Heartbreaker in Heber

Salem Hills is the last to defeat Wasatch, holding on for a 58-57 win in the Wasp’s home opener

BY KENNY BRISTOW

Wave Sports Writer

The Wasatch High School boy’s basketball team is six games into the season and they have only one win to show for it.  Three of their losses have been sound beatings and the other two have been games they could have won if not for bad finishes.  Even their lone victory went into overtime when they allowed Carbon to close their lead in the fourth quarter.

With Thursday night’s home opener in The Nest against Salem Hills, Wasatch would be able to feed off the energy from their home crowd and remedy the poor shooting and low free throw percentage that has plagued them in all of their defeats. 

It didn’t look good from the start as Salem Hills opened the game with a three-pointer in their first possession.  The Wasps did not answer for over three minutes and quickly found themselves down 9-2.  A time out and a change in strategy woke up the black and gold and they began to close the gap, finishing the first quarter down 12-7.

Then Wasatch got aggressive and played what may have been their best 30 minutes of basketball so far this season.  The Wasps traded three-point baskets with Salem Hills and they were able to capitalize on the rough treatment by the visitors under the boards to eventually work their way to a seven-point lead halfway through the last period.  That’s about the time the fourth quarter blues hit Wasatch – again.

The two teams traded buckets with Salem Hills chipping away slowly at the Wasp’s lead and their confidence.  Salem Hills’ sharp shooter Alejandro Llamas hit his sixth three-point basket of the game off a Wasatch turnover with a minute and half left in regulation.  On the ensuing possession for the Wasps, Chris Johnson was fouled underneath, but missed both free throws.  Salem Hills would not be as unfortunate on their next possession, however, reaching the charity stripe and nailing both for a 58-57 advantage.

The Wasps had plenty of time to set up a play and go for the game winner, but after several passes trying to work the ball into the paint, the flurry of passes ended with a missed shot giving the Skyhawks the narrow victory.

Head Coach Lonnie Magnusson, obviously disappointed with the way his team let this one slip away said, “Missed free throws down the stretch.”   “We played well enough to win, but you can’t miss that many shots at the end,” he added before heading into the locker room to address his team.

The loss buries a few great efforts by the Wasps, notably Gordon Jackson, who had 17 points, and three steals to go with his three big three-point buckets.  Point guard Jeff Murdock played an inspired game and scored 14 points while assisting on four Wasp baskets.  Chris Johnson was strong underneath with eight rebounds and Cooper Ballstaedt hit a couple of three-pointers while adding eight points.

Franco Included In All Region X

Wasatch High School's great football season this past fall has recently garnered a few individual awards, which is the norm for this time of year.  But as we wait for the Salt Lake Tribune to announce their honorees, All Conference selections for Class 3A Region X were made available this week.

If you took a look at my earlier post about the Wasp's Deseret News selections, not much has changed here except for the addition of Talem Franco.  Now before you read the attached words on the players, as sent to Wasatch Athletic Director Claire Mair, from the region brass, let me say this about Talem.  Every time this kid touched the ball in space, whether on a hand off, a reception, or a kick or punt return... there was a chance for Wasatch to score.  Talem exhibited speed.  Talem showed elusiveness.  He squirted - that's right - squirted through holes in the defenses that most of us dieters only dream of fitting through.  He was the big play maker's, big play maker, if there ever was one.
He was electric.

I know officially he's credited with 1 kick-off return for a touchdown, but I'm guessing that three (two in one game) were called back on penalties.  Special teams can be a breeding ground for fouls in football, so Talem would lose those individual statistics, but even though called back... his explosive plays often inspired his team.  Wasatch would surely score on the ensuing drive.  I remember vividly, the last game, the Wasp's lone playoff game against Bear River, seeing Talem on the sideline early on with his thigh and quad fully wrapped and he was in excruciating pain.  He had pulled a hamstring or thigh muscle or something that made him go.  I knew at that moment the team had lost a huge part of their heart.  This is one of those stats that never shows up on a scoreboard or an All Star team list.  But it's a stat that is worthy of an MVP.

