Everything came together for Parowan's Cody Bradley against Monticello last Friday. It was the third quarter and Parowan was up 27-0. The Rams had just gotten past the 50-yard line but was unsuccessful with a couple of run plays. Coach Matt Labrum wanted to punt the ball but his coaches suggested another option.
"My other coaches were asking, 'Why not a field goal?'" Labrum said. "I looked at [Cody] and asked if he could get it and he said 'yep.'"
Not only did Bradley make the 60-yard field goal - by far the longest in the school's history - but he had an extra three or four yards to spare.
Labrum had no doubt that Bradley, also a soccer player, could make the kick.
"He's been consistently making 30-40 yard field goals for us all year," Labrum said. "He's got the leg. It's just a matter of getting the snap and kicking it straight. The wind was with him and he struck it well."
Parowan went on to win the game.
--Maggie Thach

We are. We're gearing up for the start of the girls' soccer state tournament and here are the games we will be covering the first round.


TUESDAY:
Brighton at Lehi
Lone Peak at Skyline
Jordan at Timpanogos
Highland at Woods Cross
Mountain View at Pine View
Sky View at Murray

WEDNESDAY
Carbon at Logan
Salem at Waterford

Here are the complete brackets:

5A FIRST ROUND
All games at 4 p.m.

Upper bracket
Brighton at Lehi
Hunter at Davis
Viewmont at Riverton
Lone Peak at Skyline

Lower bracket
West Jordan at Fremont
Jordan at Timpanogos
Weber at Alta
Layton at Bingham

4A FIRST ROUND
Upper bracket
Bonneville at Orem
Provo at East
Timpview at Snow Canyon
Highland at Woods Cross

Lower bracket
Mtn. View at Pine View
Olympus at Bountiful
West at Springville
Sky View at Murray

Wednesday, Oct. 15
All 3A games at 4 p.m.

3A FIRST ROUND
Upper bracket
Judge Memorial at Delta
Carbon at Logan
Ogden at Canyon View
Salem Hills at Waterford

Lower bracket
Hurricane at Bear River
Wasatch at Juan Diego
North Sanpete at Park City
Morgan at Cedar

2A FIRST ROUND
South Sevier at American Leadership, 3 p.m.
Gunnison at Grand, 4 p.m.
Richfield at South Summit, 4 p.m.

-- Maggie Thach

Weber High's Shay Sorensen has signed a letter of intent to play for Westminster next season. She is the first recruit to sign with the Griffins.
Sorensen has lettered in volleyball for three seasons for the Warriors. As a junior, she averaged three kills and 1.5 blocks a set. She is a three-year starter and was a team captain for two of those years. She has also played for the Intermountain High Performance teams that traveled to Slovenia and Italy.

Also, Juan Diego's game against the Carbon Dinos has been moved to Thursday at 7 p.m.
The game will still be played at Juan Diego.

- Maggie Thach

Some thoughts and interviews following last night's (chilly) action. More to come.

West Jordan continues slide.
After a 5-0 start, could the Jaguars go winless in Region 3? With Copper Hills and Kearns still ahead on the schedule, a zero win regular season is looking more likely for West Jordan after falling to Hunter 20-0 on Friday night.
Of course, the Jaguars are in a tough region with the likes of Bingham and Riverton. But West Jordan hasn't just lost--it hasn't even been close. In its last three outings, West Jordan fell by an average of just over three touchdowns.
For Hunter, it looks like a tough preseason schedule that included Davis and Alta has paid off. Since the Hawks handed the Wolverines a 20-0 loss on September 12, Hunter has won three of four. Its only region loss as a relatively narrow loss to Kearns.

Manti keeps hope alive
Following last week's tough loss to Juab, the Manti football team needed a win to keep their Region 2A North championship hopes alive.
The Templars would have to do it without the help of starting linebacker Jens Hewe who suffered a broken arm last weekend and is out for the year.
Despite the loss, Manti didn't leave any room for doubt in their 46-17 win over South Summit.
"We played well," said Manti coach Cole Meacham. "All of our kids did."
They'll need to continue playing well, but a lot will depend on the outcomes of next weekend. A Juab loss would put Manti, North Summit and Juab in a coin toss position for the top three seeds in the region. A Juab win would lock down second place for the Templars.
That's if they win, of course.
"We try to just worry about one game at a time and worry about the outcome later," said Meacham. "But we’ve got to take care of Gunnison next week."

