Part of the lure of sports is pushing an individual or a team to do more than it has ever been able to do before.

"This means a lot, not just to us but to the school," said Eagle head coach Jose Martinez. "I also want this for the kids that have worked so hard. If we could win, it would show that they've gotten things started."

The ALA team has already accomplished more than anyone expected. The Eagles came in as the No. 3 seed from Region 14, but have gotten things going with wins over Intermountain Christian and Richfield to set up today's showdown against Region 14's No. 2 team, Rowland Hall.

"We knew that every game was important, that now it really counts," the ALA head coach explained. "We kept moving forward, making a lot of adjustments, trying to play more organized."

Now the team faces a familiar foe in the Winged Lions.

"We each won one game this year," Martinez said. "We're ready. We've been practicing hard and we know we won't ever get this opportunity again."

Leading the way for the Eagles has been forward David Armendariz, who has turned into a goal scoring machine. Martinez also thinks that players like Tanner Ferreira and Thatcher Lamb will have to continue to play well for the team to advance.

"We're trying to match up our best defenders on their attackers," Martinez explained. "We need to make them use other options."

He believes the contest is going to come down to whichever team can go out there and play with more heart.

"It's going to be whoever wants it more, that's who's going to come out with the win," he said. "It's going to be physical and players are going to get beat up, but every minute you have to go out there and do things right. The team that makes mistakes will pay for them."

The game has been moved to ALA in Spanish Fork due to a scheduling issue at Timpview. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.

• Jared Lloyd can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it