Oh... and on the day when I went to the field to talk to superstar quarterback James Delacenserie, the MVP on this year's Region X list, and needed someone to catch balls thrown from James off camera?  Talem gladly volunteered.  And when we were done, and I thanked him, he quipped, "anything to make James look good."  I love Talem Franco!

Here's the listing of other Wasatch players from the 2012 football team that were honored in their final season as competitors in Class 3A Region X.  Congratulations again to all of these outstanding young men.

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Wasatch

Offensive MVP—James Delacenserie—QB, SR, 6’3, 215—167/247 67.6% (#1 in 3A), 2784 passing yards, 253.1 yd/game (#1 in 3A), 34 TD (#1 in 3A), passed for 4-200 yard games, 2-300 yard games, and 1-400 yard game, threw for 2 or more touchdowns in 10 of the 11 games, threw for 6 TD vs North Sanpete. Was voted team captain by his teammates, only threw 6 interceptions on the year.

#76 Taylor Coburn—OL/DL, SR, 6’4, 248 lbvs.—Anchored Wastch’s offensive line at lLeft tackle, allowing for the Wasatch offense to average 31.5 points per game. Allowed Wasatch’s QBs to throw for the most passing yards in 3A. Allowed on the season less than 1 sack per game. Started on both sides of the ball at left tackle and at defensive tackle.

#25 Gavin Nebeker—WR, Sr, 6’), 155 lbs—49 receptions, 946 yards, 86 yards/game (#!1 in 3A), 19.3 yards/catch, 12 TD (Led 3A), had 3-100 yard receiving games, and 1-200 yard receiving ame. Had 4 TD receptions vs. Morgan, and 3 TD receptions vs. Judge. Was voted team captain by his teammates. Great worker, leader, and individual.

#1 Talem Franco—WR, Sr, 5’9, 163 lbs.—35 receptions, 640 yards, 18.3 yards/ catch, 19 rushes, 230 yards, 12.11 yard/rush, 2 rushing TD, 6 receiving TD, 1 KO return TD, average 19.2yards/touch. Had 45 tckles on defense. Played both sides of the ball, was the all-around leader of the team, hard worker. Great big play guy.

# 47 Tag Baxter-MLB, JR, 5’10 185 lbs.—anchored Wassatch’s defense at the MLB position. Tag leads all classifications in total tackles with 166, averaging 15.1 tackles/game. He was the heart and soul of Wasatch’s defense. Was a starter on most of the special teams. He is also a 2 year starter at MLB for the Wasps.

#21 Cooper Ballstaedt—strong safety, SR, 5”10 180 lbs. Cooper was a 2 year starter for Wasatch at the safety position. He was 2^nd on the team, 7^th in 3A and 24^th in the state in tackles with 108 total tackles, averaging 9.8/game. He also had 4 interceptions for 105 yards and a TD. Voted team captain by his peers, als a student body officer.

Lady Wasps Win Three Of four

Wasatch, led by senior guard Rebecca MaWhinney, finish

out a busy weekend schedule

BY KENNY BRISTOW

Wave Sports Writer

The Wasatch High School girl’s basketball team is off to a great start.  After last Tuesday night’s home victory over Stansbury 55-42, the girls took the long trek to

Uintah High School for the Shanon Johnson Classic.

In their first game on Friday night the Wasps faced Tooele and soundly defeated the Buffaloes 51-33.  As they had done in their win over Stansbury, the girls jumped out to a large lead in the first quarter and finished strong in the fourth.  They played tough team defense throughout only allowing Tooele to score in double figures in one quarter – the second, but still held a 10 point advantage at the half.

Rebecca MaWhinney put on a scoring clinic as she poured in 26 points, six coming on a pair of three point baskets.  Nine other Wasps found their way to the score sheet including junior guard Tristin Bills who hit a three pointer coming in off the bench.

Wasatch would then have the early game on Saturday morning, facing Moffat, Colorado at 9 a.m.   The contest was a little closer than it was the previous night for the Lady Wasps, but they still pulled out an impressive 41-29 victory.  Again, defense was the key for the black and gold as they shut down Moffat into single digit points in the first three quarters.