Morgan at Logan
Of course, there was more than one upset on Friday night. Bountiful and Sky View was a minor one.
Morgan and Logan was less advertised--and maybe less expected.
Morgan took control of the Region 11 race by defeating Logan 28-21, handing the Grizzlies their first region loss of the season.
"It was a good win," said Morgan coach Kovi Christiansen. "I don’t think anybody thought we could do it, other than us."
But it didn’t come easy.
The Trojans had to find away to shut down Logan's firing offense led by heralded quarterback Jeff Manning. To do that, Christiansen called for his team to keep its coverages unpredictable.
"We tried to make things as difficult as possible," said Christiansen. "We wanted to make it difficult for them to get a read on us."
But it was still close. Morgan’s Jacob Kinsey had two huge touchdown runs--one in the third and one in the fourth quarter--to put the Trojans on top.
"I've just gotta give it to our group of seniors," said Christiansen. "It was the leadership that made it happen tonight."

Here are my thoughts from watching Bountiful and Sky View

The Bobcats need a running game. They passed the football 90 percent of the time in the second half, and they simply need to be more balanced than that. Running the spread offense is fine and stretching the ball downfield is cool, but even the best spread offenses need a running game to keep a defense honest. The reason Bountiful had such a great pass rush is because the Braves defense had no fear of the rush. The front four simply pinned their ears back, and the Bountiful coaching staff sent the kitchen sink.

Sky View was on the receiving end of some very questionable calls.

Let's start with the interception by Travis Parrish to clinch the game. It wasn't an interception. Plain and simple. Parrish made a great play by jumping the route, but the Bobcats receiver on the play ripped the ball from Parrish's hands before Parrish made a football move. It was a horrible call by the officials made even more horrible by the fact that they ruled the play a fumble, which Bountiful recovered.

Secondly, on a punt that could've given Sky View great field position because Bountiful kicked it out of bounds, the officials ruled that the ball went out at Sky View's 40 yardline when it clearly flew out of bounds 10 yards up the field. I let out a chuckle on that one.

It goes both ways, as the Bobcats had two guys in motion on the same play, with no call.

Travis Parrish is one of the best linebackers in the state. Period. Nuff said.

The Alta Hawks will hold a ceremony tonight at halftime where they will recieve a $5,000 check from the Bank of American Fork as a part of a program the Hawks hope will raise up to $40,000.
Tonight's check, presented during Alta's game against Hillcrest, will be used to install restrooms and perhaps a new snack bar, according to Hawks head coach Les Hamilton. The bank could contribute up to $20,000. Those wishing to contribute to renovations can do so at any Bank of American Fork location.
"The Bank of American Fork is our biggest banner on the scoreboard," Hamilton said. "The hope is to get a check for $35,000 by our scrimmage next season."
-- Tony Jones

LaVaughn Jackson's back.

Sort of.

The senior running back from Layton, who broke his foot in the first week of the season, made his return last Friday against Clearfield.

Sort of.

By that, we mean that Jackson was limited. He was sore. He didn't have confidence in his foot. And that led to a hesitant coaching staff.

"He got pretty sore, pretty quick, so we pulled him out of there," Lancers coach Jim Batchelor said.

For the Clearfield game, Jackson carried the ball five times for 16 yards. But one play stood out more than the others.

On that play, Jackson took a pitch on a sweep and encountered a Falcons defense that overpursued the ball. Jackson then went to cut back, but lacked the explosiveness to pull the move off effectively.

"We saw him stumble when we watched the game film," Batchelor said. "If LaVaughn's healthy, he would've scored."

Jackson's been limited in practice this week, so it's unclear how much of a role he'll have on Friday against Syracuse. He played a little at cornerback last week, but Batchelor doesn't anticipate using him defensively this week.

"I know LaVaughn wants to get back to 100 percent," Batchelor said. "He's going to get more reps each week, so hopefully it won't be long."


Also, Layton tight end/defensive end Thomas Bryson has picked up a scholarship offer from Utah State, according to Batchelor. He also has an offer from Stanford.

-- Tony Jones

The Alta High girls' tennis team won the Class 5A title last season thanks to its outstanding depth.

It looks as if the Hawks are solidly on their way to repeating this weekend.

