Grapplers Play Reno

Wasatch scores respectable finish as it takes

varsity squad to the Reno Tournament of Champions

BY KENNY BRISTOW                       

Wave Sports Writer

Last weekend, the Wasatch High School wrestling team traveled across state lines into Nevada to compete in the Reno Tournament of Champions.  The RTOC, established in 1996, has, according to their website, been dubbed the “Toughest Tournament in the USA.”  It annually attracts some of the toughest high school and collegiate wrestlers in the country to compete for both individual and team titles.  The prep guys compete in this tournament for a chance at High School All American status, so it is big.

13 wrestlers – six seniors, a junior, four sophmores and two freshman, took to the mat for Wasatch and 11 recorded at least one victory.  Seven of them advanced as far as the third round, with a few making it even farther.  The Wasps finished the two-day meet with a team score of 59.0, which was good enough to put them in a tie for 32^nd place.  That’s pretty impressive considering over 110 schools from as far away as Pennsylvania fielded teams in this tournament.

Here are the young men from Wasatch, and the weight classes they wrestled in last weekend in Reno:  Braiden Parker/106, Gage Bradley/113, Sterling Ballif/120, Robby Miner/126, Garrett Sweat/132, Matt Provost/138, Logan Huntington/145, Spencer Heywood/152, Bryce Provost/160, Jake McNaughton/170, Parker Hortin/182, Cabit Nye/195, and Joe Forbush/220.  Senior Robby Miner made it as far as the 5^th round and fellow classmate Garrett Sweat made it to the fourth.  Their respective weight classes are the most crowded in the field having over 70 wrestlers compete in each of them.  Sophmore Spencer Heywood advanced to the fourth round, while Seniors Sterling Ballif, and Bryce Provost made it to the third.  Junior Logan Huntington wrestled his way into the sixth round in the Wrestleback bracket.

The Wasps compete in two more duels, at Delta then the Viewmont here, before the Christmas break.  Then they begin region competition with the Morgan Duel at Morgan High School January 9^th, 2013.

Funny.

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This was one of my first columns in the Wave.  Tonight I noticed a similar column by one of my heroes, Woody Paige from the Denver Post.  Here's the link to his: http://www.denverpost.com/paige/ci_22201740/woody-paige-denver-super-bowl-2018-would-be?source=rss&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=twitter ...then you can read mine.

The Super Bowl/Pre-season comparison can be debated later, but hey...let's start small, okay? 

In A Nutshell

BY KENNY BRISTOW

Wave Sports Writer

 Hello, Commissioner?  I’ve got this idea…

Before I get started, I’d like to say that I’m in this for the little guy.  I’m in this sports column thing for us.  For Wasatch County.  And, I’d like to say I’m only going to write about our little neck of the woods and what we’re up to sports-wise in our tiny speck of the Utah landscape… but I can’t.  The NFL pre-season has begun!

That’s right folks, the biggest money making sports juggernaut on the planet has opened training camp and pre-season contests between the millionaires and the billionaires are upon us.  I’m so excited, I’ve stopped Tivo’ing the Olympics and have turned my attention to the NFL Network.  You’re with me right?

Okay… so maybe I’m a little overzealous.  After all, they are only practice games.  Even the most hardcore fan has to realize that these games are merely played – as they have been since the early days of the league – so coaches could evaluate talent and prepare their rosters for the regular season.  I mean, these games are filled with guys who barely made their college teams.  The quarterbacks are not first round draft choices, and if they were, they’d only be getting to play a series or two.  In merchandise-world, 1^st and 2^nd round draft choices garner 5 year, 30 million dollar contracts for goodness sakes!  What if they came up with a bad case of preseason turf-toe?  Hmmm…do they even have that injury anymore?  So if a game is void of its stars, what good are they to us fans?

Last summer, when the NFL and the players union were at an impasse and the owners locked-out the players causing a delay on the season, one of the issues during the negotiations was the amount of preseason games.  The owners wanted to increase the regular season schedule from 16 games to 18 games and get rid of a preseason game or two.  This is greed at it’s finest.  Milking every dollar from season ticket holders and concessions as possible.  The players were against this unanimously and it was one of the issues holding up an agreement.  I’m not sure I get this.  I suppose I can understand the players on this one – if they’re even playing.  If they’re not, I’m pretty sure they’re still getting paid.  Most of the established veterans and rookie college stars are only getting limited playing time anyway, so why the fuss?  My point is -- these games shouldn’t even be on the list of topics to discuss at the annual NFL meetings.  But, they are, and because so, I have a simple solution… one that bodes well for us little guys.