MaWhinney led all scorers again with 16 points followed by sophmore guard Ashlyn Coleman’s six points.   Senior Renee Fagg contributed 5 points and Riley Gagon and Heather Evans added four points each.  Coleman scored the Wasp’s lone three-point bucket.

Over three hours later, the girls would lace-up for their third and final game of the tournament against Orem.   The Tigers put on a solid defensive performance against the undefeated Wasps, holding them to just six field goals and beating them 36-25.   Wasatch went cold from the floor in the second and fourth quarters, managing a slim five points in the two periods combined.

Again, MaWhinney led her team in scoring with 14 points, but it would not be enough to carry her Wasps to a win.  Head Coach Tom Perkins cited a tough tournament schedule for the weak performance of his team in the third game. “Having an early morning game follow an evening game, then waiting for three hours for your next one, can be mentally draining as well as physically.  Orem is a very good team though and we won’t make excuses.  They beat us with their tough defense and we were just not very good shooting the ball,” he said.  “When you’re down by a lot and need to catch up, you have to hit your three pointers if you’re going to take them, and we just didn’t do that.”

The Wasatch ladies sit on an overall record of 4-1 as they wait for Mountain View to come to town Friday night.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Wasatch Wrestling Opens At Millard

Wasps do more than show-up at “Iron Man” Duel

BY KENNY BRISTOW

Wave Sports Writer

Wasatch Head Wrestling Coach, Wade Discher knows it sometimes takes a few weeks before getting to know your team.  “This was a big tournament to start off with,” said Discher.  “We had a goal to show up and battle against some of the best wrestling teams in the state… and we did that.”

The Wasps came out pretty much even after this one, going 5-5 as a team.  There were plenty of encouraging performances from the younger guys who are just finding their way around the wrestling landscape.  Mix that with the solid matches by the upperclassmen, who showed great leadership, and you’ve got the makings of a diverse and fun wrestling squad.

“We’re basically still figuring stuff out.  That’s what these early meets are for,” said the head coach.  “We had nine guys under weight and a couple of matches we had to forfeit for various reasons – other than that, we had a pretty strong showing.”

Senior Robby Minor wrestling in the 132 lb class had a great tournament going 9-1.  Discher said if not for one little mistake, he’s unbeaten there.  Sophmore Spencer Haywood at 160 lbs was 5-0 on the first evening, but was unable to compete the second day for family reasons.  “That’s a huge forfeit for us, especially if he goes 5-0 the second day too,” said Discher.

Other boys had good weekends, as well, like freshman Braiden Parker who earned a 5-5 record with some gritty wrestling in the 106 lb class.  Garrett Sweat, Logan Huntington, Bryce Provost and Parker Hortin also wrestled well enough to catch their coach’s eye.   “I’m pleased how we did at Millard,” added Discher.  “We know we’re in a very tough region for wrestling and we’ll have to see who really wants to commit.  It’s up to these guys to decide if they want to be great, or not,” he said.  “I think they’re up for the challenge.”

The grapplers host the Wasatch Intermountain Duels this weekend at the Wasatch County Events Center this Friday at 3:00 p.m. and Saturday beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Boys Look to Build On First Victory

After an opening loss, a week off and a postponement…Wasps finally get going at the Bear River Classic

BY KENNY BRISTOW

Wave Sports Writer

The Wasatch High School boy’s basketball team was supposed to have a game last Tuesday – their home opener in the Nest against Orem, but scheduling conflicts postponed that game and left the Wasps wanting.  The team, which had to be so quickly chosen and assembled in a mere two week preseason, and coming off a loss in it’s only contest, was now going into their second week of not having a game.  “It’s been a little bit hard for the kids to find a rhythm,” said Head Lonnie Magnusson, “but we’re getting it going now.”

The boys traveled to Bear River last Thursday to face Northridge in their first of three tournament games.  In a lopsided contest that saw the Wasps down early, Northridge displayed great shooting from the perimeter and torched Wasatch 72-46.  33 of Northridge’s points came on 11 three-point shots.  Chris Johnson led Wasatch with 11 points.

