an Austin "Super Duper Powers" McCombs trey, they battled back within seven points. When Maluia scored an offensive rebound to put Cooper Hills within 42-35, the Cubbies finally looked as though they would find recover from the second period. However, Bailey put a shot back in to reignite American Fork's offensive effort. Andrus and Ty Rawson pulled down some key defensive boards to clutch the game for the Awesome Cavemen. Meacham said, "Rawson pulled down seven boards for us and Andrus 10. Bailey posted two offensive rebounds for us."

Andrus said, "Through the game, they used  a box-and-one to try shutting me off. All it did was open the other guys on my team to receiving passes from me. I would kick it out to them, and they would sink shots."

Andrus led the Awesome Cavemen with 21 points while Wells added another 10. Martinez led his Cubbies with 14 points.

American Fork Falls to East High Red Kittens 85-74 in Dec. 28 Quarterfinals

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

At Jordan High Dec. 28, the Awesome American Fork Cavemen learned the hard way what they would have to do in a state playoff game against the East High Leopards, the Red Kittens. In a Jordan Holiday Classic quaterfinals, the Red Kittens scratched up the Awesome Cavemen 85-74.

American Fork Coach Doug Meacham said, "We helped [East's] Parker Van Dyke to hit open shots. He had a heyday on the court, and we didn't play really good defense against him. He got too many scoring opportunities. We have to learn how play good defense against guys like him." 

Having signed a letter of intent to play for the U of U, the world's only true university, Parker Van Dyke put on for spectators a performance as amazing as any show staged by his "distant cousin" Dick Van Dyke, a TV and movie star. That Red Kitten guard wowed fans with long shots, steals, and layups  that enabled him to become game's top scorer with 41 points.

Now the game unfolded with Awesome Caveman Chris Wells getting the tipoff and passing the ball to Ryan Andrus for a successful jump shot. Red Kitten Joe Hallman answered it with a go-ahead trey. Even though Andrus restored the lead to the Awesome Cavemen through sinking two foul shots, Preston Curtis hit a three-pointer that tipped his Red Kittens back ahead 5-4. Van Dyke then went on a shooting spree that left East owning a 22-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Wells, Andrus, Brayden Harris, and Ty Rawson attempted to open an Awesome Caveman comeback. However, American Fork continued letting Van Dyke dance his way to sinking easy layups while his teammate Mitch "Pitch" Grant, Connor Pardoe, Johnny Fakahafau, and Pa'a "Kettle" Montalbo dominated the boards. Pardo and Grant also did some damage with consistent inside scoring. With the Awesome Cavemen hurting their composure through drawing a mid-quarter technical foul, the Red Kittens had no trouble with creating a lead as wide as 45-41. American Fork trimmed it to 45-25 on two Andrus foul shots and a Rawson tip-in shot just before the buzzer.

In the third quarter, a Kyle Line trey opened a 20-8 scoring run led by Andrus and Danny Nyman. After the Awesome Caveman had clubbed their way back within 53-45, they looked as though they would pull off the greatest comeback in the history of the Jordan Holiday Classic as Andrus and Rawson pulled down key defensive boards for them. Despite efforts from Van Dyle, the Awesome Cavemen kept slashing away at the lead until they got within 56-50 in the third quarter's final minute. Suddenly, Pardoe dropped in a three-pointer, and Van Dyke hit two free throws to stretch the Red Kitten lead to 61-50. The period ended with Wells cutting the lead to 61-52.

In the early fourth period, Andrus guided the Awesome Cavemen within 61-54 and 63-56. However, a Van Dyke three-pointer pushed the Red Kitten lead back into double digits. Aided by Grant and Pardoe, Van Dyke kept the Red Kittens up by more than 10 points through the rest of the game. East's fourth-quarter lead got as wide as 80-66. Kyle Line scored five unanswered points to put the Awesome Cavemen within 85-74 at the end of the game.

Andrus led American Fork with 26 points while Rawson added another 16, Line 13, and Wells 12. Besides the 41 points that they got from Van Dyke, the Red Kittens also had Pardoe and Grant each contribute another 15 to the winning cause.

Layton Lancers Skewer Awesome AF Cavemen 62-45 in Dec. 29 Consolation Game
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Awesome American Fork Cavemen showed in their Dec. 29 game against the Layton Lancers, AKA the Stickers, that they hadn't recovered from the clobbering that the East High Red Kittens had dealt them the afternoon before. In the Dec. 29 consolation game, the Stickers skewered the Awesome Cavemen 62-45.

