Deseret News | Cavemen no match for powerful Mater Dei

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High school football: Cavemen no match for powerful Mater Dei

You are wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | 1:13 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

I was at the game. Hippolito you have no right to frame the game like this. With 4 minutes to go in the 4th qtr. and down by 11 AF had 2 shots to pick balls that would have given them posession in Mater Dei territory. As it was, a blown coverage left a wide receiver wide open and they got an easy late score. I am shocked that you would write such an article. If you were at the game then what a waste of a plane ticket for your employer. Why not write something about the valiant effort made by the AF kids and how close the game really was. AF was a couple of plays away from upsetting one of the best teams in the nation....I really do want you to respond Mr Hippolito.

good game | 1:36 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

saw it on vootage.com (you can see a replay of the game) AF gave MD a great game. I think MD was rusty on defensive. Another issue is the number of games played. AF is already half-way through their season, whereas, MD is only beginning. None-the-less, AF is a great team and Utah football is for real.

MD Wins | 2:04 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

AF put up a good effort. While MD was clearly on a different level that AF, I was impressed with the heart they showed. It would have been easy to pack it in after a quick 14-0 deficit but the Cavemen hung in there. A couple fluke plays (tipped pass INT returned for TD, bogus illegal block on MD punt return, screen pass for 75yd TD) made the game seem a bit closer than it was. MD was able to move the ball at will against the AF defense. #1, Murphy I think, is a great player and I'm surprised he's not going to a bigger school than BYU. Nothing to be ashamed about AF, you just were a bit out matched.

Comments continue below

So cal reader | 6:18 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

Don't worry. Mater Dei has been recruiting for years and years. If any school in Utah could recruit like that they would be a powerhouse as well.

Sounds like AF gave a good fight and represented well.

For the guy that said he is surprised the guy isn't going somewhere bigger than BYU, there isn't anything bigger than BYU for a mormon kid. That is where the good mormon players go. Kind of like the good catholic players get recruited to play high school ball at Mater Dei...

just think | 6:30 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

grreat job AF...ive been anticiating this an a few other out of state matches this year...sounds like the cavemen gave everything they could, which is something that is taught very well to utah football players...just think if we could schedule a MD match up with 801's big guns...bingham, alta, timpview, hell ill throw in east and c'wood too....1

AF Fan | 7:55 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

Hippolito you were obviously not at the game. Nice to have a local newspaper cover the story and put two paragraphs about AF, and everything else in a totally bad article about AF. These kids came down here and played hard - they put everything they had into it. Jones had a great rushing and passing game. Murphy had a great game. Everyone else who got time did all they could. Pull your head out and give us a realistic view of the game.

Caveman | 8:05 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

da da da dear old AF High...

nice effort boys

Joseph D'Hippolito | 8:43 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

To You Were Wrong!!!!

First, Mater Dei held a 23-point lead in the third quarter, which is difficult for any team to recover from.

Second, Davis Knight said it best about his own players: Some of their chests aren't big enough to hold their hearts, and lots of players left everything they had on the field. What more of a compliment do you want about a team's "valiant effort"?

Third, the story of the game was the MD quarterback. I dare you to tell me that any quarterback who throws for five touchdowns (three in the first quarter) and 440 yards (202 in the first quarter) in a winning effort *isn't* the main focus.

Fourth, all sportswriters have tight time and space constraints. After transcribing the quotes of my brief interview with Coach Knight, doublechecking my statistics and driving home, I had 25 minutes to write my story by deadline. That means summarizing the key points of the game quickly. When you can do that on a professional level and do it consistently, check back with me. Until then....

Trojan Fan | 8:56 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

That's no surprise that Matt Barkley performed so well. He's supposedly one of the top football players in the class of 2009. I hope to see him in a USC jersey where he will most likely win the Heisman Trophy. Go Trojans!! USC 49 Nebraska 10.

