Mtn. View 2011-12 basketball recap

In early April, I interviewed Mountain View (Idaho) basketball coach Jon Nettleton and several of his players. We talked about the Mavericks 2011-12 season and how it all played out. Here is the article that will appear in the team's basketball yearbook.

High expectations

Defending champions live up to their lofty ranking,

but fine effort isn’t quite enough to do it again

By Bruce Smith

Matchup

             There is something pretty special going on with the Mountain View High School boys basketball program.

            In coach Jon Nettleton’s seven years, the Mavericks are 117-55 (.680). More importantly, since their 10-14 record two years ago, Mountain View has bounced back in force. They won the 5A state championship in 2011 and this year’s club made it all the way to the state semifinals.
            The bar – it would seem – has been raised substantially.
            “I thought it (the season) went pretty well,” Nettleton said. “I knew we would be pretty good, but not to what extent. We started phenomenally. We were 10-0 and were one game from the state championship.”
            The Mavs finished with a 17-9 mark and were second in the 5A SIC standings. They reached the District 3 title game before losing to Borah. North Idaho power Post Falls ended their state title hopes with a 52-40 win at the Idaho Center.
            “We were a lot of opponent’s best game,” Nettleton said. “It was good for us to get tested. I’d like to think the foundation has been laid for this program.”
            Certainly, the seniors recognized the program they joined is not what it has become.
            “It (the season) could have been better,” said senior post Brandon “Bubba” Luedtke. “Second in league and fourth at state is pretty good.
            “If you took away my junior year, fourth is a good year.”
            Luedtke shrugged his shoulders after that comment. Normally not an emotional guy, the closest feeling he felt to euphoria came on the Idaho Center floor in 2001 when Mountain View shocked the rest of the state with its first state championship.
            This year, without Luedtke, a berth into state wouldn’t have been a certainty. At just 6-foot-4, he averaged 11.7 points per game and 8.8 rebounds. He also led the Mavs in virtually every category and graduated with several school records. Luedtke, a crafty lefty, had a signature shot where he moved to his left and lofted the ball over his opponent.
           “I wouldn’t call it unstoppable,” he said, smiling. “But I scored a lot of points on it.”
            Luedtke made one of the championship game’s key plays in 2011 and never let up. Nettleton called him “Mr. Everything,” but he also had a lot of help from other players who used last year’s title run to jump-start this season.
            Sophomore Tanner Percifield averaged 11.0 ppg and was easily the team’s best free-throw shooting. Randall Robinson showed fine three-point shooting accuracy, and Nate Moore, Marcus Slocum, Branson Trube, Max Curtis and others also developed their niche on the team. Their combined play also helped make up for the loss of Cameron Matosich, who was injured playing football and missed the entire basketball season.
            With Matosich, who knows? The Mavs would still have had to get by eventual 5A champion Borah, but the question will always loom.
            “Not sure,” Nettleton surmised. “Borah was a great team, and we usually gave up a lot of size whoever we played. We also played with a target on our backs after last year, and we usually got the other teams’ best (effort).”
            Nettleton said the season had many highlights. The Mavs handed Borah its only loss of the season, and defeated Eagle twice in big games – first to clinch a berth into the state tourney and then at state’s opening round. They also beat rival Meridian twice in the “Stinky Sneaker” and “Battle for the Milk Can.”
            Luedtke made first team all-SIC and all-state. He later received a scholarship to Willamette University in Salem, Ore. Percifield and Slocum also earned postseason honors, and Luedtke and Stewart were asked to play in post-season all-star games.
            In Mountain View’s nine years, the boys basketball team has won at least 15 games every year but one. High praise has become the norm. The Mavs may no longer be the defending champs, but have built a reputation. It’s up to the future players to earn it.

Mtn. View basketball: Whitney Gay profile

In early April, I interviewed Mountain View (Idaho) athlete Whitney Gay. She played multiple sports. Here is the article that will appear in the Mountain View girls basketball yearbook.

Whitney Gay:

Volleyball injury reduced her athleticism,
but not her importance to the team
 
By Bruce Smith
Matchup

            Whitney Gay and several Mountain View coaches had high hopes coming into the 2011-12 school year.