Alta was the only team with competitors in all five classes to advance everyone to Saturday's semifinal. In first singles, Ashley Tanner surrendered just one game in two matches.

In second singles, Aubrey Paul won two matches in straight sets. Alexis Nielson, in third singles, was the only player to drop a set, but still defeated Jordan Ricks of Lone Peak 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. The doubles team of Dana Petersen/Jessica Staples, as well as the team of Lexi Haynes/Hope Masters both advanced as well.

"This was absolutely our goal, and we're extremely happy at the result," Alta coach Karl Packer said. "We needed to play like we were capable of, and that's what we did."

The match of the day happened in the No. 3 singles second round, where Mersadi Wilkins of Bingham defeated Brighton's Stephanie Nielsen 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5).

It wasn't so much the play — the skill level was higher in other matches — but the two tie-breakers, combined with the competitiveness of both players, made this one memorable. When it was over, Wilkins found herself mobbed by well-wishers.

It's supposed to rain on Friday and it's supposed to snow on Saturday. As a result, the UHSAA is taking no chances. Saturday's semifinal and finals matches have been moved from Liberty Park to the Eccles Tennis Center on the University of Utah Campus, which is an indoor venue. The start time on Saturday is noon.

-- Tony Jones

   Bronson Kaufusi, the junior from Timpview High and one of the best defensive ends in the state, was suspended for Friday night's contest against Orem for throwing a punch last Friday in a game against Tooele. And then he was reinstated late Wednesday afternoon.

    Kaufusi was ejected from the Tooele game, which Timpview won to set the state record for consecutive wins, over the vehement ejections from T-Bird head coach Louis Wong.

    The Timpview coaching staff said that Kaufusi never threw a punch, and appealed the decision, citing game film that they hoped would prove Kaufusi innocent. The decision came was upheld this morning, according to Wong, by the UHSAA.

    "I'm very disappointed," Wong said before the decision was reversed. "This is a kid with impeccable character. In my two years of coaching him, he's never had a personal foul called against him and he's never been angry on the practice field or in a game. This kid is being punished for something that didn't happen."

    Kaufusi, who has committed to play football at BYU and who is the son of Cougars defensive line coach Steve Kaufusi, was only suspended for the one game, which the T-Birds should easily win. But Wong's issue is the principle of the situation.

TALK ABOUT A CONTRAST
Spanish Fork has played three games against elite competition, one each against Alta, Timpview and Hunter. The result? How about three losses by a combined 150-31 score. That smells a little like disaster. Thing is, it hasn't been a disaster as the Dons have won their other four games, including two in Region 4. Spanish Fork gets another shot at a big time team this week when it faces Pleasant Grove at home with first place in the league on the line. tjones@sltrib.com

Provo has canceled Thursday's game against Mountain Crest, says Mustangs head coach Mark Wooten. The reason is that the Bulldogs have injuries up and down their lineup and need some rest before playing a huge game against Tooele next Wednesday, one with state playoff implications.

"I see where they're coming from," Wooten said. "I think they're doing what's best for them. They've had kids hurt the last couple of weeks and they want to get rested for the stretch run."

Without the game, the JV game was canceled as well, and Mountain Crest has just nine games on its schedule.

Judge Memorial's game this week against Wasatch is at Wasatch High. It was previously reported to be played at East High. The Bulldogs are 0-1 in Region 10 and badly need to sweep the final three games of the season in order to make the playoffs.

- Tony Jones

Greetings from southern Utah. I'm stationed here to cover tomorrow morning's St. George Marathon. Not as exciting as Friday night football, you say?

Well, I beg to differ. But I'm also biased in that regard.

Luckily for me, there is a sports grill right next door to my hotel so as I write tonight's blog I am keeping on eye on the Boston Red Sox game out of the corner of my eye. Go Red Sox!

After the race tomorrow, I'm up to SUU to see the up-and-coming T-Birds face off against Youngstown State.

So for me, this weekend is a sports smorgasbord of sorts. But first things first.

