My assignment at Pleasant Grove on Friday was to write a column about the Homecoming festivities and feelings. For length reasons, I could only focus on one thing in my printed piece, but I'd like to share some thoughts from and about some of the other folks I met last night.

• There were several tables of Pleasant Grove merchandise set up inside the gate. The first, laden with shirts, was manned by PTSA presidents Lisa Young and Natalie Taylor, who reported brisk sales all day. "Lots of kids bought shirts during lunch today so they could wear them to the game," Young said. Taylor added that the most popular item was headbands. "They were big last year too," she said.
• I found studentbody president Trent Howard cleaning up after the SBO-sponsored tailgate party outside the gym entrances. The menu was pulled-pork sandwiches with chips and water, free for all comers. "We probably had between 200 and 300 show up," he said. "It was mostly students, but there were some parents and teachers too."
• Not far away were a couple of members of the Homecoming court, who looked cute but a little incongruous in jeans and white printed T-shirts along with their crowns and sashes. They were also sporting blue paint accents, which queen Chunie Johnson assured me would be gone when they were presented in their gowns during halftime. Johnson admitted she was still in shock from winning the pageant. "I didn't expect it, but I was truly honored," she said. "It still hasn't set in, but there were so many good girls there, it really didn't matter who won." Second attendant Janelle Matheny agreed. "It was really fun to get to know other girls from my school more," she said. Each of the 22 contestants represented a club, and I was interested to discover that these two were both athletes. Chunie's on the soccer team and Janelle is on the tennis squad. The other two winners represented perhaps more traditional sources: Miss Congeniality is a member of the A cappella choir, and the first attendant is a cheerleader.
• Another person I found along the sidelines was Lance Anderson, who stood out in his crimson and white in the sea of blue. He's the recruiting coordinator and defensive tackles coach from Stanford University, where Viking quarterback Dallas Lloyd has committed. Prohibited by NCAA regulations from commenting on any specific players, Anderson was still happy to share some general observations. "It's a great atmosphere here," he said. "I'm really impressed with the skill of Pleasant Grove's players; that's why so many of them are committed to D-I schools. They're really competing tonight; you can tell they came to play. With West Jordan being an undefeated team, I thought the game would be a little better, but the Vikings have made a lot of big plays."
  • Joey Owens was back on the field and had an impact on both sides of the ball.
  • Unfortunately, the news was not all good for Pleasant Grove last night. After the Vikings blocked a West Jordan field goal try on 4^th-and-goal at the 13, they took over at the 22 but were backed up by a big penalty. On 1^st-and-25, Lloyd and Sefa Tanoai made one of their classic connections and picked up 32 yards for a first down. Sefa feel awkwardly when he was tackled, however, and immediately got up and sprinted to the sidelines with his left arm dangling noticeably. The diagnosis on-site was that he had broken both bones in his lower arm and he was taken to the hospital. I invite anyone who can update me on his condition to e-mail me at bbeaton@heraldextra.com.

It was a thing of beauty to watch the Vikings play last night. Granted, the opponent wasn't exactly in the same class and didn't provide much resistance, but Pleasant Grove could have executed much less cleanly and still won the game.

Here's a few Saturday morning thoughts on this exceptional football team.

• Quarterback Dallas Lloyd looked like the D-I recruit that he is. It wasn't just that he completed three-quarters of his passes, it was how he did it: dropping the ball over shoulders, hitting his men in stride, threading the defense to find his target. He told me after the game that everything was "in sync" last night. Boy, was it ever.
• A big share of the credit for that goes to the offensive line. Lloyd didn't always get the protection he was looking for against Timpview - not all that surprising - or Timpanogos - kind of a shock - but it was there last night.
• The Vikings showed more of some weapons that didn't get all the hype before the season started. Jeff Harris is one of the smallest guys on this beefy team, but the boy can flat-out fly. He had 158 offensive yards in this contest.
• With leading rusher Joey Owens still on the sidelines (they're hoping he'll be back next week), PG still picked up 330 ground yards last night. Jordan Hymas has already demonstrated he's a stud on both sides of the ball, and Kyle Tucker had a solid night as well, averaging almost 11 yards per carry.
• There was more evidence of the special relationship that exists between Lloyd and Sefa Tanoai. It's like the two can read each other's minds. They hooked up four times for 53 yards and one score, but that's not all. Lloyd made his biggest run of the night, 29 yards, with Tanoai as his lead blocker, who looked like he was bumping rag dolls out of the way.
• Speaking of bone-crunching blocks, Jason Fanaika laid the wood on somebody to clear the final hurdle to Jason West's 20-yard score.
• A couple of strange lapses on special teams allowed Hillcrest to take possession of their own initial kickoff at the Viking 22-yard line and they also recovered one of their own punts on the PG 43. These first-quarter plays provided great scoring opportunities for the visitors, but it didn't matter. The first resulted in a missed 40-yard field goal attempt when the defense yielded nothing, and Jordan Esteban knocked down a 4^th-and-2 pass attempt to end the second threat. Still, the coaches will no doubt make this a point of emphasis this next week as those kinds of mistakes against a better team could cost you a game.
• The biggest challenge for a team as good as this one is to zero in on one game at a time. The Vikings certainly didn't overlook Hillcrest, but they're going to have to maintain that focus all season to make it the special year they're hoping for.

It was exactly 19 years ago tomorrow that the Cougars rode the Ty Detmer train to victory over defending national champion and preseason No. 1 Miami.

