When the final whistle blew in Murray High School's 2-1 win over Cottonwood High School on May 12, the Spartan fans lining the East sideline erupted.

A half dozen orange and white-checkered flags waved furiously up and down the sideline as they had after each of Murray's goals. An impromptu "region champs" chant started amid a throng of students.

After shaking hands with the Cottonwood players and coaches and the officials, the Spartans joined their adoring fans to celebrate the school's first boys soccer region championship in 17 years, victorious over the rest of Region 2.

"That was one of our main goals, to get region," Nate Speirs said. "It feels good to finally do something the school hasn't done in a long time."

Speirs scored Murray's go-ahead goal against Cottonwood that gave the team a win unnecessary for a region championship that already had been wrapped up May 10 when Cyprus beat Cottonwood 5-4. After the Pirates beat the Colts, word spread through the team that they were region champions.

To a team that played this season for school pride and to defend against criticism of what some called a fluky advancement to the 2010 state semifinals, it meant a great deal. To captain Andy Christensen, who played the entire season after suffering a dislocated shoulder that left a fracture in his shoulder socket, it may have meant more.

"I wanted to see how far we could make it and didn't want to miss this opportunity," he said.

Christensen was advised to have surgery for his injury but decided to play with pain and limited mobility to be a part of what he expected to be a special season. The sacrifice paid off as the season became historic.

The team used what Christensen calls "sub goals" such as focusing every day at practice to accomplish its bigger picture aspiration of a region championship. Starting 0-2 in the preseason didn't hurt either, serving as a wake-up call.

Coach Bryan DeMann wasn't surprised to see his team buckle down and rebound after the slow start. He saw a care for each other and a pride too great to let the season continue on the downward path.

"Winning a region championship may not be that big of a deal to some but it is to us," DeMann said. He added with a laugh, "We haven't won enough of them to be spoiled." —

Spartans set on winning

The Murray boys' soccer team won its first region championship in 17 years by winning a deep Region 2.

Even in 2001 when the Spartans won a state title, they didn't win their region.

The team set its sights on winning the region to help overcome critics of its 2010 semifinal run. Player of the Week

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Brad Matson, Cottonwood baseball • Matson got 19 runs of support but didn't need any of them against Hunter May 11. He threw a no-hitter and added a double. Against Cyprus May 12, Matson went 3-3 from the plate with two RBIs in a 9-5 win.

Big Number

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19Number of consecutive wins for the Murray softball team heading into the 5A state tournament. The Spartans haven't lost since a 13-6 decision by way of Oak Christian of California March 19. An 8-7 loss to Spanish Fork March 18 was the last time Murray lost to a Utah opponent.