Juab 42, Manti 27.
In terms of small-town rivalries, Friday's game between Manti and Juab was about as big as they come.
The Region 2A foes both headed into matchup with 6-0 records. Both teams had earned those undefeated records in relatively dominant fashion.
Something had to give.
For the Templars, it was their defense in the second quarter.
Though the win was huge in terms of upcoming playoff brackets--not to mention bragging rights--Juab coach Mike Bowring downplayed the significance of the win.
"Well, yeah, I guess it was a big one," he said. "But I mean, a game is never won after just one half."
But there is no doubt that Juab's 22-point second quarter, including two touchdown runs in the final minute of the half--had more than a small impact on the final outcome.
Trailing 14-12, the Wasps scored 22 points in the final 1:40 of the first half to take over a 28-14 lead into the break. But for the final two minutes of the first half, Juab was unstoppable. Jameson Izatt kicked things off for the Wasps after he intercepted a screen pass and ran it back 66 yards for a touchdown to give the bring his team back within striking distance. With less than a minute to play in the first half, Cody Keisel capped off the run with a three yard hop into the end zone.
But it took more than that for the Wasps to get past the Templars. In the second half, Manti matched Juab's scoring--but it wasn't enough to overcome the Wasps brutal run in the second quarter or Keisel's and Chandler Street's combined 184 yards rushing.
"Our offensive line did a super job," said Bowring. "What it did was put us in good position."

Pleasant Grove 24, Lone Peak 21.
Pleasant Grove pulled out a huge win over top ranked Lone Peak on Friday night.
But it didn't come without some mild controversy. What's more, after two turnovers that directly resulted in two Lone Peak scores in the first quarter, things weren't looking good for the Vikings early on, leaving Pleasant Grove coach Dale Sampson obviously frustrated.
"We were making critical mistakes and let them go up by 14,” said Sampson. “And their offense hadn't even played yet."
Still, Lone Peak had all of the momentum early, stifling Pleasant Grove’s offense into non-existence and forcing the Vikings to play from behind.
But one play changed all that.
In the second quarter, Lone Peak punted the ball and then proceeded to down the ball--or so they thought. A Knight had touched the ball briefly and walked away, thinking the play was over.
That's when Pleasant Grove's Jordan Hymans noticed the Knights mistake, grabbed the fair ball and ran it 66 yards for a touchdown. No whistle was blown and the Vikings took a 14-10 lead into the second half.
According to Sampson, it was a hypothetical the Vikings had emphasized while watching game film.
"My 4.0 student [Hymans] noticed that they didn't hand the ball to the official and ran it in," Sampson. "It pays to pay attention in class. But it was such a bizarre game. It's all kind of a blur right now."
Although Lone Peak effectively shut down Pleasant Grove running weapon LeSean Wilcox, its defense was there to pick up the slack. Hymans also led the Vikings' in tackles. Still, Sampson admitted the Knights left his team more than a little shell shocked.
"They played us tough and gave us everything we could handle," said Sampson. "We'll just have to take it."

--Jen Gustavson.

Now that the season is officially at the halfway point, I wonder if it isn't time to hand out a few midseason awards. There's been great play throughout the state, throughout every class of schools. I know this is what you've been thinking of, so I'll do my best to hit on all of the subjects that you'd like to talk about.

Best team: While Alta is clearly the best team in Class 5A, I think the two best teams in the state are Cottonwood and Timpview. The Colts are simply the best offensive team around and Timpview's been so good for so long that it's getting downright boring counting on it to win games every passing week.

Best offense: Cottonwood's been a machine. The Colts have scored fewer than 40 points once and they have superstars at every level of the offense. This is a team that keeps defensive coordinators up at night.

Best defense: I love what Alta brings. The Hawks are fast, big and athletic and they play mean. I think this is the unit, ultimately, that may lead Alta back to the state championship.

Most surprising team: Sky View is 6-0 and the Bobcats have been dominant. The surprise isn't that they are 6-0, because Sky View's been good for a long period of time. The surprise comes from the ease in which the Bobcats have taken out their opponents.

Best quarterback: Jeff Manning of Logan has been everything and more that's been said about him this season. He's one of the best players in the state, bar none.

Best player on a struggling team: Snow Canyon's Adam Timo has had great numbers, but the team success hasn't been there.

Most disappointing team: Many thought Judge Memorial would be one of the teams to beat in Class 3A. Instead, resounding losses to Logan and Juan Diego, plus a loss to Orem, have left the Bulldogs fighting for playoff position.

Best underclassman: Bingham's Harvey Langi looks like a sophomore ... in college. He's really in the 10th grade, which upgrades him to manchild status at the running back position. No wonder Utah and BYU have offered.

That's all I have for now. I'll try to do a second edition later in the week.

-- Tony Jones