I wrote in today's Page 2 column about why that game was a bigger win than the Oklahoma defeat on Saturday, specifically speaking to the relative strengths of the respective programs.

Here, I'd like to share some personal observations about what made that 1990 contest so memorable.

In the first place, the Cougar faithful were out in force, arriving uncharacteristically early for tailgate parties and other demonstrations in the parking lot.

Attendance broke the stadium record at that time, and the stands were rocking all game, especially when Detmer ran around pumping his arms up, asking for more. The student section remained standing for the duration.

I said in my column that Detmer's efforts in this contest probably won him the Heisman. The national TV exposure was an important part of that formula, but it was by no means the only one.

Ty would say this was a team victory, and of course, he would be right. Everybody on the field had to make a contribution for the Cougars to be successful, but no one worked harder than Detmer.

I watched him scramble constantly as he was chased by Miami's speedy and powerful defense. He eluded an amazing number of tacklers, but he also got pounded play after play.

He was so good, people forget how small Detmer was - too small, the pundits said, to play Division I college football. He was six feet in his shoes and weighed about 175; by contrast, Max Hall, who is just an inch taller, weighs 25 pounds more.

Throughout his career, however, Detmer took a licking and kept on ticking. They said he was too small for the NFL too, and even though he never won a steady starting job, he lasted 14 seasons in the pros, where the average career lasts four.

Physically tough, especially considering his size. Mentally tougher.

He was in town a couple of weeks ago for a benefit - he stops in regularly, even after all this time - and looked like he could still suit up and play. But I digress - back to Miami in Provo.

Even from where I was, I could see the blood when they split open his chin. The trainer padded it up for the rest of the half, then he got six stitches in the locker room before returning to the field for the third quarter. He's had a scar there ever since.

I saw him make good throws with guys in his face, running full stride, falling down, even with tacklers hanging on him. He completed 70 percent of his passes that day and threw only one interception in the face of almost unimaginable pressure.

He was at his best during BYU's final scoring drive, late in the third period. He converted some huge third downs, and on 4^th-and-1, ran past the marker and out-of-bounds when he could find no one open.

Shortly thereafter, on 3^rd-and-goal at the seven, he was flushed out of the pocket, somehow escaped two tacklers who then ran into each other, and had four Hurricanes closing in on him when he threw a perfect strike to Mike Salido in the end zone.

The Cougars went for two to make it a seven-point spread, and once again Detmer had to make some moves before connecting with Andy Boyce, who had a defender hanging onto his heels.

The fans and his teammates rallied around this still very young man (just 22), and it showed. In the fourth quarter, the defense rose up and secured the game with a number of critical, spectacular plays, clearly inspired by him.

And, as he always did, Detmer gave credit for the team's success to the other players and the coaches when it was all over.

He was the ultimate team guy, and during his four years at BYU, the Cougars became more than the sum of their parts because they followed their undisputed leader. I don't hesitate to say that he got more out of his teammates than any other player could have.

He finished his college career with 62 NCAA records, and still holds 19 today.

Now, fast-forward to the present. Oklahoma is already Hall's signature victory, the way that Miami was for Detmer.

It's unlikely he'll win the Heisman, unless six or seven other guys go down pretty quick like Bradford did.

He'll properly be added to the conversation, but he hasn't presented the body of work that Detmer did yet, to say nothing of Tim Tebow or Colt McCoy.

However, I doubt he'll care about that award if the team does well - and that was Detmer's attitude too.

The bottom line is this.

If Hall can maintain the quality of execution, poise and leadership he showed Saturday, especially during the final scoring drive, and his teammates and coaches continue the preparation and commitment that also led to OU's demise, it could be another very special season for the Cougars.

There's been a lot of talk about how the new Region 4 is Utah's ACC of high school football.

I've got some news for you. This league is going to be a killer in volleyball too.

Since 2001, the path to one of the state volleyball titles has gone through north Utah County.

In 2001, it was Pleasant Grove winning in 4A, followed by Timpanogos in 2002. The next two years, Lone Peak defeated the Vikings in the title game to get the crown.

Those three teams moved to 5A in 2005, when Pleasant Grove again claimed the gold trophy. The Knights won it in 2007 and 2008, last year defeating the Vikings in the final contest.

That leaves 2006 unaccounted for. Know who won that year? Brighton. And they defeated Lone Peak to do it.

That's not all. American Fork has quietly built a very competitive program too. They finished fifth in 2006, fourth in 2007.

In 2008, they got left out of the tournament because Region 4 was limited to three playoff berths - and those three teams claimed half of the top six spots. The Cavemen would have been very competitive too, had they been allowed to go.

In addition, Brighton was fifth in 2007 and third in 2008, so teams from the new Region 4 swept the three top spots a year ago. I won't be surprised if it happens again.

There's good news in the 4A ranks as well. Lehi and Orem each gave one of these 5A powers a great match on Tuesday. The Pioneers were sixth in 5A a year ago, third in 4A in 2006. The Tigers lost in the quarterfinals last year to eventual fourth-place Murray.

Springville and Mountain View, third and sixth last year, respectively, have some quality athletes already making a name for themselves.

I don't know much about the other squads around town just yet, but I suspect that some of them are going to provide some thrills as well.

What it all adds up to is some great viewing for local fans, and region seasons that could well provide an exciting preview to November's state tournaments.