Costly Turnovers at Jamboree

Turnovers prove costly for Walker

by Johnathan Bentley and W. Brian Hale

Walker had trouble holding on to the ball Friday night.

After a stellar defensive first quarter, Walker made five turnovers — including four in the second quarter — leading to all of Homewood’s points in a 24-0 loss in the varsity portion on Friday night’s spring jamboree game at Ki-Ro Gambrell Field.

Neither team was able to move the ball through the opening 12 minutes. The teams exchanged six consecutive punts before Walker’s first fumble at its own 20-yard line late in the opening quarter.

The miscue set the tone for the Vikings.

Homewood responded with a two-play touchdown drive for a 7-0 lead. Following a Walker fumble at its 24-yard line, the Patriots added a 22-yard field goal for a 10-0 advantage with 9:52 left in the half.

The Vikings’ next possession resulted in a Homewood interception, setting up the Patriots at the Walker 35-yard line. Walker’s defense kept Homewood from adding to its lead, but the Vikings fumbled a few plays later and the Patriots responded with a 32-yard touchdown pass for a 17-0 lead with 2:28 left in the quarter.

Homewood’s final score — a two-yard touchdown run — came after Walker coughed up the ball at its 18-yard line with only seconds remaining in the half.

Read more: Daily Mountain Eagle – Turnovers prove costly for Walker Oakman tops Cordova Carbon Hill

New Faces

New faces at Walker

by Johnathan Bentley, DME

Walker football coach John Holladay speaks with quarterback Blake Wilkes during practice at the school on Tuesday. The Vikings take on Homewood in a spring jamboree game Friday night at Walker’s Ki-Ro Gambrell Field. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. Photo by: Johnathan Bentley

No Carson Roberts and no Jonathan Piteo.

Walker High School’s football team will have a new look at some key positions heading into the 2012 football season.

John Holladay will get his first glimpse at his new squad under the lights in the spring jamboree against Homewood Friday beginning at 6:30 p.m. from Walker’s Gambrell Ki-Ro Field.

Roberts, who started at quarterback for the Vikings each of the last two seasons, is gone as well as All-State linebacker Jonathan Piteo, who racked up 136 tackles last season.

”We’re replacing a lot. I’ve been pleased with what I’ve seen this spring. We’ve looked pretty good” said Holladay. “We’ve looked really aggressive on defense. We’ve ran to the ball real well.”

Defense has been Walker’s strong suit during Holladay’s tenure with the Vikings. Walker has given up an average of 16 or fewer points four of his five years as head coach.

On offense, Holladay must replace Roberts, who threw for 1,639 yards with 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions last year. Blake Wilkes, who saw playing time as Roberts’ back up, is the starter for Friday’s game.

The team returns its top three rushers from last year: Tyler Phillips (638 yards, 5 touchdowns), Kevin Clay (440, 5) and Michael Bridges (349, 2).

“Our running game has looked good. We’ve got guys coming back and Wilkes will help us in the run game as well,” Holladay said.

On Friday, the JV squad will play for the first two quarters against Homewood while the varsity team take to the field beginning at 7 p.m. for the final two quarters.

“I just want the kids to compete and have a little fun. This is the spring. We’ve still got a long way to go,” Holladay added.

Walker advanced to the playoffs last season, losing a nail-biter to Fort Payne 17-12 in the opening round. The Vikings went 6-5.

The Vikings are 44-15 in Holladay’s five-year tenure, going an impressive 30-7 in region play.

Read more: Daily Mountain Eagle – New faces at Walker

Track 2nd in State

Walker High track team takes second at state, DME

by Johnathan Bentley

Hunter Hawkins was part of Walker High School’s 5A state championship 4×800 relay team at the state meet at Gulf Shores on Saturday. Despite taking just six athletes to the meet, Walker’s boys finished second. Photo by: Jason Clark

Central-Tuscaloosa brought a full squad of athletes to the Class 5A Track and Field State Meet at Gulf Shores this weekend. The same goes for St. Paul’s and Briarwood.

Walker took six — and finished second.

The Vikings brought home the runner up trophy thanks to the performances of Andrew Harris, Hunter Hawkins, Bradford Lepik, Jeb Cowen, Austin Elliott and Austin Mansell.