Bring a game to Wasatch!  Told you I was in this for us!  Can you imagine?  The New England Patriots against the Green Bay Packers in Coach Tree Stadium?   Why not?  These games are for the coaching staff and players trying to make the team… why not make them relevant for the fans as well and play them in neutral sites where there IS no NFL?   Heber… you thought the Cowboy Poetry Festival brought’em in.

Okay, okay… maybe it’s a stretch to ask professional football teams to gather in high school stadiums.  I’ll admit that.  It was only part of my promise to speak for us little guys.  But what about Rice Eccles Stadium?  What about LaVelle Edwards Stadium?  What about that beautiful pro soccer stadium we all built?  Now… we’re talking.  Now… we may have a pitch.   Somebody… get the Commissioner on the phone!

The “League” has been consumed with global expansion for years… creating developmental leagues over seas like the now defunct World Football League.  I personally find nothing wrong with this – after all, they have tons of money to spend and why not teach a 5’ 8” Indonesian how to down-block.  What I am curious about is… there are many, many areas right here in the US of A, that pay the NFL’s electric bills, that are void of professional football presence, that would relish a game between a couple of regional pros meeting at their local college stadium.   The 49’ers vs. the Broncos right here in Salt Lake.  The Cowboys vs. the Chargers on the blue turf in Boise, Idaho.  The Seattle Seahawks vs. the Kansas City Chiefs in Cheyenne.  Wyoming.  Why not?  Surely, there is a couple of pals in South Dakota who religiously don their jerseys every Sunday to root for their favorite team right?  I mean, the NFL promotes its fan’s devotion to their teams almost to a sickening level… why leave out these portions of the United States in favor of foreign lands? 

(And don’t say because they’ve already got their money anyway, or I’ll stop writing!)

Please don’t misunderstand… I am all for global expansion.  I just think it would be worth considering for the league to play games in areas where the NFL has no definitive presence right here in North America.  Portland, Oregon… Lincoln, Nebraska… Little Rock, Arkansas…Lexington, Kentucky…  Salt Lake City, Utah!  Places that will never have a team of their own, but have strong pro football fan bases.  We have two substantial college football programs, and a couple of smaller ones, right here in our state that regularly promote it’s players into the NFL.  Often times when one of those players is drafted into the pros, their fans follow their careers.  We love football in Utah.  Why not give us one of your measly preseason games , NFL?

If it’s cashola you’re worried about, usually once a year events like this would do pretty well.  If the ticket prices and concession prices met the standard of the games – which is basically a hundred lower round draft choices and free agents playing for their NFL futures… then why not a crazy idea like this?  Put the NFL on a preseason tour of the United States and promote it as such.  Grass roots politicking.  I know you don’t need it, but why not show us you care?

You guys with me?  Where’s my phone?  Hello, Commissioner?  I’ve got this idea…  

Wasatch Guts Through Another Tough Loss

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Wasps stay close and mount a furious comeback, but fall short

to Morgan 64-62

BY KENNY BRISTOW

Wave Sports Writer

The losing of close games will eventually end.  The boys are playing too hard for it not to.  One of these nights the game will end with the black and gold in the lead.  The players on the court will jubilantly leap into each other’s arms.  The bench will erupt with excitement and Wasp fans will cheer as though it were the championship years Wasatch experienced as recently as 2011.  But for now… Wasatch will be forced to gut through its second straight heartbreaking home loss in less than a week. 

Wednesday night, the Morgan High School Trojans traveled to The Nest in Heber City and barely escaped with a 64-62 win.  It was a close game throughout, yet Wasatch, as they have most of the season, played from behind.  They briefly held small leads during the physical contest, but would quickly fall back down, sometimes five or six points.  Not insurmountable by any means, but still it is an exhausting way to play a basketball game.

