Let’s Go Blue

October 14, 2011 may go down as one of the most memorable days in Woods Cross High School history. It’s the classic rivalry: Red vs. Blue, East vs. West, Cats vs. Indians and no I’m not talking about BYU vs. Utah. So many similarities between the schools make the rivalry between Woods Cross High School and Bountiful High School, that much more intense.

People around the State know how much the rivalry means to both schools. Student athletes from every sport mark the Bountiful game on their calendars each season as a must win game. The feeling of defeating a rival brings to an individual and the school is more significant than any other win, but losing is never easy for anyone.

Woods Cross and Bountiful have a lopsided football rivalry. Bountiful has won the majority of the games, but that is in the past, and Friday’s game is the present. Both teams have clinched a spot in the playoffs, now the game determines the seeding going in.
The Braves sit on a record of 4-4, that equivalent to the Wildcats. They have key wins over Mountain View and Highland, but have embarrassing defeats against the undefeated teams of East and Lone Peak. Their other losses came to the explosive offense at Logan which has not been slowed by anyone, and Viewmont, who is a common opponent.

With one of the most difficult schedules in the state, Bountiful has been able to stay afloat after a couple of striking defeats. The Cats know they have played tough teams, and their record does not show how good they have played this season. The Cats have been in every single game this year, including against region leader, East.

The Braves are led by Jakob Hunt on the offensive side of the ball, it will be the Cats goal to shut down Hunt and the rest of the Braves’ rushing attack. Cam Zollinger, the Braves’ starting quarterback, has been error prone all season throwing five interceptions to seven touchdown throws. If the Cats put pressure on Zollinger, and force the Braves to throw then Bountiful’s offense will stall. The secondary of the Wildcats is strong and will cause problems for the passing game, but only if the run game is shut down on the line.

The Cats’ offense is coming off one of its best games of the season scoring 39 points. The load will be put upon Skyler Farnes, Sean Barton, and Nick Sefakis to continue the success. Bountiful’s strength lays on the defense. Farnes must stay composed against a talented secondary that has recorded 12 interceptions and 8.5 sacks this season.

The time is now for the Cats to defeat the Braves. No current student was alive the last time the Cats defeated Bountiful. It was 21 years ago that Woods Cross came out on top. Kitt Rawlings rallied the Cats to beat the Braves in 1989, 28-21.

It is the Cats turn to have the taste of victory. There is no better way to upset the Braves then on their home field, with their home fans.
Come on, Woods Cross student body! Show up the students of Bountiful at their home field by being larger, louder, and “Wilder”.

Good luck football team. The school is behind you, and we believe in you.

“We Believe That We Will Win!”

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Porter  Hancock, of South Summit High School suffered a dislocated neck and was paralyzed from the chest down after tackling the opponents punter following a fumbled snap. Hancock was taken to University of Utah Hospital on Friday night and underwent surgery for the dislocated neck on Saturday morning in which two discs were removed.

Monday he began to show positive signs of recovery. The feeling in his arms started to get stronger and stronger, and he’s even able to grip objects. He still had no sensation below his chest.

Bountiful and Woods Cross will be conducting a competition to see which school can raise more money for Hancock. Come on Wildcats! Show who we really are by donating, and showing your sportsmanship. Bring your donations to the game. Let’s pull together to help out.

Season Home Finale

The seniors on the Woods Cross High School Football team mad a statement Friday night in a 39-0 win in their last home game wearing a Wildcat jersey. The seniors were congratulated by their parents, coaches, and fans prior to kickoff. It was senior night and I couldn’t have gone any better for those who will be graduating this year.  With the bitter cold and breezy conditions, Woods Cross played to win and kept the score board keeper busy by putting up big numbers.

For 20 seniors it was their last chance to play on their home field. Some described it as a bitter-sweet moment because they knew how much work they had put in to get to this point. All that work paid off as right from the beginning the Cats ran away with the game.

There was not one moment when the cats did not control the game.

Justin Ward put Woods Cross ahead 3-0 in the first quarter with a 39 yard field goal, his longest of the season. Ward also put four PATs through the uprights.

The Cats put the pedal down in the 3 remaining quarters, scoring 15 in the second quarter. Sean Barton scored a 1 yard run, followed by a touchdown pass from Skyler Farnes on the next drive. Farnes finished throwing 20-29 for 266 yards. Nick Sefakis caught his eighth touchdown pass of the season in the final quarter. The final scoring play of the game came from Jr. Vailolo on a seven yard run.

The Cats finished 3-1 at home with wins coming over Bonneville, Cyprus and Clearfield. 