The Wasps did a good job of letting that game go and put up a nice effort before succumbing to host Bear River 54-37 in Friday’s game.  The teams played evenly through the first three quarters with Wasatch down only six points heading into the final frame.  The Bears would get hot however and pull away from Wasatch outscoring them 21-10 in the fourth putting the finishing touches on their win.

“The second game against Bear River was encouraging,” said Magnusson.  “You could see us coming together,” he added.  “We just couldn’t keep it going.”  Nine Wasps scored in the game led by Casey Peterson, Chris Johnson and Cooper Ballstaedt, who had seven points each.

Saturday’s game finished with Wasatch earning their first win of the season 75-71 in overtime over Carbon.  The Wasps showed they are getting it together as a team and shaking off the early season rust as four boys scored in double figures for Wasatch.  Down only a point at the half, Wasatch came out sizzling scoring 25 third quarter points to take the lead, but went cold in the fourth managing only eight points and letting the Dinos tie it up.  Wasatch would hang tough this time and outscored Carbon by four in the overtime period to take the victory.  Nate Dow led the Wasps with 16 points and Ballstaedt put up 14.  Ben Pelo and Jeff Murdock scored 13 and 11 points respectively. Ballstaedt hit three, 3-pointers against Carbon and Pelo added two.

Wasatch will try to keep their momentum going this Thursday as they host Salem Hills in their home opener, with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. 

HIP-HIP-4A!!

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Wasatch High School moves up in class as UHSAA finalizes 2013 realignment. 

BY KENNY BRISTOW

Wave Sports Writer

On Thursday and Friday of last week the UHSAA held the meetings with school administrators that would define realignment beginning in 2013.  The expected announcement had a deadline date of December 10^th, but the configurations had already been ironed out with little trouble so the final decisions were presented on Friday afternoon.  Wasatch High School, with its official enrollment near 1,900 students will move up to Class 4A beginning next season.

All sports teams – along with other competitive school organizations like the debate and drill teams – will be a part of Class 4A Region 8.  Maple Mountain, Provo, Salem Hills, Spanish Fork, Springville and Timpview are also members of that region.

With the steady growth of Wasatch County, it was only a matter of time before the number of students at Wasatch High School would push them beyond the 3A limit.  It has been that way for over a year, however, with the county’s largest education facility growing by over 4% a year.  The UHSAA reviews the official enrollment numbers every other year, so with Wasatch being near the cut-off in 2011, it was expected that the school would be subject to a move up in 2013.  

Wasatch High School administrators, led by Principal Shawn Kelly who is excited about the growth opportunity now upon his high school, more than welcome the promotion.  “This is an excellent time for us and our community.  Not only does it improve our class of athletics, it elevates our academic potential,“ he said.  “We expect student participation to increase.  We look for the positives like less travel time and expense to help us achieve success for our student athletes at this level,” Kelly added.  “We believe we will be competitive in all sports in our new class.  We are very glad to be where we are.”

Athletic Director and Assistant Principal Claire Maire reiterated Kelly’s words with great enthusiasm.  “We are so excited about this move up in class.  We are in no way too small to handle this challenge,” she said.  “We’re used to competing at a high level,” Mrs. Maire said.  “The schools that we will now be playing regularly for  championships are familiar with us.  They know us from our preseason games in the past.  They accept and respect us as real competition and I think we will continue to be tough to beat.”

 Detractors might say this is not a good thing for Wasatch High School because of the success in athletics from some of the schools Wasatch will now be lumped with.   Conclusions based not so much on Wasatch’s lack of success, but on other school’s high level of success.  Several members of the coaching staffs, at the high school here in Heber, are looking forward to the challenge.  Dawain Wheatley, who coaches both girls and boys soccer for the Wasps, says this is a great thing.  “We will be as competitive as ever,” says Coach Wheatley.  “We have always strived to have the best soccer teams here as possible and nothing will change that.  I think the move is great for our program”

Boys basketball coach, Lonnie Magnusson, feels that the step up will elevate the play of his boys.  “Getting to the post season is always the goal, so being one of the top four teams is what we’ll work for.  I think it can be done,” Magnusson said confidently. 

The same is true for the girl’s basketball team according to head coach Tom Perkins.  Perkins said, “With new changes come new challenges.  I’m excited to move up.  It’s great for our program,” he added.  “Our girls already work extremely hard, so that will continue on as always.”     

