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November 2. Harvest Festivals are packed up for the season, kids are full of candy that they have stashed somewhere for safe keeping, time has been held back an hour, the World Series is complete, and cold temps are nearly here to stay. Nearly.

It was 70 and sunny this afternoon. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. A warm, sunny Sunday afternoon. Those are the best. The perfect day to go up the mountain and into the forest. Only a short two weeks before Winter is here for the long haul and the warmth will feel like it’s gone forever.

I hope this update finds you content, happy, and fulfilled. If not, well, you know the drill at this point.

So, what is going on in sports? Well, Seattle is in D.C. tonight. As always, Al Michaels will tell us the story in a bit on NBC and Peacock. Other than that, I believe everything else is complete for the weekend, so it’s time to remember what all transpired.

With that–It’s time for this Week’s “General Update.” General Update.

What to Expect:

• Friday Night Lights
• The Round Game
• The Saturday Game
• Top 12 Rankings in CFB
• The American Pastime Game
• The Grown Man’s Sunday Game

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GENERAL UPDATE

–“Hear me, people: we have now to deal with another race–small and feeble when our fathers first met them, but now great and overbearing. Strangely enough they have a mind to till the soil, and the love of possession is a disease with them. These people have made many rules that the rich may break but the poor may not. They take their tithes from the poor and weak to support the rich and those who rule.”- Chief Sitting Bull speaking at the Powder River Conference, 1877.

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FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

It was 63 degrees with a bold afternoon sun beaming when the game kicked off in American Fork as they hosted Lehi. Sitting on the East side with the pleasant sun on my face, I took in an outstanding playoff game.

As the sun fell behind the Oquirrh’s going into the fourth quarter, the warm temperature plummeted, and the game increased its intensity. The home side trailed 20-14 in what had been to that point a physical, action-packed game.

American Fork found a late score and Lehi couldn’t remain composed enough to respond in kind. The Starless Cavemen of American Fork won 21-20 and advance to the next round. Gutsy win.

I’m quite sure this setting would’ve fit many of the games across the state on the beautiful Halloween evening. What a perfect day.

Let’s check on the top level scores, but first, this is how I’ve ranked the Teams in the State after the second-round results.

TOP TEAMS RANKED in State:

1. Corner Canyon
2. Davis
3. Skyridge
4. 5A West
5. 4A Ridgeline
6. Mountain Ridge
7. Herriman
8. 5A Orem
9. 5A Springville
10. American Fork
11. Lone Peak
12. 5A Fremont

Key 6A Matchups on the 31st: Results

• Layton 9 @ #1 Corner Canyon 63
  • Kai Meza 3 Td’s
• Bingham 21 @ #2 Davis 42
  • Isaac Morrison 3 Td’s
• Copper Hills @ #3 Skyridge
  • QB Kaneal Sweetwyne 3 TD’s
• Riverton 21 @ #6 Mountain Ridge 35
  • DB Cutler Whitaker 2 INT for TD’s
• Weber 32 @ #7 Herriman 62
  • RB Fillisi Filipe 3TD’s
• #11 Lehi @ #10 American Fork
  • Single High Sports GAME of the WEEK
• Syracuse 31- Westlake 28
  • Syracuse shut out Westlake 10-0 in the second half and eventually won on a Game Winning field goal as time expired.

Other Key Matchups on the 31st: Results

• Northridge 13 @ #4 West 56 (5A)
  • RB Louie Hamilton 6 TD’s
• Timpview 22 @ #8 Orem 40 (5A)
• Spanish Fork 14 @ #9 Springville 49 (5A)
• Alta 27 @ Fremont 31 (5A)
• Granger 8 @ Brighton 49 (5A)
• East 14 @ # 5 Ridgeline 73 (4A)
  • QB Nate Dahle 6 TD’s

These results set up next week’s quarterfinals. Games will be at 6:00 on November 7th.

6A Quarterfinals:

• Syracuse @ 1 Corner Canyon
• 7 Herriman @ 6 Mountain Ridge
  • SHS Game of the Week
• 11 Lone Peak @ 2 Davis
• 10 American Fork @ 3 Skyridge

5A Quarterfinals:

• Bountiful @ 4 West
• Woods Cross @ 8 Orem
• Box Elder @ 9 Springville
• Brighton @ 12 Fremont

4A Key Matchup

• Park City @ 5 Ridgeline

Holy smokes what a weekend of UHSAA playoffs. Stellar performances and stupendous scorelines were evident all across the Beehive State. I’m already hungry for more. Only up.

