LCA Soars past South Summit

Orem, Utah—Layton Christian Academy defeated South Summit High School in the State 2A Girls Volleyball Finals in dramatic fashion, sweeping through both of the matches leading up to their trophy.
With fans and loved ones surrounding them, the LCA Eagles were congratulated by the uproar of the chanting crowd.
“L-C-A. L-C-A.”
Coming off 23 straight wins, Coach Joy Nakaishi, former PAC-10 star at Washington State University, doesn’t seem surprised by her team’s success.
“My girls understand how to make the right decisions. We really stress the importance of that and those values carry over onto the court,” Said Nakaishi. “My goal was to coach a state championship team, and the goal we had as a team today was to win our matches in three [games].”
Nakaishi is well acquainted with success having experienced state and national tournaments first hand when she played high school and college ball, she knows what it takes as a coach to fire up her players for the big game.
“She pumps us up and she always knows exactly what to say,” said junior Taelor Scroggins. “She really has a lot of respect for each of us.”
After finishing only seventh in the tournament the past two years, they worked their way through the ’09 bracket with confidence.
“This is amazing. This is so awesome,” said San Diego State commit Jasmine Porter. ”We’ve worked so hard—to have an opportunity like this—that it just doesn’t seem real.”
The Eagles’ hard work is all paid off, allowing them to celebrate together in the joy of their victory as the current 2A Girls Volleyball State Champions.

Cougars Hang on to National Ranking, Utes Climb Back Aboard.

PROVO, Utah—The Associated Press Top 25 poll was released today with both BYU and Utah strongly representing the Mountain West Conference.

BYU maintained their hold on the eighteenth spot while the neighbors to the north edged their way back in, landing at 24.

Each team faced their own set of challenges Saturday. For the Cougars, it was the mental task of staying focused on an inferior team and not looking ahead to a not-too-distant premiere matchup with fellow top-25 opponent Texas Christian.

"It was one of our best all-around games because we didn't have any turnovers," said quarterback Max Hall in an interview with Deseret News after the game.

By “we” Hall is mainly referring to himself.

Hall had thrown almost as many interceptions in the five games leading into Saturday against UNLV as he had touchdowns, with a TD to INT ratio of 11:10.

“It’s just too bad the game was played in Las Vegas not Provo,” said season ticket holder and BYU graduate Jared Kemp. “But I’ll trade that game for TCU. No question.”

The Cougars will face off with TCU on October 24^th, in what will be one of biggest challenges of the season.

The Utes, who have had their share of adversity this season, had nothing short of a heavy dose as they traveled in to below-freezing weather in Fort Collins, Colo.

“As a fan, watching the game… any time you can see the players’ breath you’re glad you stayed put at home,” said Joe Daily, a Mill Creek resident and longtime Ute fan.

Utah trailed by 14 points before thawing enough to make some big plays, most of which came at the hands of defensive back Robert Johnson, who had three picks for the day. Two of those interceptions ignited second-half drives, each resulting in a touchdown as the Utes managed to dodge a close call in frigid Fort Collins, 24-17.

The Utes and the Cougars appear to be slowly and steadily climbing back in the national rankings on their way to what will certainly be another epic battle at the end of the regular season.

Camaraderie

I heard a story on the radio today of an AWOL soldier who had fled from Fort Carson was finally taken into custody by the military here in Utah.

Accompanied by two military officials, Pvt. Terrance Hilton would be escorted back to Colorado Springs. Clad in waist cuffs Hilton managed to escape the clutch of his captors during a layover in Denver.

?

So how does a man in waist cuffs escape some of the best trained officers we have? I could understand this guy evading any of the graduates from the police academy movies, but not military officers in a crowded airport with plenty of witnesses to help narrow down the search.

This guy has got to feel like a dirt bag though, as soon as he learns of his infantry's fate. Hilton is a member of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. It was this division that suffered 8 casualties in a recent skirmish in Afghanistan.

Dishonoring your country and abandoning your comrades is such a cheap way to beat death.