The two teams basically traded two point baskets through the first quarter and a half.  Wasp guard Jackson Gordon showed the hot hand early for Wasatch draining his first of three, three pointers in the first quarter putting the Wasps up 9-6.  But the advantage was brief as the Trojans scored three unanswered buckets just before the 1^st period buzzer.

Morgan took advantage of the cold-shooting Wasps in the second quarter, outscoring Wasatch 14-9 as the home team suddenly found it difficult to score.  It was a physical 10 minutes and it seemed to drain the Wasps as they went into the locker room down at the half 20-26.

Head Coach Lonnie Magnusson, heading in to speak to his troops only said, “We’re fine… but we have to eliminate the mistakes.”  He was obviously referring to the careless turnovers Wasatch committed in the second period and their inability to get points from offensive rebounds.

Whatever he said to his boys seemed to hit home because the Wasps came out focused.  They went back to a more patient style on offense and worked harder on defense.  Even though they remained behind, by as much as nine points at the midway mark of the third quarter, they chipped away at the Trojan lead.  By the end of the period, they were down by only three, 40-43.  Chris Johnson and Nate Dow were huge in the paint for the Wasps and Cooper Ballstaedt hit a big three pointer in the quarter.

Wasatch continued its’ bid for a possible comeback win on their first possession of the fourth period as Gordon tied the game on a three pointer igniting the crowd.  The game see-sawed for the next few minutes, but Wasatch found themselves down by four with only a minute remaining and were forced to foul the Trojan guards.

The Wasps only viable tactic to remain in the game wasn’t working because Morgan was sinking their free throws.

With the Wasps down 56-62 and the clock ticking down to half a minute remaining, Wasatch guard Jeff Murdock hit a desperation three pointer from the top of the key bringing the Wasps to within three.  They immediately called timeout.  They would need to foul again quickly and did so, but against Morgan guard Jake Miles who would go to the line again and add his 26^th and 27^th point.

Wasatch would have one last possession, and after a flurry of passes, a couple of missed shots, rebounds and kick-outs, Johnson cranked in a three pointer from way out for the Wasps making it 62-64 with only seconds remaining.  But Wasatch was out of time outs and out of miracles and the game would end with them coming up just short again.

A frustrated murmur from the Wasatch faithful is the only sound in the gym as the two teams and their coaches shook hands.  Afterwards, Coach Magnusson searched for the right words to describe the feeling of the moment.  When complimented on his team’s toughness and unwillingness to surrender, he said, “Yeah, we just need to find a way to win these games.  The guys are okay – they’re confident,” the coach added.  “They’re confident about the things they can still accomplish this season.  That’s the main thing.  We play a tough preseason schedule and we just got to get over these losses and find ways to win them.  It doesn’t get any easier though, so we’ll just have to keep working hard and do it.”

Gordon Jackson led the scoring for Wasatch with 17 points and Chris Johnson was right behind him with a strong 15 points to go along with his seven rebounds.  Nate Dow contributed 11 points and was tops in the game with eight boards.

WASATCH FOOTBALL HONOREES

Six Wasps receive All-State and All-Region recognition

 BY KENNY BRISTOW

Wave Sports Writer

The Salt Lake Tribune announced their Utah All-State football teams last Wednesday with three members from Wasatch High School earning second team recognition for Class 3A.  Quarterback James Delacenserie, Wide Receiver Gavin Nebeker and Linebacker Taggart Baxter were all chosen for their outstanding feats on the gridiron.

Those three young men, along with Offensive Lineman Taylor Coburn and Defensive Back Cooper Ballstaedt, were also chosen to the second team All-State squad compiled by the Deseret News announced a few weeks ago.

Add Wide Receiver Talem Franco to this list of players and you have the six Wasps who were selected to the All-Region team just last week.  Delacenserie, whose numbers where as good as any QB in 3A statewide, was named Region 10 Offensive MVP.

Wasatch had an exciting and successful season under first year head coach Steve Coburn with many of his Wasps contributing memorable moments throughout.  While many team members deserve recognition and a squad is only as strong as it plays as a unit, we congratulate these young men for their individual excellence on the field.