            For Gay, she was excited for her senior year, and all that she was about to accomplish. Her coaches (volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball) were anxious for the same reason. Gay was an athlete – and a good one. They marveled at her leaping ability, which few could match.
            “She was our athlete,” said Connie Skogrand. “She was one of the reasons we had such high hopes going into the season.”
            The year started with volleyball. Gay admitted volleyball is her passion. She started playing when she was about 10 years old. She was also a welcomed addition to every sport she played because of her attitude.
                “I have been praised for bringing the ‘intangibles’ to the court and lighting a fire under my teammates,” she said. “I love for the intensity that a highly competitive match brings.”
                Gay was an all-around player who could do it all until she sprained her right ankle. She missed the last quarter of the volleyball season. It also affected her play in basketball and she was still rehabilitating in the spring.
            “A ball came under my foot and I fell,” she recalled. “I was on crutches and an air cast for a long time.”
            More importantly, she was on the bench.
            “I didn’t put her back in until December, and she could never jump like she did before,” Skogrand said.
            But she tried. Gay was still an asset, and everyone knew it. Despite missing so many volleyball games, she had earned so much respect that she was named honorable mention all-SIC. She also made the all-academic team (3.5 GPA or higher).
            When basketball began, she missed the Mavericks first five games, but was back on the floor Dec. 1 at Timberline. She may not have been as athletic, but she had a reputation, and there was no doubting her winning attitude.
            Gay stayed in the starting lineup and ended up Mountain View’s fourth-leading scorer. She averaged 4.4 points per game and 4.3 rebounds. Gay admitted her shooting was way off, but she made up for it in other ways. Having her in the game added depth, and she was able to help teammates Josie Lawrence and Sam Loggins battle for rebounds. The Mavs led the SIC in that department.
            “I played the post when they needed me to,” Gay said. “I was undersized, but often I was able to tip the ball to a teammate or something like that. I tried to do all I could.”
            Gay said dealing with her injury was disappointing, but she had a lot of good memories from the 2011-12 basketball season. She said beating Centennial was a highlight. She also recalled a home game against Capital where she scored 15 points and had six rebounds in the Mavs’ 56-48 victory.
            “That was a game where everything was going for me,” she said. “I was ‘on’ and started taking more chances and it ended up being a great night.”
            Gay also enjoyed playing with her teammates. By playing so many sports, she had a lot of friends, and not just seniors. She also appreciated the support she received from her family, which attended all of her games.
            “We bought my little brother a Maverick shirt and he liked to cup his hands around his mouth and yell, ‘Go, Whitney G.,” she said, smiling. “My sister dressed up in blue or green and painted her face.”
            That kind of support will be missed at Mountain View next year. Gay said her family, which is originally from Lewiston, planned to move to Coeur d’Alene immediately after graduation and Gay hoped to attend college there.
            She also hadn’t given up on playing volleyball again. Her attitude never changed. She’s hoping her athleticism didn’t either.

Mtn. View basketball: Kyli McSpadden profile

In early April, I interviewed Mountain View (Idaho) High athlete Kyli McSpadden. We talked her the Mavericks' basketball season, and her athletic career in general. She's a special girl. Here is the article that will appear in the Mountain View girls basketball yearbook.

Kyli

McSpadden:

Easily the fastest player on the team,

she might also be the most determined
 

By Bruce Smith

Matchup

            The best way to describe Kyli McSpadden is that she always seemed to be in a hurry.