Looking towards the spring, head baseball coach Mike Shoell expressed confidence in the new alignment.  “There will be some growing pains, but that is to be expected.  But in no way are we not ready to play against these schools,” he said.  “We play them already.  We’ve always looked to fill our preseason schedules with tougher competition, including the Timpviews and the Springvilles.  They know who we are. We’re respected by them.  I don’t see them taking us lightly,” he added.

For a perennial sport such as wrestling, the change may not be as obvious.  “The power kind of shifts in Waves in wrestling in these classes,” says head coach Wade Discher.  “It used to be 3A was the best top to bottom, but it goes back and forth,” he added.  “We wrestle against the best in the state year to year, so nothing changes there.  The only disappointing thing, I think, is losing the longtime rivalries”

Of course, when it comes to high school athletics, the spotlight shines the brightest on football, and Wasatch is no different.  Friday night lights are such a huge part of the culture in our state, not to mention our community that realigning its divisions competitors can only bring mixed emotions.  Head Coach Steve Coburn, despite the

change in division rivalries, is charged by the challenge.  “I’m excited.  I can’t wait,” said the Wasps head coach who will be going into his second year.  “I think we grew leaps and bounds this year and I expect to do the same next year.  I think it comes down to the level of commitment from the players and the coaches,” he added.  “If this allows us to add to our coaching staff and off-season programs, like I’ve been told, then it will definitely be a plus.  I’m looking forward to working with our youth program to get these younger kids excited about playing Wasatch football.  No matter what class we’re in.”  “It’ll be fun preparing for great teams like Timpview, but we’ve been preparing for the likes of Juan Diego… so not much has changed.”

To be the best you must beat the best.  That seems to be the unified battle cry now that the move up to 4A is official.  Athletics is about competition – about being the best – about winning it all.  Wasatch County has built a sparkling high school facility to rival any in the state.  Wasatch can hold their heads up high when well-traveling schools like Timpview and Salem Hills visit our town.  They will be welcomed with open arms.  The community here in Wasatch is worthy of champions.  Wasatch has been champs many times before.  It’s just time to win it all on a higher level.  It can be done.  It is time for Wasatch to show the best, that they can be the best.

Five Wasps Selected Second Team All State

The Deseret News announced it's high school football All State teams on Friday with five players from Wasatch getting nods to the second team.

Senior quarterback James Delacenserie, senior wide-out Gavin Nebeker, senior offensive lineman Taylor Coburn, senior defensive back Cooper Ballstaedt and junior linebacker Taggart Baxter were all chosen from the 8-3 Wasps, who made the 3A playoffs but were knocked out in the first round.

Delacenserie, who had numbers as good if not better than the first team quarterbacks, including the 3A MVP from state champion Dixie, was obviously a victim of a strong quarterbacking class.  The senior had 2,784 yards passing to go with his 34 touchdowns and only six interceptions.  He tossed six touchdown passes against North Sanpete and had two games in which he threw five.

Nebeker was a 3A leader in receiving the entire season as one of Delacenserie's top targets.  The speedster caught 49 balls for 946 yards, 12 going for touchdowns.  He had 206 yards receiving in Wasatch's game against Judge Memorial and scored four times against Morgan.

Coburn was a two-way starting lineman for the Wasps, who recorded 15 tackles on the defensive side of the ball, but it was his protection of the quarterback in the Wasp's high powered passing game that garnered his selection.  Delacenserie was rarely sacked and a lot of that was due to the blocking of the 6' 4", 248 lb Coburn.

Ballstaedt was the top defensive back in Wasatch's strong defensive class.  He recorded 108 tackles and intercepted four passes.  The senior had two picks of the quarterback in their game against Union.

Baxter, only a junior, was a tenacious defensive force for the Wasps.  The linebacker, who was seemingly always around the ball, had 166 tackles, with four sacks and intercepted one pass.  He recorded double digit tackles in every game except for Wasatch's lone playoff game where he played on a severely sprained ankle.

Congratulations to these five outstanding young men who, along with their teammates, performed at such a high level during the 2012 football season.