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SALT LAKE CITY — East came out on top on a stormy, blistering cold night in what many would assume was a dominating win by East; however, the Leopards sealed the win later in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns to secure a senior night victory.
On the first drive of the night, East's David Bergstedt had a 39-yard rush that put the Leopards in great field position and set up another big run on the next play. As the rain poured down, Nunu Fonua saw a wide open lane for a 26-yard rushing touchdown to put East up early with the 7-0 lead.
A couple drives later, Highland got the ball on their own 20-yard line, but were sacked a couple times, which eventually led to a fumble by Manasa Pela that was recovered by multiple East defenders in the end zone to give the Leopards a 13-0 lead after the point after touchdown was no good.
The rest of the first half stalled as the rainy weather made any real progress difficult, especially when every run was easily figured out by each team's defense.
Highland got its first scoring opportunity on the first drive of the second half as Pela escaped for a 50-yard run that preceded a 28-yard reception by Siosefa Brown for a touchdown to make it a 6-point game.
A back-and-forth game ensued before East scored on a Marcus Loertscher 10-yard run to extend the Leopards' lead 19-7 after a failed 2-point attempt.
Highland looked primed for another touchdown, but East's William Fredrick came soaring in front of a Highland receiver to intercept the pass. Fredrick returned the ball to Highland's 24-yard line to set up another Leopards touchdown.
East sealed the win when Tucker McCormick, who was under center, ran 15 yards for a touchdown that brought the score to 25-7 after another failed 2-point attempt.
