Maple Mountain Football "The kids never gave up, they just kept fighting and fighting."

Lehi (1-1) got off to an impressive fast start in Friday night's matchup, but KJ Hall and Maple Mountain (1-1) will tell you that how you finish the game is more important.

Hall led the Golden Eagles to a 43-40 wild overtime come-from-behind victory over the Pioneers.

Things looked bleak for Maple Mountain after a Folo Ulukivaiola 75-yard touchdown run put Lehi ahead 40-20 in the fourth quarter. Ulukivaiola ran for 202 yards and three touchdowns on the night.

But the night was far from over for the Golden Eagles.

After a 17-yard touchdown run by Cameron Carson brought Maple Mountain within 13, coach Brad Burtenshaw made the call to switch Hall to quarterback.

"We thought they'd probably be dropping back and so instead of trying to thread the needle, we put KJ right there and see if we can break a few," Burtenshaw said, "We started rolling after that. It was wishful thinking, but it worked out."

Hall, who had played running back and receiver for most of the game, checked in at quarterback with eight minutes left in the game.

"It was unbelievable," Burtenshaw said, "The kids never gave up, they just kept fighting and fighting.

After a fourth-down punt by Lehi pinned the Golden Eagles on the 6-yard line, Hall led the home team on a nine-play, 94-yard drive capped off when Hall hit Braxton Jacobson with a 15-yard pass to bring MM with in six with 1:30 left to play.

Maple Mountain senior Logan Kinross recovered the ensuing onside kick when it bounced off the chest of a Lehi player. Hall looked confident as he led his team back onto the field.

"I just had confidence in myself and my team," Hall said. "I trusted them. We're a family, that's all I can say."

Only moments later, Hall took a quarterback draw raced up the middle from 16 yards out to tie the game at 40.

However, Lehi wouldn't give up easily as they blocked the extra point to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, however, Maple Mountain held the Pioneers scoreless after a fourth-down pass feel incomplete.

Maple Mountain ran twice and threw an incompletion to set up junior kicker James Baird.

"I honestly thought I missed it," Baird said. "It was hooking to the right, but my lineman just had great blocks, had a great hold, a great snap, and it happened just like clockwork, just like how we practiced."

While the Golden Eagles were able mount the dramatic comeback, early on it looked like the visitors were on their way toward their second straight victory after they broke a 26-game losing streak in the season-opener.

Lehi wasted no time getting on the board as Keaton Eager returned an interception 26-yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game.

MM responded with an impressive drive set up by Nik Mafi's 50 yard kick return. Quarterback Trevor Topham went 3-for-3 on the drive that was capped off by Skyler Porcaro's 11-yard TD run on a quick dive up the middle

Lehi finally got an offensive possession and made quick work scoring on the fifth play of the drive when Folo Ulukivaiola took a quick pitch 68-yards for a TD, showing great break away speed.

Maple Mountain scored on the first play of the second half when Topham hit Braxton Jacobson with a 14-yard pass off a play-action roll out to even the score.

Lehi took control of the momentum of the game at this point scoring 19 unanswered points thanks to touchdown runs of 40 yards and 71 yards from Zane Munger and another touchdown run of 26 yards from Ulukivaiola.

That set the stage for the exciting finish, as the home team rallied to get the victory.

Read more: http://www.heraldextra.com/sports/high-school/football/article_3e63f6ec-d077-11e0-8220-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1WDCxblC1

Maple Mountain Band having one of the best years ever.

Article by:
Conlan Ordakowski

The Maple Mountain High School Band Started out its season in the first week of June with its Summer Marching Band Program. The Drum Majors are leading the band this season are Susan Nelson and Conlan Ordakowski, with Section Leaders: Dean Packard over the Trumpets, Jonah Bateman over the Flutes, Jayson Buhler over the Clarinets and Saxophones with Rayna Bell helping the Saxophones, Katrina Ordakowski over the Melliphones, Bradley Griffen over our Low Brass, Grace Rose over our Color Guard, and David Bates over the Drumline. We marched our way through five Parades including the spectacular July Forth Freedom Festival. The tune that we preformed in these parades is titilted “Semper Fedelis”. 