            Anyone who knows her should understand that metaphor. McSpadden was Mountain View’s fastest player – perhaps in any sport. She was one of the Mavericks’ most-dominant track athletes. On the basketball, court she used that ability the best she could.
            “Defense was the best part of my game,” she said. “I was the (team’s) top defender for three seasons.”
            McSpadden earned varsity playing time for much of her Mountain View career. As a senior, she averaged 3.6 points per game and 1.9 rebounds. Not too impressive, but what made the Mavericks one of the preseason SIC favorites was that every opponent always had to know where she was on the floor at all times.
            “Her speed made her a great asset for our ballclub,” said coach Connie Skogrand. “She’s a great athlete and a great asset to our program. She was always upbeat … always kept us going.”
            “I really had to earn my spot my sophomore year,” McSpadden recalled. “I learned that defense wins games.”
            She kept that (starting) spot for the remainder of her career. As a senior, McSpadden had many highlights, and they weren’t just limited to the basketball court. During the fall, she was named the school’s homecoming queen. When basketball rolled around, she played a huge role, and then she was among the area’s top sprinters.
            Few athletes could claim such a resume.
            “This year was a lot of fun,” she said.
            Her basketball season actually started during the summer. Most of the Mountain View players spent June, July and part of August together preparing for the upcoming season. The highlight was a weekend trip to Walla Walla, Wash. for a tournament there.
           “We stayed in the baseman of Sko’s daughter’s house (Ali, who attended Walla Walla Community College).” she said. “We put sleeping bags on the floor and it brought our team closer together. We did really well at the tournament and had a great time.”
            When the season began, McSpadden was one of the team leaders. She had 12 points in Mountain View’s second game, a 41-36 victory over Eagle in the SIC opener. While she enjoyed that, she said her best memory was easily the Mavericks’ victory over Centennial.
            “Just beating Centennial (for the first time in school history) was the highlight of the season,” she said. “Centennial was the best team we played and it meant a lot to us.”
            Since the season didn’t go as well as most had predicted, that victory was important. McSpadden noted that it was important that the Mavericks be remembered for what they accomplished, even if they didn’t make it to the state tournament.
            Besides Centennial, she had other personal memories.
            * - “What really worked for me was when I forced a turnover and someone else would get the ball and then throw it downcourt and I would chase it,” she recalled. “I remember getting a lot of layups that way.
            * - “There was a lot of crying in the locker room after our last game (in the District 3 tournament vs. Eagle). We didn’t expect it to be our last game. There was a lot of finality about it.”
            Once the season ended, McSpadden began preparing for track. As a junior, her times in the 100, 200 and 4 x 100 relay helped the Maverick girls win the state team title. Her success there helped earn her a track scholarship to Utah State.
            To nobody’s surprise, she was anxious to get started.

Mtn. View basketball: Sam Loggins profile

In late March, I interviewed Samantha Loggins of Mountain View High in Meridian, Idaho. This is the article that will appearin Mountain View's basketball yearbook.

Samantha

Loggins:

Mavs’ center rose to new heights
and her career might keep growing

By Bruce Smith

Matchup

               When Samantha Loggins was in sixth grade, she was taller than her teacher.

            She wasn’t done growing either. At the time, she was 6-foot-1. As an eighth grader, it should have come to no surprise that she was introduced to basketball. It has only been since that time that she learned simple things like dribbling and shooting.
            Now, she is a high-school graduate with memories of exploits of success on the basketball court. She also earned a scholarship to Utah Valley University.
            “The spring of my sophomore year, I started to play for the Idaho Flash (AAU team) and that’s where I got a lot better,” she recalled.
            She stood out on Mountain View’s varsity team as a senior. At 6-5, she was the tallest player in the league and did her best to become the most dominant. She led the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game and averaged 7.9 rebounds. She was named second team all-SIC.
            Her greatest moments may still be ahead.
            “Can you imagine what she might have been like if she had started to play earlier?” said Mountain View coach Connie Skogrand.
            Utah Valley coach Cathy Nixon agreed.
            “We feel like we found a ‘diamond in the rough,’” Nixon said. “She started basketball a little late, but she has good hands, work ethic and moves well for her size.”
            UVU signed her before the season even started. At the time, Mountain View was predicted to challenge for the 5A SIC title. Loggins played a big role in the Mavericks’ junior varsity team the previous year, which was the league champion, and, of course, during summer ball.
            “I played for ‘Hoop Dreams’ and UVU saw me,” Loggins recalled. “They called me and asked a bunch of questions. The second time they offered me a scholarship.”
            He varsity progress should have only solidified the deal.
            Loggins was at her peak when it counted. Playing at eventual league champion Centennial, she was a dominating force. She scored 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the Mavericks beat their nemesis for the first time in the school’s 15-year history.
            “I was coming off a game where I didn’t play well and the coach put me on the bench,” she recalled. “It was great to come back like that. That was a fun game.”
            Skogrand remembered it well, too.
            “We broke some barriers there and the kids were pumped,” she said. “We had good momentum and the kids played a solid 32 minutes. You have to play that way to beat Centennial.”
            Loggins eclipsed 20+ points two other times. Her play proved to be important because Mountain View’s inside game (with her and Josie Lawrence) was one of its strengths and the team averaged just 43.8 points per game.
            “I always had players (opponents) around me,” she said. “I rarely got to play any 1-on-1.”
            On those off-nights offensively, Loggins tried to focus on defense. For the season, she had 68 (3.1/game) of Mountain View’s 92 blocks. She said the one remembered most came against Borah.
            “They had a girl come in from the side and I blocked it,” she said. “It was like a volleyball spike and we all said, ‘yeah.’”
            Loggins was healthy all season and, once it ended, began preparing for what she hopes will be an illustrious college career. It was a big deal when she signed the letter-of-intent – with her teammates and coach smiling proudly.
            You can bet they’ll keep noting her progress, too.

