Hunter lineman Ray Feinga will be honored at a school pep rally Wednesday for being selected to play in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. The assembly begins at 1 p.m.
Feinga is one of 78 players selected to play in the fourth annual game on Jan. 3.
"You take him out of our team, and we wouldn't have near the statistics we have now," said Hunter coach Wes Wilcken. The second-ranked Wolverines (8-0) lead the state defensively in allowing just 4.25 points per game.
Feinga is a 6-foot-6, 290-pound lineman who runs a 4.9 40-yard dash.
"He's huge," said Wilcken. "I expect to see him in the NFL in seven or eight years."
Feinga is being recruited by UCLA, Arizona, Washington, Colorado, BYU and Utah. He's wanted to play for BYU his whole life, according to Wilcken, but now that the decision time is drawing nearer, he's seriously considering other options.
Feinga is a soft-spoken player who leads by example. During the summer, Wilcken implemented a conditioning program at Hunter. If a player wanted to play in the season opener, he was required to participate in eight of the 10 evening running drills at the high school. There were four makeup dates as well. Feinga was at all 14.
"It's that kind of leadership that the kids look up to," said Wilcken.
Feinga has started every game but one since his sophomore season, and his absence that game was only because of an injury.
"The U.S. Army All-American Bowl is the premier high school all-star football game in the country, and the players we are introducing will be the next stars of college football and the NFL," said Rich McGuinness, president of SportsLink Inc., one of the sponsors.
REGION IMPLICATIONS: Even though most of the games this Wednesday are nonregion games, there are a handful of important region games.
When Hillcrest travels to Brighton, second place in Region 2 will be on the line. Brighton is 4-1 in league play, while Hillcrest is 3-2. Both teams play fairly easy opponents in the season finales next week, so Wednesday's game is huge.
The same goes for Olympus and Bountiful. The winner of the Region 5 showdown basically assures itself of a tie for the region title. That's assuming that Highland wins its final two games — which it should. The winner gets a first-round home playoff game, the loser hits the road.
Fremont and Weber, both 2-2 in league play, will battle for Region 1's third seed.
PREP TIDBITS: Forty teams have clinched state playoff berths, and 12 teams have been eliminated. That leaves 40 teams battling it out for 24 spots . . . Box Elder has never started a season 9-0 . . . Delta is playing its 700th game Wednesday night . . . Bonneville coach Thom Budge will set a state record Wednesday night by coaching his 318th game.
ATTENTION COACHES: A reminder to home coaches to please call the Deseret Morning News with information from your game as soon as possible after the final whistle. The newspaper's local number is 237-2161; toll-free long-distance is 800-688-2161.
PREPS ON THE WEB: Can't wait for the nightly scores? Log on to www.deseretnews.com/preps to see the scores as soon as the Deseret Morning News receives the information from the coaches. While there, check out your favorite high school's own Web page, complete with the state's most comprehensive standings, schedules, results and leaders.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com