As if being Judge's student body president during homecoming week, in addition to being the soccer team's star striker, isn't hectic enough. Doing it in a neck brace — that's just ridiculous.
For Kato Mayeda, it's better than the frightening alternative.
The senior spent Tuesday night at Primary Children's Medical Center after being fouled on a breakaway against Region 10 rival Park City.
A couple of doctors were in the stands as the foul occurred, and after rushing onto the field to check on Mayeda, they determined her neck pain was serious enough to get quick treatment.
An ambulance took Mayeda to Primary Children's Medical Center, where doctors gave her steroids to decrease the swelling. She was released Wednesday afternoon wearing a precautionary neck brace.
"She probably won't play for a couple of weeks," said Judge coach Wayne Vorhees, even though he expects she'll be on the sideline for Thursday's game against Uintah. "She's a tough kid."
Mayeda leads the state in scoring with 20 goals for 3A's top-ranked Bulldogs.
FRIDAY NIGHT MEDIOCRITY: Despite 46 football games on the slate Friday night, not a single game pits undefeated teams against each other. Even worse, there's just a single game between ranked opponents, and that's in 1A where third-ranked Parowan and fourth-ranked Altamont tangle.
Four weeks into the season, the following 14 teams are still undefeated: Clearfield, Northridge, Hillcrest, Alta, Hunter, Box Elder, Bountiful, Snow Canyon, Pine View, Manti, Juan Diego, Millard, Kanab and Monticello.
By contrast, 18 teams are still searching for their first win. At least two will definitely end that drought Friday as Mountain View faces Layton, and Judge squares off with Wasatch.
Mountain View (0-4) is off to its worst start since 1982, when it lost its first seven games.
BIRCH HONORED: Jordan High School will honor former football coach Jim Birch during Friday's game with undefeated Hillcrest.
Coach Alex Jacobson said all former players and assistants of Birch are invited to participate in the halftime festivities.
During Birch's 14 seasons at Jordan from 1989 to 2002, he compiled a 80-64 record, which included a 4A state championship in 1994.
DID YOU KNOW?: The Bountiful Braves are off to a 4-0 start, and the defending 4A champs own the longest winning streak in the state at 15 games. They're trying to become the first back-to-back 4A state champion since Skyline won it in 1976 and 1977.
Class 4A was the state's largest classification back then. That trend has been the complete opposite in Class 5A since its inception in 1993. From 1995 to 1999 Skyline won five straight titles, while Northridge has won the last three.
X-COUNTRY RANKINGS: Davis coach Roger Buhrley has compiled the first cross country rankings, as voted on by the coaches. Every Utah coach was invited to cast a ballot. The rankings are:
5A boys — 1, Davis; 2, Fremont; 3, Bingham; 4, Jordan; 5, Weber. 5A girls — 1, Davis; 2, Fremont; 3, Skyline; 4, Bingham; 5, Jordan.
4A boys — 1, Mountain View; 2, Provo; 3, American Fork; 4, Timpview; 5, Orem. 4A girls — 1, Mountain View; 2, Timpanogos; 3, Orem; 4, American Fork; 5 (tie), Provo and Pleasant Grove.
3A boys — 1, Judge; 2, Cedar; 3, Ogden; 4, Lehi; 5 (tie), Uintah and Hurricane. 3A girls — 1, Cedar; 2, Park City; 3, Ogden; 4, Judge; 5, Uintah.
2A boys — 1, Richfield; 2, Juan Diego; 3, Rowland Hall; 4, Juab; 5 (tie), Enterprise and North Summit. 2A girls — 1, Richfield; 2, Juan Diego; 3, Grand; 4 (tie), Monticello, Enterprise and North Summit.
1Aboys — 1, St. Joseph; 2, Bryce Valley; 3, Piute; 4, Escalante; 5, Duchesne; 1Agirls — 1, St. Joseph; 2, Wayne; 3, Waterford; 4, Panguitch; 5, Duchesne.
JUDGE HOOPS NEED COACH: The Bulldogs are in need of an assistant coach for the girls' varsity basketball team. Any interested individuals should contact coach Mary Chris Ledbetter at 517-2138.
PICKS ON THE WEB: Try your hand at picking the winners of 12 prep football games each week in the Deseret Morning News Grid Picks. Last week's winner was David Edwards of Provo, who won $50. He was one of seven entrants who picked every game correctly; he missed the tiebreaker by only six points. If you're feeling lucky this week, submit your predictions through the Prep Sports page at www.deseretnews.com/preps.
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