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Westwood’s McCrimon brothers cherishing time on field

BY ZACH ALVIRA

Tribune Sports Editor

When Nick and Sa’Veon McCrimon were younger, their father made it well known that if the two wanted to play football, they would have to perform well in the classroom.

That stuck with them from a young age when they first picked up a ball. It’s now carried over to Westwood High School, where Nick is preparing to be a senior and Sa’Veon a sophomore. The brothers have always been close, often competing with each other. Nick admits he isn’t like most older brothers where he purposefully established himself as the dominant half.

But nonetheless, pushing each other on a daily basis has led them to become two of the key players for the Warriors this upcoming season.

“Watching him, seeing him do good on the field, he’s the reason I am trying to push myself to be better,” Sa’Veon said. “I want to be better than him. But he isn’t going to let me be better than him. I think that’s why we both come out and try to be top notch.” Sa’Veon spent his first season at Westwood in the lower-level program. But he has varsity experience on the basketball court.

He was brought up to compete at the highest level before the start of the season in the winter. Now, he is going to be called upon to contribute on the football field alongside Nick in the state’s highest conference.

Westwood wrapped up the 2021 season going 6-4, narrowly missing a shot at the 6A playoffs. The Warriors were led by then-head coach Kyle Ide, an alum of the school. Ide announced his retirement after the season, which opened the door for Brandon Large, who played at Westwood, to leave his position as an assistant at Higley to lead his alma mater.

The transition has been easy for the players. Nick and Sa’Veon especially, have immediately felt a level of trust between them and Large. They know he will lean upon them to make plays as wide receivers this season. Westwood senior Nick McCrimon, “left,” and his sophomore brother, Sa’Veon, have quickly become dynamic playmakers for the Warriors this off-season and heading into the summer. They have earned the trust of new coach Brandon Large, “middle,” and will be key to the team’s success in the fall. (Dave Minton/Tribune Staff)

And they’re ready for the challenge. “It honestly feels good,” Nick said. “I feel like we are going to have a pretty good season knowing he trusts us. As long as he trusts us, we trust him.”

Nick was primarily a defensive back for Westwood as a junior. He finished the year with 27 total tackles and three interceptions.

But now playing both sides of the ball, he is ready to make a positive impact. It has also led to some friendly wagers between he and Sa’Veon, most notably who will be the first to find the end zone for the Warriors next season.

Their father, Nick Jr., typically helps them

The bond Nick and Sa’Veon share on the field is one that never is broken despite mistakes the other may make. They motivate each other to be better both on the field and in the classsettle what’s at stake. Sometimes it’s something as simple as pushups. Other times it will involve a small amount of money. But most importantly, it’s bragging rights. “When I score first, I’m going to obviously go hand him the ball,” Nick said while Sa’Veon scoffed at the idea. “That’s how we push each other.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Sa’Veon added.

When they aren’t making jokes with each other, the brothers have become leaders for Westwood. They have a certain ‘no nonsense’ approach to the game that has started to rub off on other players around them.

Large didn’t know much about the brothers when he took over the football program in December. But he immediately recognized their athleticism in off-season workouts. That, coupled with their approach to the classroom, has made them and other players with the same mindset part of the culture shift at Westwood as a whole.

“Those guys are very dynamic athletes and they’re also phenomenal students,” Large said. “They’re both high 3.8-3.9 GPA students. They’re just all-around great kids and we feel like they’re going to be very special for us.”

Nick has goals to reach a four-year university when he graduates next spring. He hopes to continue playing football for the rest of his life. But if that doesn’t pan out, he has a backup.

Watching "Law & Order" with his mother growing up, he wasn’t enamored by the detectives or forensic analysts the show often highlights. He liked the doctors.

He said he aims to be a surgeon of some sort and wants to major in biomedicine. He knows that is a difficult path to follow, but just like with his time at Westwood it’s a challenge he wants to meet head on.

And with his Sa’Veon by his side he knows he will be able to accomplish his goals. Their relationship on and off the field makes them a special dynamic, one that has so far helped them in life.

“We don’t get mad at each other when

someone messes up,” Nick said. “We keep each other up. That probably makes us do what we do. You have to have that relationship in order to be good.”

Se’Veon’s goals don’t quite extend beyond Westwood just yet. For now, he’s focused on making the most of an opportunity on the varsity roster. “I’m just going to ball out and try to do what is best for the team,” Sa’Veon said. “I want to push my team so we can be good as a whole. No pressure.”

Westwood as a program has had its fair share of down years in the last decade.

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JUNE 12, 2022 The Warriors haven’t made the postseason since 2014. They last won a championship in 1988.