Olympus football: Calvin Escobedo profile

In early May, I interviewed Olympus wide receiver Calvin Escobedo. This is the article that will appear in the 2011 Olympus football yearbook.

Calvin

Escobedo

He was a team player with a big heart

that helped push Oly to its potential

By Bruce Smith

Matchup

             The final game of the regular season – at Skyline – has been permanently entrenched in Calvin Escobedo’s mind.

            The 5-foot-9, 160-pounder was near the end of a fantastic senior season. He was the Titans’ leading receiver and Olympus was involved in Region 7’s deciding game that would decide the champion. It was also against its rival and there wasn’t an empty seat at Skyline’s field.
            “I probably played my best game that night,” he said. “It was surreal. I remember catching my first pass and looking up in the stands and seeing a crowd of white. It (the catch) got the crowd going with excitement. You see it on TV but you don’t know what it feels like to see all those people yelling.”
            That night, those fans saw Escobedo catch a career-high 10 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown. He snagged a 10-yard scoring pass from quarterback Scott Porter that broke a 14-14 tie. Later, when the game went to overtime, he was on the field when the Titans made the deciding play.
            On fourth down at Skyline’s 5-yard line, Porter went back to pass. He eventually found Ryan Rasmussen for the touchdown. When the Eagles fumbled on their possession, it ended up being the game’s biggest play.
            “The Skyline game was a masterful performance by Scott, Brandon (McBride) and Calvin,” said coach Aaron Whitehead. “We were calm under pressure and, as Scott went, the team went.”
            Escobedo said he didn’t always feel calm, especially on the game-winning play.
            “I was pretty close to Ryan,” he said. “Ryan was the guy who was supposed to get it. I saw Ryan’s face the whole time. I saw the ball go into the air and I thought it would be a hard catch, so I adjusted my route to get closer. Ryan jumped really high and laid out. He landed on his back pretty hard, but it was a great catch.”
            The Olympus fans were thrilled, and the players on the Titans’ sideline were jumping with excitement. Escobedo congratulated his teammate and they were immediately mobbed.
            Even though he didn’t make the play, Escobedo said it was the high point of his career that had many great memories.
            As a senior, Escobedo came into the season as one of several fine Titan receivers that included Rasmussen, Nate Sorensen, Chandler Thornton, Cole Benson and others. In fact, 15 different players caught passes during the year.
            Escobedo, however, was quarterback Scott Porter’s favorite target. He said having Porter as one of his best friends likely helped.
            “We had good chemistry,” he said. “At times, it seemed like we were thinking the exact same thoughts. He was reading my mind.”
            An ankle injury cut short his junior season, but Escobedo returned to catch 44 passes for 780 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior. He was named first team all-region and was Oly’s co-offensive MVP (with McBride).
            Additionally, Escobedo was on the receiving end of Oly’s longest pass play, a 71-yarder against Murray. That night, he caught five passes and four were for touchdowns in the Titans’ 41-10 win.
            “Murray was technically my best game,” Escobedo said. “It was the easiest game we played. The spread offense is really hard when you have so many weapons. We had Nate (Sorensen) on the other side and defenses couldn’t guard us.
            “We practiced it so much. We did so many 7-on-7s in the summer that it got easy for us to break down defenses.”
            The Titans had great success at summer camps, especially 7-on-7 contests. Escobedo said that when the season started (at Snow Canyon), he had a lot of butterflies in his stomach. He had caught just three passes the year before, and this felt like his first year really playing varsity.
            The next week – vs. Northridge – he made himself known. He had six catches for 124 yards as the Titans surprised the Knights, who had beaten them in a 7-on-7 game in California.
            In restrospect, the Titans surprised people all year. They were, after all, picked to finish fourth in region. They also advanced to the second round of the 4A state playoffs for the first time in years.
            After the football season ended, Escobedo later joined with Rasmussen as doubles partners on the Titans’ boys tennis team and had a great season. After graduation, he said he planned to go on an LDS Church mission and then go to college.