Harris led the way, winning gold in the three events. He took first in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.25. He won the 1600m by less than half a second, with a time of 4:27.45.

Harris was also part of Walker’s 4×400 and 4×800 relays along with Lepik, Cowen and Hawkins. The team won the 4×800 by 17 seconds with a time of 8:12.13 while the team finished second in the 4×400 with a time of 4:27.92, less than a second behind the winner.

“Getting second at state with six guys is unbelievable,” Harris said. “When they called us out for finishing second, all the schools that were left started chanting, ‘Walker.’ It was awesome.”

Hawkins had a second-place finish in the 800m with a time of 1:57.89. Lepik took third with a time of 1:58.12. Hawkins also placed third in the 400m with a time of 50.34. Austin Elliott also earned points, placing sixth in the long jump.

St. Paul’s won the 5A title with 76.5 points followed by Walker (61), Central-Tuscaloosa (58), Vigor (51) and Briarwood (45.5).

Read more: Daily Mountain Eagle – Walker High track team takes second at state

Walker Ends a Great Baseball Season

Southside-Gadsden eliminates Walker from playoffs

by Johnathan Bentley, DME

 There was no last-inning magic for Walker this time.

Southside-Gadsden ousted Walker from the playoffs with a 7-2 victory in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series Saturday afternoon. The Panthers broke open a tight game with a four-run sixth inning and advanced to next week’s state quarterfinals.

A year ago, Walker put together a three-run rally with two outs in the seventh inning to stun Southside in Game 3 of their first-round series.
Thanks to Southside pitchers Drew Mullinax and Brock Love there wasn’t quite as much drama at Valley Park on Saturday. The duo combined on a five-hitter.
Walker had its chances in the early innings, but was unable to come through with a timely hit.
The Vikings left a runner at third in the first inning, left the bases loaded in the second and had a runner thrown out at the plate in the third.
“We had opportunities to score early on, we just didn’t get big hits when we needed to,” Walker coach Pat Ware said. “These were two even teams. They just got the best of us in this series. We made some mistakes, but that’s the game of baseball. We wish Southside the best of luck as they go on.”
Southside coach Blake Bone expected a good series with the Vikings. The two teams have faced off in the playoffs each of the last three years.
“Walker’s got a great team,” said Bone, who was Ware’s teammate during their collegiate days at UAH. “We’ve kind of developed a rivalry with these guys. We play each other during the year. They know us. We know them. We know what the other is going to do. It comes down to who executes at the end. I’m proud of my guys. They fought through some adversity early. They stuck to the plan, executed and played some good ball.”
Southside jumped out to an early 2-0 in the first inning after a hit a walk and a pair of Walker errors. Andrew Fuhrman scored the first run on a Taylor Snow RBI grounder and Braxton Light scored on a Mullinax fielder’s choice.
Walker notched the game in the top of the third inning.
John Michael Knighton opened the frame with a double and both Quinton McCarty and Nic Woodley walked to load the bases. Dexter Jenkins drove in the first run on a sacrifice fly and Stone Stephenson tied the score with an RBI single. Woodley was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
The Panthers (23-15) regained the lead an inning later when Snow singled and scored on a two-out, single by Cody Pylant for a 3-2 lead.
Southside added four runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the game away.
The Panthers had just four hits through the first five innings, but had five in the sixth inning alone. Joel Hardin drew a four-pitch walk to start the inning. After a sacrifice bunt, Pylant drove Hardin home with a double. Conner Paulson reached on an infield single and Andrew Furhman, Caleb Butler and Blake Devine followed with RBI hits for a 7-2 lead.
Southside’s Love hit Chad Pritchett to open the seventh, but retired the next three batters to close out Walker’s season.
For the Vikings (23-14), Dexter Jenkins took the loss. He went 6 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits, two walks, seven runs — four earned — while striking out four.
At the plate, both Stephenson and Nix finished 1 for 3 with an RBI, John Michael Knighton was 1 for 4 with a run, Woodley was 1 for 2 and Jenkins was 1 for 3.
Mullinax started the game for the Panthers and went the first 2 2/3 innings. He allowed two hits, two walks, hit three batters and struck out three while allowing two earned runs. Love, a freshman, earned the win, going the last 4 1/3 innings. Love gave up just three singles and hit one batter while striking out two.

