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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Realignment splits
Class 3A football
By Bob Bahlmann
Staff writer
Whenever the Utah High
School Activities Association
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that determine which schools
will compete against each other,
they face a nearly impossible
task of pleasing all 138 schools,
their students and fans.
Although the most recent
realignment raises questions
for some, it seems to be a step
in the right direction as far
as smaller rural schools are
concerned.
The most significant
change for the realignment,
which takes effect in the fall
of 2013, is the creation of a
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only.
In the past, smaller 3A
schools have struggled to
compete against the larger
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the current alignment, North
Sanpete is the smallest 3A
school with 307 students in
grades 11 and 12.
By comparison, Payson is
the largest with 769 in those
grades. The larger schools
have enough athletes, so they
can specialize as either offensive
or defensive players.
But on smaller teams,
players must play both ways,
and by the end of the game
they run out of gas trying to
stay up with their fresher opponents.
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(See “UHSAA” on B2)
Gunnison boys rout Waterford
before dropping two games
By Bryan Strain
Staff writer
GUNNISON—In recent
games, the Gunnison Valley
High School boys basketball
team blew out Waterford 65-43,
but then lost to South Sevier 74-
56 and South Summit 63-59.
Good defense and high
scoring are the story in the
Bulldogs’ victory Dec. 7, over
the Waterford Ravens. Senior
Colby Caldwell led all scorers
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baskets from 3-point range.
Senior Braden Harris also
had a great night scoring 19
points. Single digit scorers
were Mason Powell with nine,
Lafe Christensen with eight,
and Nik Roberts with four.
A strong defensive effort
helped the Bulldogs outscore
the Ravens in every quarter.
On Dec. 12, playing away
at South Sevier, the Rams outscored
the Bulldogs in every
quarter. Caldwell continued
to add double-digit games to
his season, scoring 16, but the
Under the new alignment,
which will run through spring
sports in 2015, the 3A ranks
have been divided into two
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Class 3AA will feature
two regions with seven
schools in each. The largest
3AA school will be Payson
with 769 students. The smallest
will be Juan Diego with
405.
The 3A teams will include
both North Sanpete (307
students) and Manti (270 students).
This group will have
two regions with six schools
in each. The largest will be
Canyon View with 483 students,
and the smallest Delta
with 268.
2A football will have
four regions with six schools
in each. American Leadership
Academy will be the
largest with 229 students.
The smallest will be Kanab
with 123. Gunnison will be
in the middle of the pack
with 162.
The UHSAA stopped
short of creating six classi-
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and both North Sanpete and
Manti were on the bubble.
There must always be a
largest and smallest school in
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Sanpete earned the dubious
honor of being the smallest
3A school.
The Hawks will compete
Bulldogs had no answer for the
Ram’s Race Parsons who lit the
scoreboard up with 35 points
including five from 3-point
range.
Bulldog Mason Powell also
got into double digits with 12,
followed by Nik Roberts with
nine, Braden Harris with eight,
Lafe Christensen with six, and
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On Friday, Dec. 14 the
Bulldogs hosted South Summit,
dropping a hard fought game
against the Wildcats. Caldwell
ran up 20 points including three
buckets from 3-point range in
front of the home crowd.
Nik Roberts also made
it into double digits with 10
points.
Kaz Mogle and Mason
Powell each had eight followed
by Lafe Christensen with six,
Drake Reynolds with four, and
Braden Harris with three points.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs,
the Wildcats had three
players in double digits, and Brad
Richins topped Caldwell with 22
points to lead all scorers.
Thanks so much for letting us
take care of your dental needs
this past year.
May 2013 be filled with many
more smiles for you all!
309 S. Main
283-4081
Sanpete Messenger
By Doug Johnson
Staff writer
EPHRAIM—Six players from the
third-ranked Snow College Badger football
team were recently named to the All-
America teams announced by the National
Junior College Athletic Association.
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team, one to the second team and two were
named honorable mention.
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team and the six players named overall
both tie the marks for the most Badgers so
honored in one season in school history.
“We are thrilled for the six men who
garnered All-American recognition,” head
coach Tyler Hughes said. “They have
represented our program well and have
had incredible seasons. We have been
fortunate to have each and every one of
them here.”
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Breon Allen (running back), Justin Manu
(offensive line) and Ofa Hautau (defensive
line).
Named to the second team was Chris
Van Orden (punter). Honorable mention
nods went to Damond Powell (wide receiver)
and Jake Miller (defensive line).
All the Badgers named are sophomores.
Allen led the nation this season in
rushing with 1,632 yards and in rushing
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Badger running back to ever lead the nation
in rushing yardage.
“Everything started with Breon,”
Hughes said. “Teams were committed to
stopping the run because of him, which
opened up the whole offense. Fortunately
for us, he was so talented that he was able
to pick up big yardage consistently even
when faced with eight and nine defenders
in the box.”