Hippolito | 9:53 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

Nice to know now that you are a SoCal guy working for the Salt Lake based Deseret News. I could see a local spin put out by the local papers here. But the Des news is a Utah paper. Glad to here you drove home from the game, the boys and their fans drove to a hotel/motel. Don't you think the MD QB gets enough ink. He played well and is legit. But to say that AF wasn't in the game late is just a flat out misrepresentation of the facts. If AF had not misfired on a few 2 pt coversion attempts late it would have been a 7 or 8 pt. game instead of 11 with 4 min to go. Either way their in the game. You tell me thats not in the game.....PLEASE

Call the Editor | 10:00 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

Hey Hippolito, we are forming a group and are going to blast your editor with our complaints of your incompetence and MD spin on what was a battle fought and almost won by the boys from AF HS.

down south | 11:34 a.m. Sept. 15, 2007

stop complaining about the writer you gotta be kidding me what a bunch of babies

Big Daddy | 1:41 p.m. Sept. 15, 2007

Great job A.F. Although Mater Dei is usually one of top 10 teams of Southern California, it is hard to compete against an area that has 10 times the recruiting power of the state of Utah. Living in So Cal you did my heart proud!

Typical | 1:41 p.m. Sept. 15, 2007

You AF fans are sure making fools of yourselves. And you don't understand how newspapers work. I guess the Dnews should have just gone with a boxscore instead of getting a Southern California writer to cover the game, because it appears you don't want an unbiased account of what happened at the game. I'm surprised that you're not blaming the loss on the officials or something. Honestly, you have no idea how stupid you are coming across. Why don't you clam up and go recruit some more Lone Peak kids to pretend to live in American Fork.

AF Parent | 2:30 p.m. Sept. 15, 2007

If I want read stories about the MD players I will read the SoCal papers. As a Utah resident I would expect "MY" hometown paper to write a story about our kids. The MD QB was outstanding but we had some outstanding play from our boys as well and I expected "MY" newspaper would have spent
more writing about our kids.

FOOL | 3:10 p.m. Sept. 15, 2007

We aren't talking about unbiased. We are talking about professionalism. The local SoCal newspapers gave AF the respect they deserved and covered the game like it really was. It was a game late in the fourth qtr. Thats a fact. To imply a blowout is an incorrect representation of what happened. What Hippolito did in his article creating the picture that it was a blowout is an absolute insult to the effort and success that AF should be proud of.

tellin da truth | 3:19 p.m. Sept. 15, 2007

utah football has no right to be playin against top cali football.david got smashed by goliath.

unbiased fan in salt lake | 3:24 p.m. Sept. 15, 2007

Unbelivable AF fans. The article wasn't negative towards AF, like someone suggested. I guess the reporter should have written, "if AF wouldn't have misfired on the 2 pt conversion, they could have been closer in the game. If they would have got an interception, maybe they would have scored." Duh.. He mentioned the great game the MD QB had, because it was a great performance. Coach Knight even commented on it. It's really funny that you're so myopic that you just want praise for the AF team rather than an article reporting the facts of the game. People reading the article don't want to know what if, and what could have been. It's ridiculous.

He's right | 4:40 p.m. Sept. 15, 2007

I agree with that one dude. You AF folks are sure coming across as poor sports. But I have heard that about you from other players, coaches and parents in Utah County, so this just confirms it for me.

Anonymous | 4:52 p.m. Sept. 15, 2007

unbiased fan. I'm sure you are. I'm no fan of AF but for a coach to talk about how well a player played and then read an article about how a team got the crap kicked out of them are way different. The player did play great but the article should have given a lil credit to AF as well. Don't blame AF fan for being a little upset that the paper gave them no credit. Unbiased that's a pretty funny name

who's right | 5:38 p.m. Sept. 15, 2007

Good old utah fans again ripping on their own grand state. You'd think they could at least come together and support Utah when they go out of state to play. But, I guess you don't think utah is a football powerhouse. Go af take state.