For Southside, Furhman was 2 for 4 with two runs and an RBI, Pylant finished 2 for 3 with a run and two RBIs, Paulson was 2 for 3 with a run, Butler was 1 for 4 with a double and an RBI, Snow was 1 for 3 with a run and an RBI, Devine was 1 for 3 with an RBI and Mullinax scored a run and had an RBI.

Saturday’s playoff game was the last high school contest for eight Walker seniors: Shane Donaldson, Dexter Jenkins, Wesley Killingsworth, Joseph Kimbrell, John Michael Knighton, Chad Pritchett, Eric Vinson and Nic Woodley.

“Words really can’t express how we fell about this senior bunch,” Ware said. “They are hurting right now, but they can hold their heads up because they showed up prepared every day since we started in January to the very last out. We didn’t have to worry about them playing hard or how they did in the classroom. They are a great group of kids. They epitomize everything you want as a high school coach. They gave their best effort, we just came up short today.”

Walker vs. Southside

Walker puts season on line against Southside

by Johnathan Bentley, DME

Southside-Gadsden needed just one hit to end Walker’s season.

Thanks to Nic Woodley the Panthers didn’t get it.

With the bases loaded and one out, the Walker senior pitcher struck out the last two batters to end the threat and give the Vikings new life with a 4-3 victory in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series.

The Vikings host Southside at 1 p.m. today at Valley Park in a decisive Game 3. The Panthers won Game 1 of the series 3-1 on Friday.

“Nic Woodley went out there and battled to the end,” Walker coach Pat Ware said. “We had our back against the wall. We knew what we had to do. The main thing in the playoffs is to win — it doesn’t matter what it looks like. Now we’ve got to bounce back and get ready for tomorrow and see what happens.”

With Walker leading the nightcap 4-2, Southside opened the bottom of the seventh inning with an infield single, a walk and an error to load the bases.

After a strikeout, an error plated a run to cut the gap to 4-3.

Woodley then got both Braxton Light and Caleb Butler to strike out to gave the Vikings the win.

Woodley went the distance, allowing four hits, three walks, three runs — two earned — while striking out nine to get the win.

Southside held a 2-0 lead going into the fourth inning, but Walker rallied for three runs to take the lead. Dexter Jenkins drove in Quinton McCarty with the first run and Shane Donaldson delivered a two-run double for a 3-2 lead. The Vikings added a run in the sixth on a Logan Nix bases loaded walk to push the lead to 4-2.

Thanks to Walker’s narrow Game 2 win, the Vikings take on Southside in a Game 3 for the second straight season. Last year, Walker battled back from an 8-0 deficit to win 9-8 in Game 3 of their quarterfinal series.

“Whenever we play them, it’s always been a good series,” Ware said. “We sort of expect that. We know it’s going to be tough every pitch and every out with them. It will be the same (today).”

Knighton led Walker at the plate in the nightcap, going 2 for 4. Donaldson was 1 for 3 with a double and two RBIs, Jenkins was 1 for 3 with two runs and an RBI, Woodley was 1 for 4 with a double and a run and Chad Pritchett was 1 for 3 with a triple.

For Southside, Braxton Light was 1 for 3 with a run, Cody Pylant, Drew Mullinax and Taylor Snow each finished 1 for 3.

Andrew Fuhrman took the loss for the Panthers (22-15), allowing six hits, four walks, four runs — two earned — while striking out four in seven innings.

Southside won a 3-1 pitcher’s duel in Friday’s opener.

Through five innings, Walker (23-13) was in perfect position against the Panthers. The Vikings held a 1-0 lead with ace John Michael Knighton on the mound. The momentum didn’t last.

Southside tied the game in the sixth inning and strung together three hits in the seventh to plate two more runs en route to the victory.

Pylant started the Panther’s seventh-inning rally with an infield single. After a sacrifice bunt, Andrew Fuhrman and Caleb Butler came through with run-scoring singles to put Southside on top for good.

The Vikings broke through first, scoring a run in the fifth. Donaldson led off the inning with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a two-out single by John Michael Reed.

Southside (22-15) scored an unearned run in the sixth inning to tie the game. Drew Mullinax reached on a fielder’s choice, moved to third on an error and scored on Taylor Snow’s sacrifice bunt.