James Delacenserie #17 — The 6’ 3”, 215 lb. senior quarterback completed 167 out of 247 passes attempted for a stellar 67.6 completion percentage ranking him number one in 3A.  His 2,784 passing yards along with a 253.1 yards per game average also ranked him first in 3A.  He had 34 touchdown passes, also the leader in 3A, passed for 4-200 yard games, 2-300 yard games, and 1-400 yard game.  He threw for 2 or more touchdowns in 10 of the Wasp’s 11 games while only throwing six interceptions.  Six of his touchdown throws came in one game against North Sanpete.  James was voted a team captain by his teammates prior to the season.

Gavin Nebeker #25 — The 6’, 155 lb. senior wide receiver had an amazing 49 receptions totaling 946 yards for an 86 yards per game average to lead 3A.  The speedster averaged 19.3 yards per catch and led 3A in touchdown receptions with 12.  He had 3 - 100 yard receiving games, and 1 - 200 yard receiving game.  He had four touchdown grabs on the road against Morgan, and 3 touchdown receptions in a big home victory against Judge Memorial.  Gavin was voted a team captain by his teammates prior to the season.

Tag Baxter #47 — The 5’ 10”, 185 lb. junior middle linebacker anchored Wasatch’s defense.  Tag was the 3A leader in total tackles with 166, averaging a tenacious 15.1 tackles per game.  The only game he did not record double-digit tackles was Wasatch's lone playoff game where he played on a severely sprained ankle and still managed to get eight.  He also recorded four quarterback sacks and intercepted one pass.  Not only the heart and soul of Wasatch’s defense, he was a starter on most of the special teams.  This season was Taggart’s second as a starter at middle linebacker for the Wasps.

Taylor Coburn #76 — The 6’ 4”, 248 lb. senior anchored Wasatch’s offensive line at left tackle, allowing for the Wasatch offense to average 31.5 points per game.  He allowed Wasatch’s QBs to throw for the most passing yards in 3A, allowing less than, an unheard of, one sack per game on the season.  An integral part of his team, Taylor was a starter on both sides of the ball at left tackle and at defensive tackle making contributions that do not always show up on stat sheets.

Cooper Ballstaedt #21 — The 5”10”, 180 lb. senior strong safety was a two-year starter for Wasatch on defense.  He was second on the team, seventh in 3A and 24^th in the state in tackles with 108 total, averaging 9.8 per game.  He also had 4 interceptions for 105 yards running one in for a touchdown.  Cooper, voted a team captain by his peers prior to the season, is also a student body officer.

Talem Franco #1 — The 5’ 9”, 163 lb. senior all-purpose wide out snared 35 receptions for a total of 640 yards.  He averaged 18.3 yards per catch with six reaching the end zone.  He also had 19 rushes for 230 yards, averaging an incredible 12.11 yards per carry.  Two of his runs were for touchdowns.  He also had one kick-off return for a touchdown, averaging 19.2 yards per touch in that category.  A great big-play guy, he also contributed 45 tackles on defense.  Talem was an all-around leader of the team. 

I Won't Drink To That

So it's Tuesday morning, and I haven't written my weekly column yet.  The editor has my usual two-column spot saved and is waiting for my stuff.  I had just the day before told her that I had something for her.  Well... I was super busy with articles on wrestling, boys and girls basketball and had basically overlooked my commitment to the readers who can't wait to read their weekly installment of "In A Nutshell."  Did I have nothing to say?  Had I run out of gas as a columnist after a mere 6 months?  Hmmpff!  You should know me better than that.

With less than an hour to come up with something - and believe me, I looked for the quick easy subject... I chose the topic of drinking and driving troubles for today's professional athletes.  What an idiot!  After getting on a roll some two to three hundred words in... I realized I could have written a book.  This is not a subject to be taken lightly, as we all know, and looking back I wished I had taken more time on the subject.  Perhaps I will elaborate here on the blog at a later time, but for now, here's what I came up with in 20 minutes as deadline loomed large.

Thanks for reading, friends!

I Won't Drink To That

If you drive through Heber these days you may notice tall cut outs of sign toting grizzly bears warning you to not drink and drive.  “I’ll rip your face off…”, I believe those signs read.  As humorous as those signs are, could the message be any stronger?

Warnings, along the lines of print ads and television commercials, have gotten pretty effective in recent years.  Instead of just the basic “you’ll get a DUI” mantra, real situation images have become the norm.  Images of wrecked cars, or victims being treated on the scene of an automobile accident, or the law-enforced driven invisible police car that suddenly appears after an intoxicated driver takes off in his car.  These are brutally effective information campaigns that are pulling no punches.  It’s serious folks.  Do not drink and drive.