They’re underdogs. But that’s how Nick likes it. He is confident in his teammates and coaches to surprise other teams this season.

And as a player, he’s going to do whatever it takes to help put his team in position to do that.

“We’re going to make it far in playoffs, I think,” Nick said. “We have a good team. We have good coaches. As long as teams still look over us, that’s better for us. As long as we’re the underdogs we are going to come out and show them all.” 

Have an interesting sports story? Contact Zach Alvira at zalvira@timespublications.com and follow him on Twitter @ZachAlvira.

TheMesaTribune.com | @EVTNow /EVTNow

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QC drummer shares beloved singer’s final tunes

BY ALEX GALLAGHER

Tribune Staff writer

When the alt-rock band Grey Daze wanted to honor its late lead singer, Chester Bennington, one way stood out.

Drummer Sean Dowdell approached Bennington’s widow, Talinda Bennington, and her children about breathing new life into 20 unreleased tracks with the Linkin Park singer’s vocals.

“I told Talinda and the that we’re going to curate this project and keep his original intention to not exploit anything,” Dowdell said.

Bennington died by suicide at age 41 in 2017.

Grey Daze formed in 1993 and released two albums – “Wake Me” (1994) and “…No Sun Today” (1997) – and recorded demos for several other works at Anthem Studios in Glendale and the Valley’s Conservatory of Recording Arts and Science. When Linkin Park reached commercial success at the turn of the millennium, Grey Daze disbanded.

With Talinda Bennington’s blessing, Dowdell – who graduated from Shadow Mountain High School and resides in Queen Creek – bass player Mace Beyers and guitar player Cristin Davis moved forward d to shed one more light on another dimension of the singer. The first chapter was the 2020 release of “Amends,” featuring 10 Bennington-led tracks. Following the success of the album, Dowdell returned to the studio later that year to wrap up the remaining 10 tracks. “The Phoenix” will be released on June 17. A listening party is being planned. “We chose the songs the first one because we felt like they all fit together,” said Dowdell, Bennington’s partner in Club Tattoo —which opened its first of six locations in Tempe 27 years ago, among other things. “The songs that were left fit really well together, too. It feels like we did it on purpose and, maybe subconsciously on some level, we did. But it wasn’t as conscious of Grey Daze 1: Alt-rock band Grey Daze is set to release the second half of 20 tracks worth of vocals recorded by vocalist Chester Bennington on an album titled “The Phoenix” which is set to hit the airwaves on June 17. (Special to the Tribune) a decision as one might think,” The sticks man said.

While “Amends” offers a somber celebration of Bennington’s work with Grey Daze, “The Phoenix” offers a sharp contrast in sound and attitude.

“The entire record feels like a rock anthem and it feels like a very powerful rock band that is in your face and punching you right in the chest, but in a good way,” Dowdell said with a laugh.

“It’s not the ‘Amends’ record, which was much sadder. It was more of an emotional roller coaster and a lot of tears were shared. I have a feeling that, when people listen to this record, it’s not going to be as emotional. They’re going to want to raise their fist and scream along with Chester.” That’s because “The Phoenix” was recorded with the same attitude, which can be seen in the YouTube docuseries titled “Creation of The Phoenix” which followed the band through the creation of the album. “So, with the last album, there was a lot of crying and a lot of hugging,” Dowdell said. “This time, the studio was a lot more celebratory. We really had a lot of fun and shared a lot of good stories about Chester.”

The team featured Dowdell, Beyers and Davis along with Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and Filter vocalist Richard Patrick. Bennington’s daughters, Lily and Lila, perform on “Hole.”

Dowdell admits it was hard to create the perfect sound.

“Mace, Cristin and I took our best guess at what we thought Chester would have appreciated,” Dowdell said. “I can’t say for certain he definitely would have done this, or he definitely would have done that because he was such a creative human. We took our best-educated guess as to what we think you would have liked.”

Although “The Phoenix’s” lyrics further immortalize Bennington, Dowdell feels the album’s title and artwork notably exemplify his best friend. “We thought the flames (on his arms) were the most visually iconic part about Chester,” Dowdell said.

“That photo is just such an iconic capture of, not only who he was in life, and what he meant to me, but who he was, visually, to the rest of us.”

Dowdell admits he desperately misses Bennington – who grew up in the Valley and owned a home in Gilbert – with whom he played on stage. They also played basketball, test drove cars and sat and talked during their decades of friendship.

“I think it’ll always be a sad thing, but it doesn’t tear me up inside every day as it did for the first two years,” he said.