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NATIONAL FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Nugget

TOP 10 ATH RECRUITS: (courtesy of 247Sports)

1. Jermaine Bishop 6’0/ 165 Willis, TX
   • Texas
2. Brandon Arrington 6’2/ 180 Mount Miguel, CA
   • Texas A&M
3. Derek Cooper 6’1/ 205 Chaminade-Madonna, FL
   • Texas
4. Salesi Moa 6’1/ 190 Fremont, UT
   • Tennessee
5. Joel Wyatt 6’4/ 195 Oakland, TN
   • Tennessee
6. Davian Groce 6’1/ 190 Lone Star, TX
   • Florida
7. CJ Sadler 5’9/ 185 Cass Technical, MI
   • North Carolina
8. Nasir Rankin 5’11/ 180 Morgan Park, IL
   • Illinois
9. Paris Melvin Jr 5’11/ 170 Cy Springs, TX
   • Houston
10. Heze Kent 6’6/ 265 Brunswick, GA
    • Florida

“He who must attain highly must sacrifice greatly.”- James Allen

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THE ROUND GAME

The Hometown Tigers: Lady Tigers Soccer

AAC Tournament

• Memphis vs East Carolina 11/3 at 7:30 from Lakewood Ranch, Florida

3rd in the Nation!

What a tremendous regular season. GO Tigers, GO!

ARSENAL

• Brighton 0 – Arsenal 2 on 10/29 EFL Cup
  • Goals: Ethan Nwaneri, Saka
  • Arsenal advance to the Quarterfinals

• Arsenal 2 @ Burnley 0
  • Goals: Gykores 14th on a Corner Kick deflection, Rice in the 35th with a header off an open play cross from Trossard.

Next up for the Gunners:

• Arsenal @ Slavia Prague TUES 11/04 at 10:45: Champions League
• Arsenal @ Sunderland 11/8 at 10:30: Premier League

Arsenal– Still top of the league! AND Still–Only Three goals conceded in the past sixteen games. Stone cold and Stalwart. The back five play with such belief and confidence that it’s difficult to see any team breaking them down at this point. The last goal conceded was September 28th when Newcastle scored in the 34th minute and lost 2-1. Simply incredible. Just keep winning by one and move on. COYG!

SUNDERLAND

Next for the Black Cats:

Monday Night Football! Tomorrow afternoon 11/3 Everton @ Sunderland 1:00.

The Stadium of Light is going to be shining, and the passionate, sturdy, hard-working Northerners will be at full voice tomorrow night! This home atmosphere is quite the wonderful spectacle in its own right. Must Watch.

Arsenal @ Sunderland 11/8 10:30

This will be the game of the weekend.

• Sunderland–Currently 6th in the PL Standings as they have to wait until tomorrow night to earn their points. If they win they will move to sole possession of 2nd in the Premier League. If they draw, they will be tied with Liverpool for 3rd. What a run for the recently promoted side.

Later:

• Sunderland @ Fulham 11/22

OTHER SOCCER:

COMO 1907

• Hellas Verona 1 @ Como 3
  • In the pouring rain

The win put Como into 5th in Serie A.

• 5th Como 0 @ 1st Napoli 0
  • 15 Fouls issued to each team. One can imagine how choppy the game felt to watch.

Next for 6th place Como:

• Como host Cagliari 11/8 at 7:00

WREXHAM

• Cardiff City 2 @ Wrexham 1
  • Goal: Big Lug Kieffer Moore
  • Wrexham are out of the EFL Cup and Cardiff move on to the final 8 for the first time in 60 years.
• Coventry 2 @ Wrexham 3
  • Goals: Big Lug Kieffer Moore with a Hat Trick

Wrexham improve to 15th with this week’s results and a more comfortable nine points clear of relegation. Four goals this week for the 6’5 beast up top. Love to see it.