In the first quarter, the Stickers charged out to an early 4-0 lead on Marcus Kemp and Mikey Hibbert's shooting. Even though Ty Rawson cut the lead to 4-2, the Awesome Cavemen's performance turned out to be sluggish. When Layton had improved its lead at 8-2, it was safe to bet that American Fork would definitely get smoked well before halftime. Following a Ryan Andrus jump shot, comic strip character Beetle Bailey's "distant cousin" Brendan Bailey hit a trey that put American Fork within 14-7. A Kemp foul shot improved it at 15-7 just before the first quarter break.

In the second quarter, Hibbert, Dallin Johnson, Josh Harrop, and Jarrisse Blackmon had an easy time in pushing the Stickers' lead into double figures. In outscoring the Awesome Cavemen 17-12 in the second period, the Stickers had no trouble with keeping the point spread in double digits, despite good inside shooting from Andrus, a "distant relative" of Hollywood legend Ursula Andrus. The closest that the Awesome Cavemen could get to Layton during Quarter 2 was 27-17.

In the second half, Bailey scored two treys and two inside shots to help the Awesome Cavemen get within 42-33. Hibbert swished in a set shot, and the Sticker led never fell below the 10-point mark, despite rebounding efforts by Rawson, Andurs, Bailey, Chris Wells, Dallin Childs, and Kyle Line.

Awesome Caveman Coach Doug Meacham said, "We're still playing soft. We need to be more aggressive on the floor. We're letting shots dictate how we're going to defend. We can't be doing that at state."

Andrus led American Fork with 19 points while Bailey added another 13. Hibbert paced the Stickers with 26 points while Johnson added another 10.

AF Finishes 7th at Jordan Holiday Classic Via Winning 60-45 Over the Bonneville Sinkers Dec. 31
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Awesome American Fork Cavemen celebrated New Year's Eve by defeating the Bonneville Lakers, AKA the Sinkers, 62-45 to take seventh at the Jordan Holiday Classic, hosted by the Jordan Beetdiggers, AKA the Plowboys.

The first half of the game went down as a repeat of the East and Layton games. Led by Mason Rich, the Sinkers sailed out to a 13-7 lead in the first quarter. Aided by Jared Ford and Dakota "Handsome Sioux" Buckway, Mason guided Bonneville in maintaining a narrow lead in the second quarter. However, Ryan Andrus and Brendan Bailey guided the Awesome Cavemen in making a comeback. By halftime, they reached within 26-24.

In the third quarter, they tied the game four times, only to see the Sinkers sneak ahead of them on Ford and Carson Smith's shots. A Ford trey extended the Sinker lead to 31-26. Andrus scored five straight points to tie the game at 31. Ford swished in a second straight trey to put the Sinkers ahead 34-31. With a Brendan Bailey trey tying the game at 34, the Awesome Cavemen became increasingly confident that they would eventually pull ahead. They finally did when Chris Wells swished in a three-pointer to put them ahead 41-40. An Andrus bucket tightened American Fork's hold on the lead. Although a Buckway three--pointer tied the game at 43, the Sinkers couldn't retake the lead. Taking a pass from Wells, Brayden Harris sank a tie-breaking three-pointer. A Rawson foul shot left the Awesome Cavemen owning a 47-43 lead at the end of the third period.

Aided by Dallin Childs' rebounding, Bailey led a 6-2 scoring run that gave American Fork a 53-45 lead. The Sinkers pulled down some key defensive rebounds that fueled a 7-0 scoring run for them. They almost tied the game at 53, but Rawson pulled down a defensive board, and Andrus hit a short jumper that kept the Awesome Cavemen narrowly ahead. They managed to stretch their lead as wide as 59-53. Buckway hit a three-pointer that almost led to the game going into overtime. An Andrus free throw and a Rawson steal clutched the game for American Fork.

Meacham said, "I think our guys are realizing that our three-point shots can only do so much for us. Our bigs will have to pass to our shorts, and then slipped inside into the paint to receive passes for layups. This tournament has taught us what we will need to do to survive at state."

While Bailey got named Playmaker of the Bonneville game, Andrus received a spot on the Jordan Holdiday's Classic's All-Tournament Team.

Andrus led American Fork 23 points while Wells added another 13. Rich led the Sinkers with 15 points while Buckway added another 12 and Ford 11.

Publisher's Column
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

In the middle of last week, I learned that former Awesome American Fork Caveman basketball sensation Quincy Bair had quit the Utah State Aggie team. He had received only small amounts of playing time in every non-league contest that he had played in.