Knighton, who suffered just his second loss of the season, allowed six hits, hit one batter and gave up three runs — two earned with seven strikeouts.

At the plate, Vinson, McCarty, Donaldson, Reed and Woodley had hits.

Pondick gave up just five singles and one walk while striking out seven in seven innings.

For Southside, Butler finished 3 for 3 with an RBI, Fuhrman was 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI and both Scott Hardin and Pylant were 1 for 3.

“We lost the lead late in the first game. We were down after losing, but we’ve got a lot of seniors and they’ve been great leaders all year. They played hard for 14 innings,” Ware said. “I know they will play hard for seven more innings (today).”

Tennis Advances to State

Walker tennis teams state tournament bound

by Johnathan Bentley, DME

Walker’s tennis teams are headed back to the state tournament.

Walker’s girls won the 5A, Section 5 Tournament at Valley Park this week to earn a spot in the tournament at Montgomery’s Lagoon Park. The Walker boys are also going to Montgomery following a second-place finish in the sectional tournament.

The girls swept through the event, which included nine schools: Walker, Central-Tuscaloosa, Chilton County, Demopolis, Hueytown, McAdory, Paul Bryant, Pleasant Grove and Ramsay.

Walker picked up 63 total points in the tournament. Singles winners were: No. 1 Amanda Bertoldi, No. 2 Kallie Beall, No. 3 Jeana Burton, No. 4 Molly Wright, No. 5 Kalei Woodley and No. 6 Sarah Warren.

The Lady Vikings also swept through doubles play with the No. 1 team of Bertoldi and Wright, the No. 2 team of Burton and Elliott and the No. 3 team of Beall and Warren, each winning sectional titles.

Walker’s girls are coming off a fifth-place finish last year. Muscle Shoals won the title with Cullman taking second, Briarwood Christian finishing third and St. Paul’s fourth.

Walker’s boys took second in the section 5 tournament with a total of 38 points.

Jon Riley Davis, playing at No. 5 singles, won a sectional title as did the No. 3 doubles team of Michael and Andrew Wiginton.

The Vikings’ boys team finished third in the state last season behind state champion Muscle Shoals and Briarwood Christian

 

WHS Advances in Playoff Series

Walker dominates Etowah in first round

by Johnathan Bentley

Walker made quite a first impression Friday in its first-round playoff series against Etowah.

The Vikings batted around in the opening inning, building an insurmountable lead and never looked back, sweeping the Blue Devils from the playoffs with a pair of lopsided wins.

Walker took the first game 9-2 and won the nightcap 11-5 to advance to next week’s second round. The Vikings host Southside-Gadsden in a best-of-three, second-round series starting Friday at Valley Park.

Walker coach Pat Ware said Friday’s start against Etowah set the tone.

“That was huge to open up the first inning like that. We were able to relax a little more, especially with John Michael (Knighton) on the mound,” Ware said. “We swung the bat as well as we have all year, throughout the lineup. I was really proud of how we played offensively.

“I was proud of our pitchers. They both came out and threw strikes. It was a total team effort. Everybody on our side did a great job of being prepared.”

The Vikings got their usual stellar pitching from Knighton, who improved to 9-1 on the season. He held the Blue Devils to one hit through five innings. He struck out 10 batters and gave up five hits and didn’t walk a batter in seven innings.

Knighton also started Walker’s first-inning rally in the opener with a one-out single. Quinton McCarty followed with a single and Woodley made the score 1-0 with the third straight single of the inning.

After a Dexter Jenkins single loaded the bases, Shane Donaldson provided Walker with all the offense they would need with a grand slam over the right field fence for a 5-0 advantage.

Walker wasn’t done yet. Logan Nix singled, took second on an error and scored on a John Michael Reed single, the Vikings seventh hit of the inning, for a 6-0 lead. Walker added run in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

For the Vikings, all nine starters had hits in the game led by Knighton who was 2 for 3 with an RBI, Reed was 1 for 2 with a run and an RBI, Eric Vinson was 1 for 4 with a triple, a run and an RBI, McCarty was 1 for 3 with two runs, Donaldson was 1 for 3 with a grand slam, Woodley was 1 for 3 with a run and an RBI, Jenkins was 1 for 3 with a run, Stone Stephenson was 1 for 3 with an RBI and Nix was 1 for 2.