So what’s up with professional athletes?  I’m not sure if I can think of a more blatant display of ignorance than an individual who is looked upon as a role model, who is making hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of dollars, getting busted for driving drunk.  This pops up in the sports pages far too often.  Last weekend, a member of the Dallas Cowboys (sorry Jay and Danny) flipped his car killing his teammate and best friend.  The driver, Josh Brent, an active defensive tackle was charged with intoxication manslaughter after rolling his car when he lost control at a high rate of speed, killing his passenger, practice squad linebacker jerry Brown.

A terrible and avoidable scenario.  And this only one example!

Now this happens on a daily basis, sometime, somewhere involving someone we know.  It always… and I don’t like to use the word always, ends in disaster.  It’s not only defiant and ignorant to get behind the wheel of a car after you’ve had several alcoholic beverages, but it’s the selfishness that sticks out to me.  We are never on the road alone.  Traveling within earshot of you is a mother driving her children to daycare.  Waiting to cross safely in the crosswalk is an elderly man on his way to the market.  Obeying the laws of bicycling is a father of three getting his early evening exercise in.  These are often the victims.  The people who are going about their business who tragically lose their lives because of a fool who did not make the effort to get him or herself a ride home after happy hour.

In most pro sports options are available to the players.  Major League Baseball has designated drivers available through the team to both players and fans.  The NFL has a “safe ride” program provided through the player’s union that is available 24 hours a day.  They also have numerous educational symposiums for their rookies preparing them for the pressures of life adjustments.  We should all be so lucky.

Why these individuals are not taking advantage of these programs, instead choosing to drive themselves home from the bar or the party is beyond me.  The leagues should administer tougher stances on DUI’s before – if they’re lucky enough in that way – they injure or kill someone.  Heavy fines and two or three game suspensions should be handed out without pay.  Have these “role models” visit schools and churches and youth organizations to discuss with future drivers the dangers of driving while intoxicated.  There is plenty of money and time and resources in professional sports.  Don’t just hand these young guys million dollar checks and the keys to one hundred thousand dollar cars and hope for the best.

Feeling Stronger Every Day

Wasatch hosts Intermountain Duals and makes their statement

BY KENNY BRISTOW

Wave Sports Writer

The floor of the Wasatch County Events Center was covered with mats this weekend as Wasatch High School hosted the 2012 Wasatch Intermountain Duels.  Hundreds of wrestlers, wrestling coaches, referees, officials and fans packed the house for the meet that saw 12 high school wrestling teams from as far as Grand Junction and Rock Springs compete in the two day event.

Included in the duels were Utah state powers Maple Mountain, who brought two varsity squads, Pleasant Grove and Box Elder.  All were here to stake claim on Wasatch County, and even though the Wasps did not win the event, they showed they were a formidable group of young wrestlers and a serious contender for a region championship.

Wasatch got off on the right foot Friday night with a dominating Round 1 victory over Rock Springs.  11 Wasps won their matches, two coming on forfeits.  Round 2 was much of the same as Wasatch soundly defeated Summit County neighbor South Summit with 12 black and gold wrestlers coming out on top.

Round 3 saw Wasatch pitted against the very tough Box Elder.  The Wasps managed only three individual victories, one each by Sterling Ballif at 120 pounds and Robby Minor at 126 pounds.  Matthew Provost was credited with a win by forfeit at 145 pounds.  Wasatch surrendered in three weight classes this round.

The Wasps returned to form in the final round on Friday night, beating Green River 54-15.  After losing by pins in the first two matches, Wasatch won 11 of the remaining 12.  In addition to Ballif and Minor remaining undefeated on the night, Garret Sweat (132 lbs.), Logan Huntington (145 lbs.), Alan Nichols (152 lbs.), Spencer Heywood (160 lbs.), Bryce Provost (170 lbs.), Jake McNaughton (182 lbs.), Parker Hortin (195 lbs.) and Joseph Forbush recorded victories.

