WASHINGTON TERRACE — Without taking into account the circumstances, one would've merely thought Woods Cross choked in its last three region games, and was no threat to beat high-regarded Bonneville in the playoffs.
Then again, as trite as it may sound, those unfortunate circumstances the past few weeks may have been just what the Woods Cross soccer team needed.
While dedicating the game to the 9-year-old brother of Steve Van DeGraff, who has been hospitalized for a week after getting hit by a car, the Wildcats upset second-ranked Bonneville 1-0 in the opening round of the 4A state tournament.
"We really wanted to pull it off for him," said Woods Cross midfielder Drew Fisher, who scored the game's only
goal early in the second half.
Ben Van DeGraff was hit by a car last week while crossing the street, and he's been in the Intensive Care Unit at Primary Children's Hospital ever since. Every Woods Cross player was wearing an arm or wrist band with "Ben" written on them as a reminder.
That was just one of several unforeseen incidents that sent Woods Cross tumbling from first to fourth in the Region 5 standings to close out the season.
Jeff Ferguson broke his foot against Bountiful. Eric Callejas broke his hand punching the ground out of frustration during practice. Trevor Eshler and David Gates also missed a game because of an injury.
"Those things can build character," said Woods Cross coach Kevin Rigby.
Everyone but Ferguson was fit enough to play Friday, a good thing for the Wildcats considering who they were playing.
As expected, both teams came out strong defensively, with neither squad really generating many scoring chances.
The Wildcats finally broke through in the 52nd minute on a sequence created by Callejas, who was wearing a gigantic cast on his broken hand. When Callejas entered the game as a first-half substitute, he had to show the ref his doctor's release form.
Woods Cross' goal came after a 30-yard run by Callejas resulted in a centering pass from a teammate. Bonneville failed to clear it away, and Fisher volleyed the ball in from the top of the box.
"We missed a clearance and they got it," said first-year Bonneville coach Mike Hickman. "It was a great game."
Woods Cross advances to play at Timpview in next Tuesday's quarterfinals.
4A PLAYOFFS
PLEASANT GROVE 3, MOUNTAIN CREST 1: Vikings' Brett Waters, Jay Helquist and Kyle Conners each had goals as Pleasant Grove cruised past Mountain Crest in the first round 4A playoff game. Brian Hadfield scored the lone goal for the Mustangs in their loss.
BOUNTIFUL 6, PROVO 1: The Braves stormed to a 5-0 lead at halftime and Sam Berg completed the hat-trick in the second half to knock out the Bulldogs out of the playoffs. Doug McOmie, Dave Carroll and Josh Siddoway also added goals for the Braves.
SKY VIEW 2, MOUNTAIN VIEW 1: Bobcats' Kendon Knowles tied the match with a goal in the first half then assisted the game-winning goal to Brian Hebdon mid-way through the second half to upset the Bruins in the first round of the 4A playoffs.
OLYMPUS 1, SPRINGVILLE 1 (2OT) (SPRINGVILLE WINS SHOOTOUT 5-4): The Red Devils edged the Titans 5-4 in a shootout that went to the seventh kicker. Springville went ahead 1-0 in the first half, but Olympus tie it in the second half on a goal by Travis Heugly.
LONE PEAK 1, ROY 1 (2OT) (ROY WON SHOOTOUT 3-2): The defending champion Royals kept alive their hopes of another title with a stunning shootout victory over Region 7 co-champion Lone Peak.
TIMPVIEW 2, EAST 1 (OT): Timpview's Rob Brinton scored off a throw-in by John Kemp with less than two minutes remaining in the first overtime to edge East. Lance Smith also scored for the Thunderbirds.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com