Allen was earlier named Western
States Football League offensive player
of the year and was named NJCAA national
offensive player of the week for
his 281-yard, 3-touchdown performance
in the Badgers’ 50-33 win over Glendale
Community College on September 15.
Hautau (6’2”, 290 lbs.) recorded 41
tackles from his defensive tackle position
even though he was double-teamed on
virtually every play this season.
As a team, Snow led the nation with
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among his 11 tackles for loss. Hautau was
earlier named Western States Football
League defensive player of the year.
“Ofa was dominant every snap,”
Hughes said. “He has a ton of ability, ob-
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Six Snow Badgers named to
NJCAA All-American teams
Breon Allen Chris Van Orden Damond Powell
Jake Miller Justin Manu Ofa Hautau
viously, but he worked hard in the weight
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made him so tough to handle on game day.
He played with a great attitude and was a
great defensive leader.”
Manu (6’5”, 285 lbs.) started at offensive
tackle for two years for the Badgers.
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the nation’s top 10 in total offense and in
top 15 in rushing and passing.
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named as a captain this season by his
teammates.
He is currently weighing nearly 10
Division I scholarship offers.
(See “All-American” on B3)
Wasatch Academy Tigers hand stunning defeats
to two 3A teams: North Sanpete and Juan Diego
By Bryan Strain
Staff writer
MT. PLEASANT—#1
Ranked 2A division boys
basketball, Wasatch Academy
maintains a perfect record after
defeating Juan Diego 59-53
and North Sanpete 73-39.
The Tigers, currently
ranked No.18 among all Utah
divisions are working hard to
keep their perfect season going.
The Tigers will face
big tests this week against
third-ranked Weber , Dec. 21,
4:30pm and sixteenth ranked
Judge Memorial, Dec. 22,
2:45pm, both games will be
played at Provo High School.
Three Wasatch Academy
players posted double-digit
scores against North Sanpete
as the in-city rivals faced off
in the very loud State Street
Gym last week.
Wasatch Academy quickly
jumped into the lead in the
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looked back in the 73-39 victory
last Friday Dec. 14.
Junior guard Geno Luzcando
led all scorers with 20
points including two buckets
from 3-point range.
Freshman guard Koby
McEwen scored 13, including
one from beyond the arc,
and senior center Insa Kaba
pitched in with 10 points.
While the Hawks were
able to compete from longrange,
they were out matched
PHOTO BY LORI WAIT / COURTESYWASATCH ACADEMY
Wasatch Academy Tiger freshman guard Koby McEwen tests North Sanpete
Hawk Jordan Christensen during a duel of the two Mt. Pleasant teams on
Friday, Dec. 14.
on their inside game by the
taller, aggressive Tigers.
The Tiger defense managed
to keep Jake Bailey, the
Hawk’s leading scorer on the
season, below his double-digit
average with seven points.
Brady Wheeler led the
Hawks with nine points and
Jordan Christensen and Wes
Lewis each scored eight.
The win gives the Tigers
a perfect 6-0 record on the
season. They’ve not only gone
undefeated so far, they’ve
done it in style—crushing their
opponents by an average of 36
points.
On Dec 7, the Wasatch
Academy beat North Summit
on the road by a whopping 39
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50.
Five Tigers scored double-digits
against the Braves
with McEwen leading all
scorers with 21, including four
3-point buckets.
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Other double-digit scorers
included, sophmore guard
Cody John with 18, Luzcando
with 17, senior guard Garrett
Crosby with 13, and senior
forward Momo Diop with 10.
The Tigers will likely
have some time in front of
college recruiters this week
as they look to continue their
win streak in the Tip Off Classic
Tournament to be held at
Provo High School.
Lady Badgers win big over 20th-ranked Lady Bruins
By Mikala Lindhardt
For the Sanpete Messenger
The Snow College women’s basketball team won a home game last
week before hitting the road for another win—the latter coming against
in-state foe Salt Lake Community College, ranked No. 20 in the nation.
The Lady Badgers hosted Western Wyoming on Wednesday, Dec.
12, beating their guests, 71-61.
Sophomore guard Becca Rees led the team with 17 points and three
rebounds. Nine of those points came from behind the 3-point arc. She
shot 78 percent in the game.
Sophomore forward Jordi Wilden also had a good night, scoring 15
points and grabbing seven of the Badgers’ 36 rebounds.
Freshmen guard Amber Daly stepped up with 12 points. She drained
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throws.
“Wednesday was our best team effort since the beginning of November,”
says head coach Natalie Visger. “We executed our game plan
defensively and were able to handle their pressure and keep our turnovers
to a manageable number.”
(See “Lady Badgers” on B2)