For Etowah (13-23), John Coggins was 1 for 3 with a two-run single.

In the nightcap, Dexter Jenkins got the win. He allowed five hits, one walk and five runs — two earned — while striking out five. Nic Woodley pitched a scoreless seventh inning to close out the game.

At the plate, Walker had 10 hits.

Knighton was 2 for 3 with two runs, Nix was 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI, Chad Pritchett was 2 for 4 with a double, two runs and an RBI, Vinson was 1 for 2 with a double and two RBIs, Woodley was 1 for 4 with a double, a run and two RBIs, Jenkins was 1 for 3 with an RBI, McCarty was 1 for 5 with a double and two runs and Wesley Killingsworth scored a run.

The game was tied 2-2 after the first inning, but Walker jumped ahead for good with a four-run second inning. The Vikings added a run in the third and two in the fourth for a 9-2 lead.

Walker faces a familiar foe in the second round.

The Vikings split a pair of regular-season games with Southside-Gadsden with each team winning on the road.

Walker defeated Southside in an epic three-game, first-round playoff series last year. The Vikings rallied from an 8-1 deficit to beat Southside 9-8 in Game 3 of the series.

“We know them well,” Ware said. “This will be three years in a row that we’ve got them in the playoffs. It should be an exciting series.”

Walker Hosts Etowah in Playoffs

by Johnathan Bentley,DME

 

Walker pitcher John Michael Knighton throws to a Curry batter during their game last week. Both teams open the playoffs today. Walker hosts Etowah while Curry travels to Southside-Gadsden. Photo by: Johnathan Bentley

 

Forget the long road trip — and that raucous road crowd.

Walker won’t have to deal with any of that in the opening-round of the state playoffs.

While other schools are making trips across the state, the Vikings will be in the friendly confines of Valley Park for today’s best-of-three playoff series vs. Etowah.

Today’s double-header starts at 4:30 p.m. today with game 3 tentatively set for 3 p.m. Saturday if necessary.

“It’s big to be at home. We know how the ball bounces here and we get to have a home-crowd advantage,” Walker coach Pat Ware said. “It’s always better to be at home. We only had six games here all year so as far as the road goes, we’ll be ready for it, but we love playing at home.”

A total of six area teams made the playoffs. Walker is the only one opening the postseason at home.

Walker has already played a pair of games with playoff-like atmosphere. The Vikings had to beat Curry twice on the road last week just to make the playoffs. Walker got stellar performances from pitchers John Michael Knighton and Nic Woodley to take home the 5A, Area 11 title and the home field advantage that comes along with it.

Knighton is 8-1 with a save this season and has allowed just two earned runs.

“We’ve done pretty well on the mound,” Ware said. “The kids have bought into our theory of getting out or getting on in three pitches. You can’t defend a walk. We want to throw strikes and let our defense work. Coach (Ryan) Hall has done a great job getting our guys ready.”

Etowah brings a 13-21 record into today’s series.

 

Track Team’s Big Month

by W. Brian Hale, DME

 The Walker Vikings track team has had an impressive month — setting personal records and competing against quality athletes from across the southeast in two separate weekend meets.

On April 7, the Vikings traveled to the Mobile Challenge of Champions, a special invitational event that featured teams from Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. Walker placed second in the 4×800 meter relay event, with a personal record time of 8:01.

Also in Mobile, Andrew Harris came in third in the 800-meter race with a personal record of 1:53.7.

On April 13, the Vikings competed in the Mountain Brook Invitational — with a total of 158 runners from 36 different high schools that were represented at the meet.

Walker’s four-man team of Harris, Hunter Hawkins, Bradford Lepik and Jeb Cowen had a great showing in the 800-meter race, with Harris placing first with a personal record time of 1:53.5. Hawkins placed fifth, with a personal record time of 1:55.2, while Lepik placed 12th at a personal record time of 1:58.5. Cowen placed 22nd on a personal record time of 2:02.4.

“There was some extremely good competition at both of these meets,” Walker coach Mark Aldridge said. “When you look at how we did at Mountain Brook, for Andrew, Hunter, Bradford and Jeb to place in the Top 22 says a great deal about how well they are competing. They’re working and trying very hard.”