On senior night 20 players were congratulated for the participation on the team, many for all three years of high school. The senior included: Kristian Mask, Justin Ward, Colby Papenfuss, Austin Putnum, Tonga Lavulo, Austin Cottam, Nicholas Castillo, Andres Rodriguez, Pele Lokeni, Takaetali Maka, Cameron Easton, James Loftis, Atakeli Ahhoy, Dale Parsons, Kiefer Hammer, John Wayne Mausia, Zachary Twitchell, Alex Gonzales, Adam Donovan and Nicholas Sefakis.

Now that the Cats pulled their region record even it is time to end the season with a winning record, and there is no better way to do that than by beating cross town rival, Bountiful High School. Woods Cross- Bountiful is known as one of the intense rivalries in the state, and nothing short of that is expected Friday night.

The Braves sit on a record of 4-4, that equivalent to the Wildcats. They have key wins over Mountain View and Highland, but have embarrassing defeats against the undefeated teams of East and Lone Peak. Their other losses came to the explosive offense at Logan which has not been slowed by anyone, and Viewmont, who is a common opponent.

With one of the most difficult schedules in the state, Bountiful has been able to stay afloat after a couple of striking defeats. The Cats know they have played tough teams, and their record does not show how good they have played this season.

Led by Jakob Hunt on the offensive side of the ball, it will be the cats goal to shut down Hunt and the rest of the Braves rushing attack. Cam Zollinger, Braves starting quarterback, has been error prone all season throwing five interceptions to seven touchdown throws. If the Cats put pressure on Zollinger, and force the Braves to throw then Bountiful’s offense will stall. The secondary of the Wildcats is strong and will cause problems for the passing game, but only if the run game is shut down on the line.

The Cats offense is coming off one of its best games of the season scoring 39 points. The load will be put upon Skyler Franes, Sean Barton, and Nick Sefakis to continue the success. Bountiful’s strength lays on the defense. Farns must stay composed against a talented secondary that has recorded 12 interceptions this season, and 8.5 sacks.

The time is now for the Cats to defeat the Braves. No current student was alive when the last time the Cats defeated Bountiful. It was 21 years ago that Woods Cross came out on top. Kitt Rawlings rallied the Cats to beat the Braves in 1989, 28-21.   The team needs the support of the student body, so every single student needs to be there. Show the Braves up on theirs home field and wish all of the football players good luck.

Good luck to the team, and come home with a new streak, the beginning of the Woods Cross football winning streak.

Football: Chase for Region Six Title

Half way through the season and the Cats are in the hunt for the region championship. The cats have been in every game this season, winning some thrillers, but losing in some heartbreakers. With a 3-3 record, with a 1-1 record in region Woods Cross faces an in-state top 25 team on Friday. After a dominant performance in their 42-20 win over Cyprus, the Cats travel to Salt Lake to take on Highland High, the defending state champions. 

Woods Cross broke back into the state’s top 25 this week. The Deseret News has the Wildcats ranked 25 in the state of Utah, 4 spots behind this week’s opponent. Highland (4-2, 1-1), who is the defending 4a state champions started the season strong, but in the last couple of weeks have stumbled. After losing their star quarterback to a season ending injury, the Rams were outplayed last week by Bountiful in a 27-3 loss. An injury to their starting half back hurt the Rams in their loss as well.

Even without their stars on the offensive side of the ball, major weaknesses were exposed as they turned over the ball almost as many times as BYU did against the U. Bountiful held a usual high scoring team to just a field goal and recorded 3 interceptions.

East and Bountiful sit atop the standings for region six, both winning their first two games, while Highland and Woods Cross have spit both of their region matches. Friday night’s game will play a big role in determining who wins the most competitive region in the 4a classification. All four of the top teams are currently ranked in the top 25, and East, who Woods Cross put up a good fight against, is ranked number one in 4a and 5^th among all classifications.

Woods Cross offense has been the strength of the Wildcats this year, and hopes to keep executing. The defense has been strong, but they know they must be better to compete among the best in the state.

Quarterback Skyler Farnes has thrown 13 touchdowns so far this season and does not look like he is cooling down. In the secondary, they have combined to intercept opposing quarterbacks seven times including four from junior Derek Lord, and one from Nick Castillo.

Sean Barton continues to be the star of the team being an all-around threat. One second he is running in a touchdown on offense, while just seconds later is running back and interception for a pick-six. He has 2 interceptions on the year, 69 tackles and 2.5 sacks. On offensive he is as impressive. He has tallied three receiving touchdown and five rushing touchdowns.  

“We know it’s the most important game of the season up to this point and we are practicing like it.” Nick Castillo, and the rest of the team acknowledge that they have a chip on their shoulder. “They have a huge target on their chest. Every team wants to embarrass the defending champions. We’re glad we have a shot at them.” Last season Woods Cross beat Highland at home 31-23.

 The Cats hope to show the rest of the state that they are capable of beating the defending champs this Friday at Highland High School. As well as State-wide recognition, the game has huge implications toward crowning the region champion.

