Eight teams survived the first round of playoffs. There was plenty of excitement with upsets occurring, solid defense played, and great coaching. I look forward to the next round of playoffs. Historically, Round 2 is known as the toughest round in the playoffs. You are not quite to the Final Four yet, but many a teams look too far ahead rather than focusing on the present: upsets will happen.

Pleasant Grove Vikings @ Juan Diego Soaring Eagle

Juan Diego struggled more than I thought with the No. 8 seed Bonneville team. Hopefully that was nerves and not foretelling the future. Pleasant Grove took on a strong Judge team and was able to control the game through their offense. I worry that if Pleasant Grove thinks that their offense is going to win them through the playoffs that they will have another thing coming. They will not beat Juan Diego through their offense alone. They need to sound up their defense, focus on transitions, and then finish on offense. Juan Diego is looking to find a game that begins some strong momentum moving further through the playoffs. They need to control this game from start to finish. If they try to get into a scoring battle with Pleasant Grove, they might just go home. I expect Juan Diego to clean up their mistakes after the first round and give a solid performance in this round. Read More

The First Round of the 2013 Prodigy Play of the Year contest was a great one! Only one upset happened with No. 11 Garrett Vanamen beating No. 6 Walker Murphy. This round will be epic with some great plays heading home early. Quarterfinal voting will go until Sunday, May 12. You can vote every 4 hours so be sure to come back throughout the day. You can also keep up tabs on the contest by clicking the 2013 Prodigy Play of the Year banner on the right side of the website.

As a reminder, you the fans are the ones who ultimately decide the Prodigy Play of the Year so be sure to vote for the most deserving play.

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The clouds opened at the beginning and end of the battle between the No. 3 Davis Darts and the No. 6 Olympus Titan on Wednesday in the first round of the 2013 Playoffs. The game was close throughout with a typical playoff feel with the Titans overcoming the Darts 12-8 in a classic battle.

Davis began the game with a goal by Tanner Hallows. Olympus answered with two goals within a minute and a half by Bridger Fisher and Coleman Dunn. Davis returned the favor when Zachary Jarvis scored for the Darts to tie the game at two. Olympus scored two goals in 21 seconds to regain the lead heading into the second quarter. Read More

It’s that time of year where everything you have worked for is on the line. Previous records don’t matter. Previous tournaments don’t matter. Previous awards don’t matter. All that matters is the game that stands in front of you. It is “win or go home.” Playoff games come down to three things: Coaching ability, Game plans, and Defense. If you can lock those three things up, see you in the next round, if not, get to work.

Bonneville Lakers @ Juan Diego Soaring Eagle

Bonneville comes into the first round allowing about 10.5 GPG. In order to take down the defending champs the Lakers need to tune up their defense to control the Soaring Eagles. Juan Diego is coming off a big moral win, and literal win, against the Bengals and should use that momentum to run over the Lakers. Look for Alex Croyle for the Lakers to have a big game, as well as the Graney brothers for Juan Diego. The big thing is to not overlook Bonneville, after all it is “win or go home” and anyone one can lose at anytime in the playoffs. Read More

The Week 6 Prodigy Play of the Week Winner goes to Coleman Dunn from Olympus. In the play, an Olympus shot deflects off the keeper high into the air. Dunn grabs it out of mid-air in traffic then does a behind-the-back shot for the goal. This play will be entered it the Play of the Year contest that will begin in May. Read More

As the season moves deeper into conference play, both Olympus (8-3, 1-2) and Judge (7-2, 4-1) brought their A-game to the field Friday night. From start to finish, both teams fought hard. Olympus picked up a small lead early, but by the fourth quarter Judge made up the difference and came away with a 9-6 win.

The Salt Lake Conference is quite possibly the most competitive conference in the state right now. Each of the four teams is ranked eighth or higher according to laxpower.com. As a whole, Salt Lake has a mere 7 losses to non-conference teams. None of the four teams has more than two losses outside Salt Lake. A win is crucial for each team at this point. Read More

Chris Williams

The Skyline Eagles beat rival Olympus in overtime on Wednesday at Olympus High School. Skyline Junior Midfielder Chris Williams scored the game-winning goal to give Skyline their first win over Olympus since 2009.

“The Olympus versus Skyline game is big no matter what sport or what division,” said Skyline Head Coach Dan Schmidt. “I’m proud of my boys tonight and I’m proud to represent Skyline.” Read More