Our fall season started out with a Bang with our theme "Day of Infamy", in memory and honor of those who died on December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor. Our Fall Band Camp started out on August 8 through August 19. We started out the day at 7:30 am and were at the school until 4:30. Our Drumline continued until 8:30 every time and their efforts have always been successful winning "Outstanding Percussion" awards. We all appreciate this hard work that our drumline has done, but even they will bow down to what our freshmen and first- years have accomplished. One in particular whom everyone sees has the hardest time trying to get everything correct as everyone else does is our beloved freshmen Philip Stuart. He picked up saxophone just one year ago, but we have watched him grow to be a great confident player. No one has matched his determination and pride in doing everything right.

Our amazing freshman class, including: Kira Mosdell, Phillip Stewart, Anya Nielson, Hyrum Skelton, Adam Warnick, and our first years Rayna Bell, Derek Packard, Eric Amundson, Elizabeth Swan, Sarah Vincent, Johanna Linford, Brent Blas, Christian Taylor, and Julia Raymore have pushed the seniors harder then imaginable. They have grit and determination that fuels the rest of our band. The Marching Band learned their whole field show and memorized all of their music in 2 weeks, faster then any other year before. We had our first performance for our parents on August 19, a great success for 2 weeks. We look forward to this season, and the growth that we will receive as musicians, and as people, for all of our hard work. We hope that our music conveys the tragedy that happened at Pearl Harbor, and that we show what it means to us. We love our music, and we hope that you will too.

Our next performance is Saturday, September 17th at Orem High School. We would love everyone’s support. We also hope to perform at a Football halftime, but that is still a work in progress.

 "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory." Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 8, 1941

Teamwork allows Eagles to beat Devils in girls soccer

Though they played even after the break, a pair of first-period goals by Maple Mountain proved to be enough to lift the Golden Eagles past scrappy Springville 3-1 in Spanish Fork Tuesday afternoon.

Combination play was the main factor in all three scores for the home squad, a fact guaranteed to put a smile on a soccer coach's face.
"I liked our offensive attack today," said Maple Mountain coach Carolyn Swenson-Esplin. "We've been working on our through balls and using our speed wide and up top.
"I'm glad that worked out so well for us," the coach continued. "We were able to execute that part."

Another key was the play of goalkeeper Kara Betts. "She was just stellar," Swenson-Esplin said. "If not for her, this could easily have been a 2-3 or 3-3 game. She made some terrific saves."

The contest was not without its anxious moments, however.

"Springville is a good team, and playing them showed us more of our weaknesses," the coach said. "I was pleased that the girls were able to rise to the occasion. When you can still get a win while seeing where you need to improve, that's always a positive."

Red Devil goalkeeper Danica Nusink played tough but was under near-constant pressure. The score would have been much worse without her efforts, and she made the correct plays in each of the opportunities the Golden Eagles were able to capitalize on.

The first came in the 16th minute. Maple Mountain's Baylee Nielsen tried a shot in the center of the box, but Nusink came up aggressively and deflected it on the ground.

Nielsen then gathered it and sent it left to Mickelle Hamilton, who fed it right back. Nusink went after the ball again but couldn't quite secure it, and Nielsen finished the play at the net.

The teams continued to trade possessions for the rest of the half, but neither was able to find the target until the period's final minute.

This time, Nielsen avoided multiple incoming defenders with a pass to Wesli Peay on the left side. She chipped the ball up in front of the net, and Hamilton finished the play with a header.

The Golden Eagles kept up the torrid pace in the second half, despite the wilting heat.

In particular, Natalie Hickey showed great energy in moving the ball up the sideline on the attack, and McKell Nielsen was the equivalent on the defensive side, making a succession of fine plays with determination and skill.

The early push paid off once again. Ten minutes into the period, Kennedee Tracy found Hamilton loose in the box once more, and she sent a rocket over the goalie's head into the high near corner.
The play was more even from that point on, and Springville's own efforts in moving the ball finally paid off four minutes later.
The initial shot bounced straight back off the crossbar, but Megan Marchbanks collected the rebound and gave it to Amie Critchfield, who was able to convert and break the shutout.
That was as close as it got, however. The teams continued to battle and each had other opportunities, but the tally didn't change.
Rachel Bingham also had an outstanding game for the home team, showing some impressive speed along with Meghan White.
For the visitors, Brooke Lopshire was solid again on the defensive side, and Mashaela Farris also worked hard in the back. Natalie Sanchez joined Marchbanks and Kaisa Goodman in leading the attack.