Disappointing Trip

It had been a long time since Woods Cross High School had faced an out of state opponent in football, the third longest streak in the state to be exact. Friday night the Cats travelled up to Pocatello, Idaho to face Highland, Idaho, a football powerhouse in the state.

The Cats were just coming off an emotional win at Mountain Crest, and were hoping to bring that momentum into their showdown in the Holt Arena, where Idaho State plays their football games. Highland, Idaho had already played one Utah team this year beating Sky View 32-14.

The opening kick-off went to the Rams, but the Woods Cross coaches pulled a trick out of their sleeve and opted to kick an onside kick. Justin Ward put the ball into their second line and the Cats covered up the ball.

On the first drive of the game the offense looked as strong as they have all season, with Skyler Farnes throwing the ball with accuracy, while being protected by the offensive line. The drive was capped off by Sean Barton running five yards for his third rushing touchdown of the year.

The 156 mile ride didn’t seem to faze the cats as they jumped out to an early lead.  After strong defensive holds deep in their territory, the Cats drove down the field again to set up another rushing touchdown for the junior running back, Barton. The defense held strong on two 4^th and short plays in their red zone to keep Highland off the board in the first quarter.

Barton continued his excellence in the secondary by picking off Joel Jewll for a pick-six. The game seemed to slipping away from Highland, who too many are considered one of the top 5 teams in Idaho. Woods Cross had dominated on the offensive side all game, but the even bigger stat than scoring three touchdowns was holding a dangerous passing offense to only 3 points through the first quarter and a half.

Things started going downhill as Highland scored a touchdown to end the half being down 21-9.

Farnes had been dominating in the pocket all year, but Highland exposed a weakness in the second half that caused Farnes to lose his touch on the ball. The offensive line for the Cats couldn’t seem to keep the defensive line from getting to Skyler, causing him to force throws.

Just as the Vikings had done in the season opener, pressure caused the offensive to stumble. The team needed the defense to step up but in the third quarter couldn’t keep the Rams out of the end zone.

Being down nine with the clocking ticking down late in the fourth quarter, the Cats had one last gasp. Farnes found Jake Brown, who had been quite all game, for a 37 yard touchdown to close the gap to less than a field goal.

The fans that made the trip started to feel something special about to happen and were making a lot of noise. The students started their chant of “I believe that we will win”, hoping to give the Cats that little energy to win the game.

It wasn’t enough and the Cats fell to Highland 30-28.

This game concluded the non-region games, as Woods Cross faces fifth ranked East High School. East is undefeated 4 games into the season, and are recognized as being the best team in the 4a classification. Woods Cross has to prepare themselves for a different type of opponent this week, as East is unlike highland in that they are a heavy run team. Jason Cook has scored six touchdowns for Leopards this season. East’s secondary is strong and have intercepted the opposing quarterback seven times through four games.

Woods Cross has started off all four of their games this season strong, but seem to fall apart in the third quarter. Staying strong all game is necessary to win a football game. In their two losses this season, the part of their game that lacked was the protection of the quarterback in the pocket. If the Cats can protect the quarterback, and play strong defense all game, Woods Cross has the potential of upsetting East on Friday.

The team really needs the support of the student body. It really does make a difference for the players. Let’s help our Cats upset East on Friday by showing up in force to cheer on the team. Let’s get everybody there, and let’s go for a white out. Come ready to lose your voice, and watch our Cats pull off the huge win.

 

Join wxfootball on facebook to further cheer on our boys.

 

Exciting Encore

The Woods Cross Football team knows how to make games exciting. In the last two games the Cats have won by two or less points. Friday night in Logan the Cats repeated the same dramatic finish with a 32-31 win over Mountain Crest as they did when they defeated Bonneville 26-24. Every successful team always gets a little bit of luck, or a ball that bounces their way and the cats got just that late in the game.

The Cats dominated every aspect of the game Friday night. Even though they dominated the Mustangs kept battling back and making it a game even though being down most of the game.

The game started off with defense ruling the game. A slow start lead to a 3-0 lead for Mountain Crest who were 1-1 going into the game. Just as in their two previous games, the Wildcats had a huge 2nd quarter that gave them an advantage going into halftime. At half the Cats lead 15-9.

The Woods Cross offensive line has been their anchor to this point in the season. They protected junior quarterback, Skyler Farns, like he was royalty, just as they have all season. The line also opened up holes for the running backs to run through. Behind the strong line three touchdowns were scored on the ground including two by Sean Barton and one from Farns.

The second quarter was key to the victory. Sean Barton ran for a two yard touchdown with a Justin Ward PAT. Ward finished with 3 PAT’s. Later in the quarter Barton ran for his second score of the day, and Jake Brown caught the two-point conversion.