Of course, I had wondered whether he would last long at the Logan-based university. His dad, Dalton, had told me at the Magna 7-11 store often frequented, "Quincy doesn't like it in Logan. There's not much for him to do up there."

I can relate to what Quincy went through clear up to when he called it quits with the Aggie basketball program. Back in October 1996, I moved up to Evanston, Wyoming, to work for the Uinta County Herald, a semi-weekly newspaper. With having only one former high school acquaintance and no relatives up there, I had a devil of a time with trying to adjust to living up there. After my first week there, I was already wishing that I was back in Utah covering sports for the American Fork Citizen again. Because I had signed a six-month lease for an upstairs apartment at a duplex, which used to be a family home, returning to Utah was out of the question. So I had to struggle with trying to adjust to life as an E-Towner.

Within three weeks after I had moved to Evanston, I finally decided that my relocation to that community was not worth when my then managing editor Shawn Hubbell gave the responsibilities of laying out the sports section to news reporter Jason Wood. Before he had hired me, Shawn had promised me that I would be involved with laying out sports pages. Instead of keeping his word, he continued laying the sports section himself until he taught Jason how to do that job.

Shawn's broken promise made me so mad that I wanted to quit in May 1997. When I complained to Mom about the broken pledge, she said, "Dean, just ask if you can do layouts." I disregarded her advice, because I thought Shawn would tell me no. I stayed angry about the broken promise for the next 10 months. That anger made the rest of my time in Evanston miserable for me.

I will say that an overwhelming majority of the people of Evanston were really nice to me, especially Jason Wood. However, my anger at Shawn caused me to become unwilling to do anything to assimilate into the Southwestern Wyoming city. All I wanted to think about was securing another journalism job in May 1997, the month when I would no longer be required to keep living at the duplex.

In the meantime, Shawn had falling out with Herald publisher Mike Jensen over a silly argument about why a photo scanner didn't work. Because of the falling-out, Shawn resigned, and he moved away to Boulder, Colorado, to pursue a career as a Lieutenant in the US Army Reserve. Jason, meanwhile, became the new managing editor. I should have given him a chance to correct the wrong that Shawn had done to me, but I didn't. I stayed mad at Shawn, vowing to quit my job as a way to get even with him. Finally in August 1997, I secretly made arrangements with Citizen managing editor Marc Haddock for me to get my old job back. I then gave Jason two weeks' notice.

Jason had me meet with Mike Jensen to find out why I had decided to resign. When I told the publisher the reason, he raised raised his brows in surprise and asked, "Why didn't you say so?" I didn't answer that question.

I had soon learned that the reason for my resignation had become something moot, for the responsibility of laying out the sports pages got transferred from Jason to the Herald's new sports editor, Don Lund, whom Mike had hired without my knowledge.

I moved back to Utah, and tried to reliving the kind of life that I had known before my move to Evanston. That attempt, unfortunately, brought me a long list of terrible consequences that I won't go into. What I will say is that the worst of consequences was the loss of my sports writing job when the Provo Daily Herald dropped the sports section as the first step towards eliminating the northern Utah County weeklies that it had bought from Brett Bezzant and Brent Sumner.

Looking back, I now wish I listened to Mom's advice about asking at the Uinta County Herald if I could do layouts. Furthermore, I also wish that I had done things to assimilate into the E-Towners' community like move-ins Mike Jensen, Don Lund, and Jason Wood had done when they were living in Evanston.

My advice to high school athletes anticipating to play collegiate sports in distant communities is for them to learn everything they can about those towns before moving away to them. Those young people should also seek to do things to assimilate into the communities where they'll be attending college. Freshman athletes can volunteer to work as coaches in youth sports programs or helpers at community recreation centers. It is absolutely important that they establish ties with the residents of the communities where they will be living for the next four years of their lives. Otherwise, they will feel really lonely during their time away at college.

By the way, Shawn finally did keep his promise to me. On the week of the first anniversary of my departure from the Uinta County Herald, I called him at his work and had him give me an eight-minute lesson on how to lay out a sports section. Of course, during the course of that telephone conversation, he would tell me, "Dean, I'm in a different line of work." I kept blowing that comment off and kept asking him questions about doing layouts. Though I doubt that experience taught him to keep promises from thereon out, it was still great getting him to finally keep his word.

It would have also been great if I become willing to assimilate into the culture of Evanston instead of staying mad at Shawn for the 11 months that I spent in that small city. Quitting can yield unpleasant consequences. I hope that doesn't prove to be the case for Quincy.