Next for Wrexham:

• at Portsmouth 11/5 at 1:00
• vs Charlton 11/8 at 7:00

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The Stadium of Light: “Three decades later, Sunderland’s new home is arguably more iconic than its predecessor. Its name is a tribute to the once thriving coal mining industry, and the light of the Davy lamps, which kept the miners safe from gas explosions in the dark of the coalpits.”- John Gillard

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THE SATURDAY GAME

• Hometown Tigers

Memphis 38 @ Rice 14 (10/31)

• RB Frank Peasant ran for less than thirty yards but scored three touchdowns
• S Kamari Wilson: 11 Total Tackles, 3 TFL

Big win for the Tigers. They all are at this point in the season.

Tulane @ Memphis Late Friday Night. 10PM/ est on ESPN

This will be a gritty game. “BE THERE, BE PROUD, WEAR BLUE.”

GO Tigers, Go!

TOP GAMES:

• Oklahoma 33 @ Tennessee 27
• Cincinnati 14 @ Utah 45
• Miami 20 @ SMU 26 (OT)

OTHER CFB Scores:

• Army 20 @ Air Force 17

This was probably my favorite 4th quarter yesterday.

Szarka scored a TD for Air Force in the final 90 seconds to tie the game at 17. It felt like overtime was in store for sure and I wanted it. However, Army had other plans.

In quite the improbable move and going completely against the Army Football way, Army set up a Game Winning field goal on a monster pass play for forty-two yards. Keep in mind that this was not a screen pass that went forty-two yards. This was a thru the air strike that was impressively caught by Brady Anderson.

This set up the game winning 27 yard field goal and Army won 20-17 dropping Air Force to 2-6 on the year. Szarka is still a dog, Taysom Hill type of player. He threw two costly picks yesterday but also rushed for two scores. The guy just needs to run the ball.

In the postgame interview, Coach Munkin said only a few words. The final two being, “Beat Navy.” Ironically, Navy was losing 31-17 to North Texas at the time. Coach Munkin won’t care until December 13th when his group faces Navy in Baltimore.

• Navy 17 @ North Texas 31
  • Navy unbeaten no longer.
  • NT Colton Hammonds with an outstanding interception. Top 5 or 10 pick of the season for sure.
• Penn St 14 @ Ohio St 38
  • QB Julian Sayin 20/23 316 yards, 4 TD’s
  • WR Jeremiah Smith 123 yards, 2 TD’s
  • WR Carnell Tate 124 Yards, 1 TD
• Georgia 24- Florida 20
• Indiana 55 @ Maryland 10
  • QB Fernando Mendoza 225 Total Yards, 2 TD’s
  • S Louis Moore with a great pick. Elite tracking on a deep ball.
• South Carolina 14 @ Mississippi 30
  • QB Trinidad Chambliss 218 Yards, 2 TD’s
  • RB Kewan Lacy 174 Yards, 1 TD
• Notre Dame 25 @ Boston College 10
  • RB Jeremiyah Love 166 Yards, 2 TD’s
    • 94 yard TD run
• Texas Tech 43 @ Kansas St 20
• Virginia 31 @ Cal 21
• Vandy 31 @ Texas 34
  • Manning 332 Total Yards, 3 TD’s
• Louisville 28 @ Virginia Tech 16
• Georgia Tech 36 @ NC St 48
  • GT QB Haynes King 511 Yards, 4 TD’s in the loss
• USC 21 @ Nebraska 17
  • rFR RB King Miller 18 carries for 129 Yards, 1 TD
• Montana 38- Weber St 17
  • Montana is 9-0

-Down goes Miami, Navy, Georgia Tech, Vandy, and Tennessee. It’ll be an improbably tough road to the playoffs the rest of the way.

– The ACC is wide-open. Who wants to win it? Whoever has the mental toughness to do so will get into the twelve. No room for a second team to come out of the conference at this point.

-Indiana is unstoppable at the moment. Strong, physical, disciplined with a few top-level players. Not to be hyperbolic, but they remind me of Alabama. Great Saban led Alabama. The Hoosiers have National Semi-Final potential at this point. Can they survive the rest of the way? What a story this team would be if they won it all.

-Utah won in a game that ended around 11:45 here in the desert. Too damn late. Do better showrunners.

But enough of that. Let’s look at the playoff rankings as I seeded them last night.

Single High Sports 12 Team Playoff:

1. Ohio St
2. Georgia
3. Indiana
4. Texas A&M
5. Alabama
6. Oregon
7. Mississippi
8. Notre Dame
9. BYU
10. Texas Tech
11. Virginia
12. Memphis

–I’ll still take Ohio St and Georgia, but Indiana is looking mighty strong.