Nevertheless, he feels “The Phoenix” allows fans to relish Bennington’s notable voice one last time and appreciate who he was as a person. “We finished this music to not only fulfill his thoughts and our thoughts, but I think it’s nice to be able to appreciate Chester, for all of the things that he did,” Dowdell said.

ACROSS

1 Bridge 5 Dallas hoopster, briefly 8 Untalkative one 12 Architect Saarinen 13 Inseparable 14 Reply to “Shall we?” 15 Legal document 16 Sailor 17 Privy to 18 Debriefed person? 20 Crib cry 22 Enigma 26 Mudville slugger 29 “Certainly!” 30 Half of CIV 31 Exploits 32 Goof up 33 Fine spray 34 Pickle holder 35 “-- was saying ...” 36 “Olympia” artist 37 Batting position 40 Scruff 41 Help 45 Eager 47 Energy 49 Yon folks 50 Anti-fur org. 51 Before 52 Wheelchair access 53 Texter’s sign-off 54 Last letter in London 55 Garfield’s pal

DOWN

1 Stitched 2 Andean land 3 Saharan 4 Observes 5 Slogan 6 Santa -- winds 7 Dutch artist 8 Scale 9 “Chocolat” actress 10 From -- Z 11 AOL rival 19 Devious 21 TV spots 23 Aleppo’s land 24 French river 25 Chanteuse Eartha 26 Stephen King pooch 27 Now, in a memo 28 Peace 32 Emilio of “The Breakfast Club” 33 Address for Toscanini 35 Venomous viper 36 Roast VIPs 38 Tennis star Rafael 39 Identified 42 “If -- a Hammer” 43 Big rig 44 Ilk 45 Suitable 46 Dog doc 48 Rage

Sudoku

With JAN D’ATRI

GetOut Contributor

TikTok craze produces unique, tasty cup of joe

As TiKtok goes, so does the youth of the world. The short, often dazzling video clips have hooked us on everything from dare-devil stunts to over the top recipes.

As a recipe creator, I’ll admit I’ve been hooked and reeled in a number of times, and I’ve learned the hard way that many TikTok food videos are fabulous eyecandy, but lacking in accurate ingredients or technique. Not so with Dalgona, the newest TikTok trend. It’s whipped coffee that, with only three ingredients, makes the most delightfully luxurious, frothy caffeinated foam.

The word “Dalgona” comes from the Korean candy made with melted sugar and baking soda. Whipped coffee has the same caramel color with a powerful hit of coffee flavor.

It’s so fun and easy to blend up, and my advice is to start with a delicious instant coffee or espresso. The better the coffee, the better the Dalgona. Also, this method works beautifully with sugar substitutes like monkfruit and allulose. It’s delicious over iced coffee, milk or a hot cup of Joe. I was thinking that you’ve gotta have a great coffee cake recipe to go with your Dalgona. Enjoy both.■

Ingredients: • 2 Tablespoons instant coffee • 2 Tablespoons sugar

Directions:

In a bowl with an electric mixer, whisk together the instant coffee, sugar and boiling water until coffee is dissolved and the mixture forms fluffy stiff peaks, about 3 minutes. (You can also whisk by hand with a wired whisk which may take longer to achieve peaks.) Serve over iced coffee or milk, or on top of hot coffee. Serves 1.

Sour cream coffee cake

Ingredients: • 1/2 cup butter • 1 cup sugar • 1cup sour cream • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

Cream together butter and sugar, then add eggs, one at a time, mixing well.

Add sour cream, vanilla, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and blend well.

Pour one half of the batter into a small greased and floured angel food cake pan (or 8-inch square/ round cake pan.) Then pour in half of the nut mixture. Pour in the rest of the batter and top with the rest of the nut mixture.

Nut mixture filling and topping

Mix together: • ¼ cup sugar • 2 cups chopped walnuts • 1 teaspoon cinnamon (including sugar substitutes) • 2 Tablespoons boiling water

• 2 cups sifted flour • 1 teaspoon baking powder • 1 teaspoon baking soda • ½ teaspoon salt • 2 large eggs

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick comes up clean. For Cupcakes: Same process with cupcakes only no need to butter and flour each cup. Pour 1 heaping tablespoon of batter, sprinkle nut mixture, then another tablespoon of batter. Finish with a sprinkle of nut mixture. Bake for approximately 26 minutes.

Cream cheese frosting (for cupcakes)

Blend together and frost the cupcakes • 8 oz. soft cream cheese • 2 teaspoons vanilla • 4 tablespoons butter • 2 ½ cups powdered sugar 