Walker Makes Playoffs

Knighton pitches Walker into playoffs

by Johnathan Bentley,DME

Walker’s John Michael Knighton throws a pitch against Curry during their 5A, Area 11 matchup Thursday at Curry High School. Knighton threw a one-hit shutout as Walker clinched the area title with a 2-0 victory. Photo by: Johnathan Bentley

CURRY — Walker’s playoff hopes were on life-support a week ago.

Two shutouts later and the Vikings are the Class 5A, Area 11 champs.

Walker got a dominating performance from ace John Michael Knighton Thursday in a 2-0 victory at Curry High School. Knighton allowed one hit, two walks and hit a batter while striking out 10 in seven innings.

“It was a strange situation today — it was win or go home. I did the best I could and tried to put us in a position to win,” said Knighton, who loves the atmosphere of a big game. “I love the pressure. I feed off it. The whole team does.”

Walker’s playoff hopes were in doubt following a pair of home losses to Mortimer Jordan last week. The Vikings had to beat Curry twice to make the postseason.

Now the Vikings aren’t just playoff-bound, they are area champs.

“To go from not making the playoffs to hosting a playoff series is big. Now we get to play at home. That’s what we wanted,” Knighton added.

Walker and Curry both finished 4-2 in area play, but the Vikings claimed the area title thanks to a pair of head-to-head wins over the Yellow Jackets. The Vikings won the opener of the series 5-0 on Tuesday.

Walker (20-11) hosts Etowah next Friday in the best-of-three, opening-round playoff series while Curry — the area runner up — makes the trip to Southside-Gadsden.

The Vikings also won Thursday’s game two, beating Curry 8-0.

On the day, Walker pitchers allowed just three hits in 14 innings.

“I hope that’s a sign of things to come,” Walker coach Pat Ware said. “Our seniors really stepped up this week. We gave the ball to three seniors on the mound and they all threw shutouts. That’s all you can ask of them. Eric Vinson also did a great job at leadoff. When your leadoff hitter is getting on base and scoring runs, that really gets us going.”

In Thursday’s opener, Walker managed just six hits against Curry pitcher Evan Miller.

The Vikings scored one run in both the third and fifth innings.

That was more than enough for Knighton (8-1), who only allowed a hard single to right field to Miller in the fourth inning. Curry put a runner at second base twice in the game, but failed to come up with an RBI hit against the Walker ace, who has allowed just two earned runs on the season.

Walker pushed across its first run in the third inning. Logan Nix and John Michael Reed walked and Eric Vinson followed with a bunt single to load the bases. With one out, Quinton McCarty drove in pinch-runner Saige Harding with a sacrifice fly to left field.

Curry mounted a rally in the fourth inning.

Miller singled with one out and Cade Oliver drew a two-out walk to put runners at first and second. Knighton got Lane Oliver to fly out to end the threat.

Walker made the score 2-0 in the sixth. Nix singled to open the inning and Vinson delivered a one-out, RBI double to drive in Harding.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Curry’s Joe Evans drew a lead off walk and reached second on a passed ball, but was stranded there.

For Walker, Nix was 2 for 2 with a walk, Shane Donaldson, Nic Woodley and Stone Stephenson each finished 1 for 3 and Vinson was 1 for 4. For Curry, Miller was 1-for-3 with a stolen base.

Walker also blanked Curry in the second game, beating the Jackets 8-0.

Dexter Jenkins got the win, allowing two hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. Harding pitched 1/3 innings and Joseph Kimbrell went the final inning. The Vikings broke a scoreless tie with a five-run fourth inning. They added three more in the fifth.

John Michael Reed was 3 for 5 with a triple and three RBIs, Chad Pritchett was 2 for 2 with two runs and an RBI, Harding was 1 for 3 with a run and two RBIs, Quinton McCarty was 1 for 4 with a run, Nix was 1 for 4 and Shane Donaldson walked three times and scored two runs.

Walker closes out the regular season on Monday at Hueytown before opening the playoffs at Valley Park on Friday. Curry, which is in the playoffs for the first time since 2002, plays Cleveland and Pleasant Grove on Saturday at Pleasant Grove.