With high expectations coming into the season, first year starter Skyler Farns has produced and has quieted all of the critics. As the offensive leader, he marched his team up the field not only all game, but all year. The defense had no answer for him. In the third quarter the pocket collapsed and there was immense pressure put on Farns. He broke three tackles, and found Barton down field who attempted to dive for the pylon but was just short. The next play Skyler called his own number and snuck into the end zone after the line got a good push.

Farns was as precise  as a surgeon all game and hooked up with fellow junior, Sean Barton in the fourth quarter for his 6th touchdown pass of the year.

Mountain Crest battled back in the final quarter. Down by 7 late in the game, Mustang quarterback Eddy Hall constructed a drive that resulted in a 1 yard run by Hall. The difference maker was Justin Call missing the point after. The Cats got the ball back being up one and drained the clock until the clock went to zero.

The Cats defense contained a very dangerous offense that is used to put up big numbers on the scoreboard. Nick Castillo, Derek Lord, Sean Barton, and Jake Brown all played excellent in the secondary to shut down a dangerous passing attack, forcing Mountain Crest into more of a run oriented game.

All the Wildcats games this season have come down to the final moments including the Bonneville game, Woods Cross was able to come up on top in the close game after the opposing team surged back.

Woods Cross improved their record to 2-1 and beat Mountain Crest for the first time in 11 years. They travel to Pocatello, Idaho this week to face Highland, Idaho. The Cats have momentum and hope to keep it as they face an out of state opponent. Utah schools have not faced up well against out of state opponents this season so far. Highland, Idaho overtook a very good Utah School, Sky View. Ian Filiaga and Andre Lopez each had two touchdown runs as Highland beat Sky View 32-14 at Sky View.

The Wildcats have a tough task ahead of them but are preparing hard so they can return home from Idaho with another victory.

Game MVP: Sean Barton. Sean has been the backbone of the team all season. He starts on both sides of the ball and his presence is always felt. He had a total of three touchdowns against Mountain Crest, including a huge fourth quarter touchdown reception to put the cats up by 14. He also had an extra point block.

Cats Down Lakers in 24-26 Thriller

The Woods Cross High football team welcomed the students back to school Friday night with a 26-24 victory over Bonneville High. Sean Barton, Skylar Farnes, Filipo Mokofisi, and Jake Brown lead the Wildcats on offense to an epic game that went down to the wire. The Student Section showed up in force wearing all white chanting and cheering their team on to victory. Going into the game Bonneville was favored after winning their season opener against Ogden 42-14.

The first quarter was dominated by the defense on both teams. At the end of the first the score was still scoreless. Early into the second quarter Sean Barton found the end zone to break the tie and go ahead.

Starting Quarterback Skyler Farns had a monster day throwing for 180 yards and 89 yards rushing including a rushing touchdown and threw three touchdowns, all too different receivers. In the third quarter Farns scrambled out of the pocket and found space up field resulting in a 75 yard touchdown run. The cats seemed to be pulling away, but the Lakers still had energy for a comeback. A late game comeback plagued the Cats in their season opener when they lost to cross town rival, Viewmont.

Junior Jake Brown had a fumble recovery and a touchdown, while Sean Barton dominated on both sides of the ball tallying up 16 tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception all to go with his touchdown reception.

The defense stepped up big when needed. Late in the game Bonneville was surging only down two hoping to get in field goal range to ultimately win the game. A run oriented team, the Lakers ran for a total of 266 yards. On an important 3^rd down and short yardage, Senior Captain Nick Castillo had a huge deflection to force fourth down, where Barton had a pick to seal the game.

“One thing we did differently during tonight’s game was execution towards the end of the game, finishing when it counts. With the young team we have, going into the next week on a win was a huge boost, Said Senior Cameron Easton. Our defensive line really shut down the interior lanes and helped us secure the victory. Our biggest accomplishment was the offensive line at the end of the game, putting the nail in the coffin.”

A much improved team all around from a week earlier showed up for the Friday night game. Both the offense and defensive line played outstanding. Friday was a physical game that had both sides penalized a lot. The Cats recorded their first win of the season. After the emotional win Nick Castillo only had one thing to say, “Where are my parents?”.

There wasn’t much time to celebrate the dramatic win as the cats face Mountain Crest this Friday in Logan. Mountain Crest is known as a high school football power house in the state of Utah, but last season the cats were one play away from beating the Mustangs at home. Mountain Crest won their first game against Provo 31-14 behind the arm of quarterback Eddy Hall who threw for 229 yards, but dropped a game at Lone Peak 35-14 last week.

Game MVP: Skyler Farnes. Skyler Passed for 180 yards, throwing 3 touchdown passes. The play of the game went to Skyler who rushed 75 yards to increase the cats lead. On the season Farns has thrown 57% completion rate, with 416 yards and 5 touchdowns.