Still, so much to unfold here in this season. Watch out for Louisville, Texas, and USC to sneak in somehow, someway.

—

Far more to unfold. Rankings and projections are just about the most fun to be had in spectator sports, but they matter nil. Teams still have to win, and the committee still gets the final say. That said, it sure is fun “Predicting the Unpredictable.”

The Saturday Game returns Tuesday Night as winless UMass plays at Akron in Primetime.

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THE AMERICAN PASTIME GAME

• Los Angeles 5- Toronto 4
  • Will Smith Go ahead Homer in the 11th

V.O. Vin Scully radio voice-Well folks. That just about wraps it up. The Boys in Blue have done it again. Give credit to Toronto, they deserved to be there and played well all the way to the end. But my oh my, no one on earth was going to beat a team led by the greatest single player this game has ever seen–And folks, you know I’ve watched my fair share of greatest baseball players of all time, so I do not say this lightly. Shohei Ohtani can simply do everything on the baseball diamond better than most. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

It took a team to win the series, but having an individual like that playing your side sure helps a bunch. Well done, Dodgers. You’ve made Los Angeles proud.– Maybe this is what the greatest baseball announcer of all time would’ve said.

“I am proof that great things can happen to ordinary people if they work hard and never give up.”- Former LA Dodger Orel Hershiser

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This will be the end of “The American Pastime” portion until just before next season. I think then, it will be time for me to add my other favorite team to the update every week. Other than the Hometown Tigers and Tennessee Titans that is. At this point, I identify with only four teams across all sports. Arsenal since 2010, The Hometown Tigers since 1992, The Tennessee Titans since their time in Memphis, and the St. Louis Cardinals since 1997. There is a long story as to why I made the early switch from the Braves, but I’ll get to that another time.

Anyways, adios to baseball for the season. Purists will say, “100 days until pitchers and catcher report for February Spring Training.” February 10th is the date. Enjoy the off-season baseball fans.

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THE SUNDAY GROWN MANS GAME

“Children need to know that life may be hard, but you can always overcome.”- Ed Reed. The first ‘Greatest Single High Safety’ to exist.

UPDATE from Nashville:

• LAC 27 @ Tennessee 20

Another loss closer to the number one pick.

Great efforts by former Brighton Bengal standout LB Cody Barton and the rookie Chimere Dike who both scored touchdowns. Barton on a pick six and Chimere (Chimmery in my head) on a 67 yard punt return for a touchdown.

Bright sparks are what you want to see during a rebuilding year. Let’s continue to learn and get better every week. The fires of failure forge a stronger unit. Forge stronger together.

And then go get the number one pick next season with a tried and tested QB in his second season. Cam has the goods.

He just needs time.

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OTHER NFL Scores:

• Indianapolis 17 @ Pittsburgh 27

The Future MVP Daniel Jones and the Colts ran into a buzzsaw of a defense. One that features some of my favorite players: Darius Slay, Jalen Ramsey, and Joey Porter Jr who all played their role in shutting down the Colts offense.

Indianapolis surged late but they were just not able to overcome the 24-7 4th Quarter deficit. Daniel Jones will have played many, many games that were even a fraction better than today. As a fan of his, I will not post his numbers. He’s a warrior and will bounce back.

The Steelers defense is that elite. They’ll be turning over teams all season. Mike Tomlin is one of the all-time greats. Only fitting that this team can play at this high of a level. Just have to keep healthy.

• Atlanta 23 @ New England 24
  • Vrabel is 6-2!
• San Francisco 34 @ NYG 24
  • Jaxson Dart 247 Yards, Three TD’s

The Noon action had some zest to it. Mostly courtesy of Pittsburgh who played near perfect on defense today. DK Metcalf sealed the game shut.

Enjoy a quote from a former Steeler, perhaps said with comedic zest.

“As a matter of general philosophy, though,”–General Philosophy–“the National Football League is the last bastion of fascism in America.”- Tom Keating Defensive Tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers 1972.

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“Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age.”- James Joyce

THE END

Another “General Update” will be out this same time next Sunday.

Until then,

Find the Humor and Keep on Movin’

Whit W.

Thank you for reading.