MD Fan | 5:58 p.m. Sept. 15, 2007

The AF coach made a beeline for the MD quarterback after the game. He was quoted in our paper as saying he wanted to shake the hand of a future great quarterback. Murphy (#1)had an awesome game, but one man can't win a football game. The game was not as close as the AF fans would like to believe and Mater Dei did have 2nd and 3rd team players in much of the second half. They just didn't want to blow it out like they could have. No question AF is a good team and deserving of it's ranking in Utah. Mater Dei just happens to be particularly loaded this year and AF would have beaten most California teams in this area. Also, comments about Mater Dei recruiting are untrue, Mater Dei doesn't need to recruit, the better kids just show up based on the strength of the program and the facilities and academics at the school. And if you want great coaching and discipline, you know where to go.

MD mad | 10:34 p.m. Sept. 15, 2007

Want to thank the AF team and fans for coming down to give us a game. Rollo knew what he was doing. I disagree with the tone of this article and some of the comments. Our first team guys played until the end. AF kept fighting back throughout the game and was within 11 pts late in the 4th. They played us tough and I think we should give them the credit they deserve. I hope they go back and win their state championship

to MD fan | 12:10 a.m. Sept. 16, 2007

If the 2nd stringers were in the 2nd half how come the first half ended 28-20 vs the first team....that would mean the 2nd team outplayed the first team wouldn't it? Frankly I don't believe you.

To So cal reader | 12:24 a.m. Sept. 16, 2007

There's what I was waiting for. The "were better than you even if we lost" card. Heard it all the time since moving to Utah.
Recruiting is rampant in all aspects of high school football. It's happening here in the Utah public schools as well. But when it's the Catholic schools it's always different.

tru dis | 1:30 a.m. Sept. 16, 2007

utah football spanked your little overated teddy bears from westwood. just another big mouth from socal. goliath is crying like a baby tonight.

FinePrint | 11:14 a.m. Sept. 16, 2007

Wow, it's good to know that the state of Utah is no different than anyplace else -- that is, rampant with has ultra-parochial, extremely clueless, and obviously insecure fans. "We were only down by 1 with 4 minutes to go, and we had MD right where we wanted them ... yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah ..." Yeah, then pile on the sportswriter. That always does the trick. When I was a sportswriter about 20 years ago, a parent from Palo Alto High accused me of favoritism for rival Gunn High and claimed that I had a daughter that attended Gunn. Uh-huh, I was 25 at the time. I had my lil' 17-year-old when I was 8. Get a clue, people. Watch the games and enjoy the competition, and save the petty nonsense.

tellin tha truth twice | 1:41 p.m. Sept. 16, 2007

west wood an northern cali football is sorry compared to southern ball.except de la salle an oaks christian.goliath lices in da souf.

Anonymous | 4:08 p.m. Sept. 16, 2007

If we were no match for MD than why did they feel the need to play their all star quarterback the entire game. I know that AF plays their 2nd string when they feel they are blowing the team out of the water. I was at the game and I feel the title of the article NO MATCH is very unfair to
AF and I am surprised that the newspaper in Cali wrote a more positive article about our football team than our own state did.

Deseret News | 5:01 p.m. Sept. 16, 2007

Ultimately its the news editor who is responsible for what goes out the door at Des News. Focus your efforts there not here. Its wrong what happened but you all are wasting your time. Its true Murphy and had a career day against one of the best teams in the country,AF played them tough and had a few shots late, but go after the editor and The Deseret Morning News for not taking better care of their business.

Proud American | 9:37 p.m. Sept. 16, 2007

Great game to both teams. I was there and what I observed was a great program from California, with alot of great tradition and obviously alot of time and money invested in their program year round. They took the field with just your good ole "neighborhood" highschool football team from Utah but it could of been any "small town USA" football team. These young men took the field and engaged in hard fought US tradition that took place all over the country that night known as highschool football. Afterwards they shook hands and patted each other on the back and wished each other luck. Folks this is not USA against some "cray group" engaged in war! This is our fine young men from different parts of our great country coming together for great competition that I observed both teams do. I enjoyed more than anything watching the hearts of these young American displayed on a football field that showed in my opinion, hard work,never quit, fight for what you believe in, and every other characteristic that helps shape a young man into a great man! Young men of both teams don't get caught up in all the media circus (remember young men and women fought so we could have that freedom.) Continue playing hard and making yourself better in every aspect of life. With the characteristics you learn on the field you will become a better father, husband, busnessman, leader or anything YOU want to be! GOD BLESS THE USA

MD Fan | 12:00 a.m. Sept. 17, 2007

On defense, Mater Dei went deep into the roster during the second half. On offense the first team o-line and QB played the whole game, but MD went deep into the roster on the skill positions. The AF coaches, players and fans who saw the game have to agree that MD could pretty much score at will. The MD coaches gave the defensive players a work out seeing who could step up. All the credit goes to Murphy, MD had real trouble matching up with him. I know AF will have a great season. Work on those two point conversions though..........