Olympus football: Cole Benson profile

In early May, I interviewed Cole Benson, who played defensive back and wide receiver for the Olympus Titans football team. This is the article that will appear in Oly's 2011 football yearbook.

Cole

Benson

Three-year starter made a difference

for Titans in all aspects of the season

By Bruce Smith

Matchup

            For many years, Cole Benson practiced playing football in his yard. He and his longtime friends, Nate Sorensen and Nico Bronzati, as well as his younger brother, Tait, they prepared for the day they would all be playing for the Olympus Titans.
            All those games came to fruition this year. The summer camps and practices, and then all 11 games were the results of all that practice time in the yard. They appreciated what this season meant and relished the memories it brought.
            “It was a great year. I had so much fun,” Benson said. “I got to play with in the same (defensive) backfield as my brother and that’s the only time that ever happened.
            “Our best memories would definitely be the Skyline game or the camps we went to in California.”
            The camps – in Las Vegas, Southern California, the “Ute Shoot” at the University of Utah and then another 7-on-7 tournament at Weber State – were big successes for the Titans, who had a returning quarterback (Scott Porter) and several good receivers.
            In addition, they had experienced defensive backs like Benson.
            “Seven-on-sevens are my favorite. You know it’s going to be a pass and you there will be some action on every single play,” Benson said.
            It was the same way during the regular season. Besides being one of Oly’s top DB – with four interceptions – he also spent time at receiver and on kick returns.
            Benson was the Titans’ fourth-leading receiver (20 catches) and sixth-leading tackler (45). He made the all-region team and was named Oly’s defensive MVP at the team banquet.
            “My forte was a defensive player,” he said. “I started for three years, but this was the only year I played offense. If something needed to be done, I felt I was the guy that needed to do it.”
            That showed on several occasions.
            One of the biggest was Oly’s Region 7 opener against Westlake. The game was played at Cottonwood High School and Benson was anxiously awaiting the opening kickoff. He said the two teams had met at the “Ute Shoot,” which created some bad blood.
            “They were big, and this was a more-physical game,” Benson recalled. “We took a some cheap shots from a few of their players, and there was all this talk about how good they were. We couldn’t wait to play them.
            Benson accepted the opening kickoff and, with the help of a great block from Chandler Thornton, he found a hole and wasn’t tackled until he was across midfield. The return set up the Titans’ first touchdown, and they went on to a 26-20 win at Cottonwood High School.
            “The first thing I looked for is for a lane and I knew Chandler would always throw a great block to spring me,” Benson said. “He’s was only 5-10 yards ahead of me when he takes a guy out. Chandler is definitely not scared to hit.”
            Other big games included Northridge and Herriman and, of course, Skyline. Benson said what he remembered most about playing Skyline was the excitement. The Titans won in overtime, of course. They scored the winning touchdown on a short pass from Scott Porter to Ryan Rasmussen. Benson was on the sidelines when it happened.
            “When Ryan caught that pass, everyone was going crazy,” he said. “Half the kids (on the sidelines) couldn’t even watch. It was the biggest play of our season.”
            It also put the finishing touch on the regular season, where the Titans couldn’t practice on their home field for much of the season, but came back to play Hillcrest on a special night that was homecoming, “Senior Night” and had playoff consequences.
            Benson loved the excitement there, too. He said the players talked about it the week prior, and each wanted to be the first to score on the field. It turned out the sophomores got that honor (they played there day before). Rasmussen eventually earned the honor for the varsity.
            “It was a great night,” Benson said. “We had been practicing on the new field all week, and it was a great atmosphere. I saw the second half of the sophomore game, too. I just wanted to be there.”
            Oly’s season lasted until the second week of the playoffs. Benson, who had played basketball, too, chose not to be part of the Titans’ team this season because there was virtually no break and he wanted to prepare to play college football.
            Benson received a scholarship offer from NAIA power Carroll College (Mont.), but chose to accept one from Redlands College (Calif.). He said he planned to major in psychology.

