Matchup

I'm finishing last year's Skyline baseball yearbook and recently completed a feature article on one of its players - Mike Pell. Take a look.

Mike Pell:
Known for his great athletic ability,
he helped two teams to fine seasons

By Bruce Smith
Matchup

Growing up, Mike Pell was a standout athlete. Whatever team he was on, he was the guy in the middle.

At Skyline High School, he was the quarterback on the football team. He also was a key member on the Eagles’ baseball squad, where he pitched, played third base and was an outfielder.

That’s how he remembers high school. Wherever he went, success followed … on the field and in the classroom. He was a good student (barely missing the all-academic team his senior year), but athletics was his highlight.

It wasn’t surprising he went out a champion.

“The best part (of baseball) was beating Cottonwood … both times,” he said. “From football, they were a big rival. They beat us in football my senior year, so it was good to beat them twice.”

The two wins, of course, were important and paved the way for the Skyline baseball team to win its first region title since 2004.

Most people, however, will remember Pell for football. At Skyline, football was king in 2010-11 and a lot was expected from its quarterback. Pell earned the starting QB position and ended up guiding the Eagles to a 6-5 record. They finished fourth in Region 2, but accomplished a lot.

One of Pell’s highlights was when the team traveled to Hawaii to play Keleakehe and won 30-16. Afterward, Pell said assistant coach Steve Marlowe said it was the first time any team had come from the Mainland and won at Hawaii. The Eagles also reached the 5A playoffs and defeated Kearns in the first round.

“When we beat Kearns, that was a big deal,” Pell recalled. “I rushed for a season high and threw a touchdown pass and it was an all-around good game. It meant a lot that Skyline had never lost a home playoff game.”

Pell expected a lot from himself when baseball began a few months later. He was a big part of the team the previous year, when the Eagles finished 17-6 overall, but finished second in the region to Cottonwood, which beat them twice.

“My junior year, we actually made it further in the post season (beating Davis and American Fork) and I felt more involved,” Pell said.

Pell played in almost every game as a senior, but was used primarily on defense. Skyline coach Erik Hansen said he liked having Pell in the lineup. However, he had more hitters and needed to find ways to get them in the lineup.

“I really didn’t hit at all my senior year,” Pell recalled. “I had problems with the coach on that subject. When I did hit, it was at the bottom of the lineup.”
Pell was a decent hitter prior to his senior season, and he went on to excel everywhere else. Pell, in fact, was on the mound when Skyline officially clinched the region title with a 15-7 victory at Murray.

“That was my best game,” Pell said. “I don’t remember much of a celebration afterward. I don’t really know why, but it happens.”

That game was actually full of big hits and Skyline had a big lead most of the way. Pell, in fact, smacked a home run, and Mike Staes and Josh Stephens did, too.

After the season ended, Pell stayed in the area and attended the University of Utah, where he majored in Mechanical Engineering. He said he relished his athletic career at Skyline and stayed in touch with friends like Sam Trout, Carter Allen, Devan Gomez and Mike Staes. He planned to follow the football and baseball teams in the future.