The Red Devils (2-2-0, 1-1-0) will host Salem Hills (1-3-0, 1-1-0) and the Golden Eagles (4-0-0, 2-0-0) will visit Mountain View (2-2-0, 0-2-0) as Region 8 play continues Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Beky Beaton can be reached at bbeaton@heraldextra.com. Follow her on Twitter at @BeatonWrite.




Read more: http://www.heraldextra.com/sports/high-school/soccer/girls/article_258140ac-ce16-11e0-9450-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1WNjzAoZo

Undefeated Maple Mountain girl's soccer team beats Mountain View

Sometimes you don't play your best as a team. Sometimes your emotions can seem to take control on the field. And yet, even when that happens, sometimes you still find a way to win-which is exactly what happened for the Maple Mountain girl's soccer team Thursday afternoon as it remained undefeated by taking a 4-1 victory over the host Mountain View Bruins.

"I thought it was a frustrating game and we certainly didn't play our best. I thought we let our emotions get the best of us today, honestly," Maple Mountain coach Carolyn Swenson said. "But it's something we need to put behind us and work towards in the future. As a team I don't think we played our best, but I know the individual efforts were there."

While Swenson felt her team could use some emotional bolstering, the on-field results seemed come often and quickly-as the Eagles picked up their first goal of the game just minutes into the contest after Rachel Bingham found Baylee Nielsen for a quick score and a Maple Mountain 1-0 lead.

A short time later, the Bruins keeper collided with an Eagles player before the ball bounced back to Kennedee Tracy, who took advantage of the down keeper and found the back of the net to give Maple Mountain the 2-0 advantage less than mid-way through the first half.

Maple Mountain's aggressive attack and crisp passing kept the Bruins defenders moving consistently and led to open looks on the goal.

"That's always our game plan," Swenson said. "We want to use our speed out wide and up top."

With a 2-0 lead, Maple Mountain instantly piled the pressure on the Bruins, who were pulled into a game of catch-up for the remainder of the contest.

"The girls who scored first, Baylee and Kennedee, are really good about putting away early goals," Swenson said. "It really helps your team relax a bit."

For Nielsen, the goal was her first en route to a hat trick on the afternoon-adding a goal late in the first half off a Courtney Fryer centered pass and picking up her third and final goal in the second half after sliding into a scoring kick off a pass from Scierra Woods.

Nielsen's three goals on the afternoon brought her season total up to nine goals through the season's first five games.

"I think she came to play today and was a really good leader on the field," Swenson said of Nielsen. "I was impressed with her efforts."

The Bruins took advantage of a miscue from the Maple Mountain side to pick up their first and only goal of the game and put a small and lone blemish on the effort of Maple Mountain keeper Kara Betts.

On the rare occasions that the Maple Mountain defense let the Bruins get a shot on goal, Betts did her part to hold firm and keep the ball from finding the back of the net.

"Kara has been so much better about being loud and commanding from the goal box," Swenson added. "We've been very happy with her."

Maple Mountain (5-0, 3-0) will take on Orem on Tuesday in Mapleton while the Bruins (2-4, 0-4) will look to rebound on Tuesday as they travel to take on Timpanogos.

Read more: http://www.heraldextra.com/sports/high-school/soccer/article_970caf3e-cfa3-11e0-91df-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1WNaZwDAA

This year's soccer team includes:
Baylee Nielsen


Chelsea Frisby

Christine Heyn

Courtney Fryer

Giselle Francis

Jaedi Ann Brown

Jalene Keliiliki

Janae Warren

Jayci Peay

Jessica Roundy

Kaitlyn Bailey

Kara Betts

Katie Card

Katie Hammer

Kennedee Tracy

Lexi Petersen

Lindsay Williamson

Lora Kendell

Maddie Ball

Madie Kay

Malia Brady

McKell Nielsen

Megan Elmont

Meghan White

Mikelle Hamilton

Morgan Schramm

Natalie Hickey

Rachel Bingham

Savannah Robinson

Scierra Woods

Sophie Card

Taylor Williamson

Tessa Weight

Wesli Peay

Cross Country does well in pre-season competition

The cross county team finishes a great 2 week camp.