Olympus football: Nick Christensen profile

In early May, I interviewed Olympus High School football/soccer player Nick Christensen. This is the article that will appear in Oly's 2011 football yearbook.

Nick

Christensen:

He shared his talents with soccer team

and played big role in Oly’s success

By Bruce Smith

Matchup

             Nick Christensen is a soccer player. He started when he was six years old.
            When he was in ninth grade, his good friend, Seth Konopasek, asked him to consider using his strong right leg for football. That ended up being a huge event in his life.
            “I always wanted to play football, but never got around to it,” Christensen said. “Seth convinced me to give it a try.”
            Christensen joined the football program as a sophomore and now he can’t decide if he’ll be remembered for his football exploits, or all that he has accomplished on the Olympus soccer team.
            “The high point of my high-school career was this football season, but the soccer year is starting to be really worth it,” he said. “When it’s football season, all I think about is football. When it’s soccer season, that’s what I think about. We’ll see where it goes.”
            The boys soccer team endured a 5-8-3 season last year, but was challenging for the Region 7 title this season. Christensen said if the team kept advancing, it might supersede what the football team accomplished.
            That will take some doing. The Olympus football team outperformed virtually all prognosticators in 2011, and Christensen played a big part. He stood out because he was a big (6-foot, 195-pound) placekicker that also earned playing time on the offensive line, a place he had detested earlier.
            “On JV (junior varsity), I was the offensive left tackle and I hated it,” he said. “I despised getting hit, but since I was playing varsity on Friday night, it was OK.”
            Oly had a strong kicker in Buck Howard, but used Christensen for kickoffs. As a senior, he took over the kicking duties. He nailed 33 extra points and a couple of field goals, including a booming 49-yarder in the Titans’ 17-12 playoff victory over Box Elder that was a big factor in that game.
            “The high point of my season was making that 49-yarder,” he said. “I finally had a chance to show my skills, and I made it with a yard to spare.”
            Another high point came two weeks earlier in the Titans’ 42-35 victory at Skyline that decided the Region 7 championship. Christensen made all six of his extra-point attempts, but his best memory was saving a Skyline touchdown on a kickoff return.
            “I was the last person,” he recalled. “The guy went through everyone. A huge hole opened up. He had a blocker coming to me, but the blocker ran past me and I wrapped up the runner. I was crazy with excitement because I stopped a touchdown.”
            Shortly afterward, Christensen joined the rest of the Olympus team in celebrating the victory.
            “Beating Skyline was definitely our team’s high point,” he said. “It was such a hard-fought game. It went to overtime and we finally won it. There’s nothing I could do except celebrate.”
            Ironically, it was blocked field goal by Skyline that helped the Eagles rally to force the extra session. Oly coach Aaron Whitehead said he had confidence in his kicker, and the extra three points would likely have clinched the victory.
            “The field goal was the key, and it was blocked, which created some stress,” he said. “I hit the ball perfectly. When I saw the film afterward, the (Skyline) guy was a good four feet above the line. I give the kid major props.”
            The ball was deflected and recovered by Christensen, but Skyline took control and eventually tied the game. That play, and the Titans’ early season loss at Sky View, were the low points of the year, Christensen said.
            “That Sky View game was our turning point,” he said. “We were so hyped up and we got our asses kicked. We knew we couldn’t complete a perfect season, so we just worked harder.”
            When the football season ended, Christensen began preparing for soccer, which is a spring sport. While he is a talented athlete, he didn’t plan on playing either sport in college. He said he wanted to attend the University of Utah and eventually become a physical therapist.