Anonymous | 2:12 a.m. Sept. 17, 2007

Proud American, mix in a sedative, take a chill pill. You said it yourself, this is football, a game, not life or death, not war. At least that's what I think you said. It was hard to tell. What is a "cray group?" In any event, I think you can take credit for the corniest, cutest, most ridiculously inspirational post ever written. Let me guess ... you think GWB is still on the right track, don't you? Your 100 percent behind this administration, correct?

Get Real | 7:58 a.m. Sept. 17, 2007

Stay out haters. Go back to your own OC forums and threads. Plenty of them out there for you to talk about MD, Barkley, and your national championship. Time to move on. The Proud American poster wrote a sincere and touching messsage that had great wisdom in it. Keep your trash back in CA.

Anonymous | 9:37 a.m. Sept. 17, 2007

I'm sorry for my comments. I know i'm a loser, thats why I stay up at 2:12 am writing about highschool kids. Please forgive me Proud American, I will get back to what I know, which has nothing to do with sports !!

What? | 9:48 a.m. Sept. 17, 2007

"They took the field with just your good ole "neighborhood" highschool football team from Utah but it could of been any "small town USA" football team."

I wouldn't call AF a neighborhood highschool football team, unless you considered Alpine and Highland part of their neighborhood.

Utah football | 10:54 a.m. Sept. 17, 2007

Face it you got beat. The thing that really gets your goat was that it was a Catholic school. Tell the truth. Just like how everyone is always ripping on St. Joseph's, Judge Memorial, and Juan Diego. Face it, you guys hate the Catholics. I've heard it from your parents in the stand yelling at the players that they're not wanted in the state, not just the players talking trash.

You can't be serious | 12:29 p.m. Sept. 17, 2007

Utah Football - What a idiotic comment. I was at the game and there was not 1 religious slur spoken. Why are you trying to inflame Mormons? I played for Judge in the 80's and never heard anything like you are saying.....

Lets move on | 7:24 p.m. Sept. 17, 2007

Okayyyy !!! Now the comments are getting very dumb !!! "Utah Football" get a life !!! Only thing we hate is people like yourself that goes on and instead of stating your comments about the "FOOTBALL GAME" you head down a whole different road. Why don't you take an exit and "poof" be gone !!!

To All Utah Football Enthusiasts | 10:45 a.m. Sept. 18, 2007

While Utah football's comments were inciting and blown out of proportion, there is a little truth that in some areas of Utah there are some animosities. I too have heard some of the comments. While it's just a few classless parents, it shows some of the ignorance among us. Just as if you went to the south to hear the racial slurs, not all southerners are racists. It was probably out of frustration as Juan Diego was very dominant in 2A, some parents said some disparaging remarks out of anger.
Just as I'm sure some of the Mormon brethren are embarrassed by comments made to us during the games, I too am embarrassed by Utah Football's comments. I would like to apologize for Utah Football's comments and hold out an olive branch to those who may have been offended by my "Catholic brother".

Anonymous | 11:47 a.m. Sept. 22, 2007

Just so you know, mr. "What?" A.F. is a neighborhood football team. Half of Highland has to go to AF due to the boundaries, and so do parts of Cedar Hills and Alpine. Maybe Jake Murphy isn't in the boundaries for AF, but it's his choice to go there as AF is an open-registration school. Unlike Lone Peak, where only kids who play sports or claim they're depressed can register if they're out of the boundaries, anyone who wants to can go to AF. If you want to see recruiting at its finest, Lone Peak is now the place to go.

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