 TEAM Camp was AMAZING with so many highlights that included; the running, the breakfasts, the running, the otter pops, the running clinic thanks to our friends from Orem High, the running, the ropes course, the running, the wall, the running, the games, the running, the campfires, the running, the stories, the running, fun, the running, the BBQ’s, the running, the debut guitar song “cross country runner” by Katie, the running, the pranks by Sarah, the pranks pulled on Sarah, the running, the hikes, the running, the jokes by Daniel, the running, the swimming in the glacier lake, the running, the karaoke and dance party, the running, the fun, the running, the TEAM night dinner at Pizza Factory, and finally the running. The friendships & memories of these two weeks will really stick with all of you for a long time.  

This past weekend our TEAM raced at the American fork grass relays. This is a fun two mile race with hay bales at different points of the course. There were 31 high schools from Utah and Wyoming. The varsity ran a five person relay. In this relay our girls placed 4th overall (Autumn Gibson, Hayley Knapp, Sara Hash, Lindsay Schuring, Rachel Warnick) and our boys placed 7th overall (Paxton Patey, Nathan Vance, Isaac Faux, Jonah Hadlock, Kevin Muirbrook). Junior Paxton Patey & Sophomore Isaac Faux both placed in the top 15 overall. In the girls Frosh/Soph race Maddie Ball placed 6th and earned a medal. Also earning a medal in the JV race were Seniors Brette Bennett & Alenia Robertson placing 9th & 10th. There were several other great performances in this meet. Full meet results can be found here: http://sites.google.com/site/timomostert/americanforkgrassrelays


This meet was a good early meet and gave us a good idea of where we stack up with the rest of the state. We were very impressed with the improvement that many of you made in this meet. Many of you ran well. However keep in mind that it was an early meet. There is a lot more running and racing to go this season. Let us keep our goals in mind and keep up our hard work and dedication and good things will follow.

Athletic Director / Hurdle Coach -- David Boyack


Co-Head Coach Cross Country/ Distance Coach -- Melanie Barker

Co-Head Coach Track & Field -- Jesse "Reg" Kovatch

Assistant Coach -- Brad Burtenshaw

Assistant Coach -- Marsha Harris

Assistant Coach -- Jeff Lake

Assistant Coach -- Paige Workman

Co- Head Coach Cross Country & Co-Head Coach Track & Field -- Darrell J. Wyatt

Maple Mountain Volleyball off to an amazing start!!!!

 

Volleyball Report

by: Braxten Johnson

 
The volleyball team is off to a great start this year. We went undefeated and won the East-West Tournament in SLC! Other schools in the tournament included, Granger, Timpview, Highland, East High, Cyprus, Hillcrest, Payson, West, and Weber High Schools
We had a final final record of 9-0. When we were playing Weber to defend our undefeated standing MMHS was were down 16-24 and Weber only needed one more point to win. We battled back 12 points to win 28-26. That was incredible!  The team this year includes:

Kylee, CeLin, Sam, Dani, Amanda, Kalli, Braxten, Kecia, Katelee, Rachel, Jezni, Ashlyn, Sarah, Cortney, Josee, Shelby, Mikayla, Kylee P, Ronnie, Caroline and Sophia! GO EAGLES!

Here is an article that was published in the Deseret News about the Volleyball Team.

Maple Mountain wins 39th Annual East-West Varsity Volleyball Tournament

Maple Mountain Girls Volleyball competed this weekend in the 39th Annual East-West Varsity Volleyball Tournament at East High School in Salt Lake City. On Friday, they won their first four matches against Granger, Timpview, Highland, and East High Schools.

They follow up these wins by defeating the other five teams in the tournament on Saturday. These teams included Cyprus, Hillcrest, Payson, West, and Weber High Schools. Maple Mountain posted a perfect 9-0 record to be crowned champions of the pre-season tournament.

The win against Weber High School included a first game comeback. The team was down 24-16 when they caught fire. They put together nine straight points and ended up on the winning note at 28-26. They went on to win the second game handily to end the tournament with an unblemished record.