Round 5, the first on Saturday morning had Wasatch facing the powerful Maple Mountain Golden Eagles.  Even though the Wasps lost the match, Head Coach Wade Discher was extremely proud of the way his team fought, finding the silver lining in the contest.  “We didn’t give in to those guys,” said Discher.  “We won two of our matches by pin and only lost one to a pin.  Other than that one, we took them the distance, we fought them hard” he added.  “I was real proud of Robby (Minor) for staying undefeated there, and for Garret (Sweat) and Joe (Forbush) for pinning their guys.  We learned to compete in that one.  A great team effort.”

The Wasp grapplers would not lose as a team for the rest of the duel.  They handily beat Lone Peak in Round 6 scoring 12 individual victories, seven coming on pins.  Freshmen Braiden Parker, wrestling at 106 pounds and Gage Bradley at 113 pounds both recorded big wins in the round. 

Wasatch had the bye in Round 7, but were back at it in Round 8 against Central of Grand Junction.  The Wasps dominated their opponents with 12 individual wins out of the 14 weight classes.  145-pound freshman Rex Bowden recorded a pin in a gutsy match stopped twice for his bleeding nose.

The final round of the duel found Wasatch facing region rival Uintah.  In what Coach Discher referred to as measuring stick, the Wasps won nine of their matches against the Utes proving to themselves that they are a contender for the Region 10 title.

In the end, Wasatch placed third as a team, winning six rounds and losing only two.  And the two where they came up short were against state championship contenders Box Elder and Maple Mountain.   Several Wasps had outstanding individual performances, including Robby Minor who finished undefeated at 8-0.  Garret Sweat was right behind him with only one loss going 7-1.  Spencer Haywood, Bryce Provost, Sterling Ballif and Joseph Forbush all finished 6-2 on the tournament.

“I am really proud of how our guys are not giving up.  We’re showing a lot of heart and a lot of character,” said Coach Discher.  “Everybody’s buying into the attitude and it’s showing in our level of confidence.  It really is why I love this group of guys,” he added.  “We don’t give up.  We just keep getting stronger.”

Wasatch Girls Fizzle Out

Wasps can't hold lead, fall to Mountain View 44-40

BY KENNY BRISTOW
Wave Sports Writer

Coaches often speak in cliches like, "we'll get'em next time" and "we'll take it one game at a time", but in the case of tonight's girl's basketball game between Wasatch and Mountain View, when the coach might say, "we need to play all four quarters"... well, he might be on to something.

The Wasatch Lady Wasps, who have had a pretty impressive season thus far, came to play on this night, hosting the Lady Bruins of Mountain View and falling short in the battle 44-40.  It was a long an exhausting game, for both sides, but the Bruins came out on top due to their sharp free throw shooting and ability to keep the ball away from the Wasps in the final quarter.

The contest started with Mountain View jumping out on top, but with the Wasps catching up quickly.
After being down by a point after the first quarter, Wasatch displayed toughness in the paint, out rebounding the Bruins and scoring underneath, taking the lead at halftime 21-18.

Both teams came out strong in the second half, playing fundamentally sound basketball.  Passes were crisp, shots were precise and defense was effective on both ends of the court.  By the end of the third quarter Wasatch had worked their way to an eight point lead behind the shooting of point guard Ashlyn Coleman, forward Riley Gagon and shooting guard Rebecca MaWhinney.  Turnovers, however, began to plague the lady Wasps, who were beginning to lose that lead with only three minutes left in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter started slowly and eventually became a marathon with neither team taking control of the game.  Missed shots, missed put-backs, turnovers... it began to look a little sloppy.  It went this way for the majority of the fourth quarter until the excitement - and separation -for the Bruins, began.
With the game tied at 36, a mysterious blocking foul gave Mountain View a 1 on 1 which they converted for a one point lead.  Wasatch then tied it up on a free throw of their own, but failed to score on their next possession, putting the Lady Bruins in the driver's seat for the victory.  After a missed shot by the Wasps, MountainView scored three on an and-one putting the Lady Bruins ahead for good.

Afterwards, head coach Tom Perkins looked to the turnovers as the culprit.  "We didn't take good care of the ball," he said.  "We had missed shots under the basket that were easy and open and we didn't hit them," the coach added.  "We had an eight point lead and couldn't protect the ball... something we'll have to take a look at."