The team played without their two senior centers. They were led by Kalli Collier, junior setter; Kylee Bendtschneider, senior outside hitter; Sam Porter, senior outside hitter; and Dani Esplin, senior libero.

Bendtschneider and Esplin have been attracting the attention of multiple universities for the class of 2012. Likewise, Kalli has been scouted by numerous coaches around the country for the class of 2013.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705389511/High-school-volleyball-Maple-Mountain-wins-39th-Annual-East-West-Varsity-Volleyball-Tournament.html

Maple Mountain Football in the News

Taken from Deseret News article by James Edward

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/print/700169452/High-school-football-Maple-Mountain-Golden-Eagles-2011-preview.html

Cameron Carson
"The next step is to do things consistently," said coach Brad Burtenshaw. "We were in a lot of games, but it's about getting over the edge and winning those games and doing things consistently."

Experience could make a big difference.

When the school opened in 2009, as expected Maple Mountain took its lumps with a team full of mostly sophomores and juniors. A year wiser last season, it won two games, and Burtenshaw is optimistic that his team can take the next step in 2011 and compete for a playoff spot.

With eight returning starters on offense and six on defense, it's legitimate optimism.

"It's a team that has a lot of seniors who have been through the rough times. They've worked hard and stuck with it, and I admire that. We've had a rough couple years. I think we're definitely capable of making the jump this year," said Burtenshaw.

Linebacker Skyler Porcaro said the team has been working hard all summer in drills and scrimmages to make sure everything is crisp and the intensity is there.

"I think we're capable (of making the playoffs), we just have to play hard, keep our head in it and execute on the field," said Porcaro.

As tough as trying to win games with sophomores is, Burtenshaw said so is trying to drum up some tradition and passion around a new football program.

"Most of us coaches come from successful programs where that tradition was kind of there, and we kind of take it for granted," said Burtenshaw, who graduated from San Juan. "Coming here and trying to start that, you realize how valuable that tradition and that winning and expecting to win and that attitude is to a team a school and a community."

Despite all of Maple Mountain's struggles last year, one of the few bright spots was quarterback Tyson Jex signing on to play football at Dixie State College.

His replacement, KJ Hall, has some big shoes to fill. During his sophomore year last year, Hall played tailback and receiver, finishing with 284 rushing yards, 463 receiving yards and 13 total touchdowns.

He's at his best when he gets out in space running, but he's proven that he can throw the ball fairly well this summer.

"He has a lot of ability. I was interested to see what the kids would think, but they've really got behind him and like him there at quarterback. He's done a good job in the huddle leading the guys," said Burtenshaw.

Even though Hall is new to the position, the players protecting him won't be. The Golden Eagles return five starters on the offensive line, including two who were just sophomores last year.

Burtenshaw said all five starters have gotten a little bigger and a little stronger, which he's hopeful makes a big difference in Region 8, where only four playoffs spots are up for grabs for eight teams.

"It's a good region top to bottom. Everybody is good and getting better. We're excited for it though, it's going to be a good challenge," said Burtenshaw.

Maple Mountain Golden Eagles at a glance

Coach: Brad Burtenshaw is entering his third year at Maple Mountain High School with a 3-18 overall record. He's a graduate of San Juan High School.

Offense (8 returning starters; Spread offense)
It all starts on the line with five returning starters. Seniors Houser Duncan and Zack Decker are both back, along with juniors Drew Bates and Tyler Boyer. The last spot hasn't been solidified yet, but it was a position Maple Mountain rotated last year as well. Big things are expected at wide receiver with Devin Barker, who caught 34 passes for 505 yards and four TDs last year. Cameron Carson will be the feature back again after carrying the ball 124 times as a junior last year. Maple Mountain only averaged 17.5 ppg last year, but with eight returning starters that production should go up.

Defense (6 returning starters)
It's taken several years for the defense to learn the various schemes Burtenshaw uses, and this could be the year it finally pays off. Porcaro will anchor the defense at middle linebacker a year after starting in that spot for the first time in his life. CJ Hildebrand is another returning starter at linebacker who had 91 tackles last year. Justin Slavens will play a vital role at safety, while Braxton Jacobson is an athletic defensive end who should help defend against the run and pass.
Bottom line: With 30 seniors and plenty of returning starters, Maple Mountain should be much improved and might even compete for a playoff spot...