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SALT LAKE CITY — East pulled away in the second half with a 55-34 win in a Region 6 bout with Alta, with Nasio Otukolo finding the end zone four times on rushing plays to lead the Leopards.
The first three quarters remained a tight game, but East eventually put some distance on Alta in the final quarter. The Leopards found their groove, even with the frenzy of flags being thrown by the refs throughout the game.
Alta quarterback Tucker Brown struck first in a game that started slow for both teams when he found running back Brock Russell with a pass at the line of scrimmage that he took 7 yards into the end zone to give the Hawks a 7-0 lead on the team's first possession of the game.
It took East until the second quarter to manufacture points, with a couple big runs by Otukolo to move the chains for the Leopards. Eventually, quarterback Dameon Crosby slipped away from pressure and found Tija Tate for a 28-yard score to tie up the game 7-7.
On the Hawks' next possession, Brown was intercepted by Tate, who took it back for a 50-yard pick-six score.
But Alta answered back with a score of their own on the ensuing possession, which was helped by a pass interference call to set the Hawks up for the score.
Otukolo reclaimed the lead with a rushing touchdown late in the first half, but Alta, again, found a way to get points on the board with a 44-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
But that's when the game took a turn for the worst for the Hawks, even after Brown capped off a drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to give Alta a 24-21 lead.
East found a rhythm and responded with a 13-yard touchdown pass to a soaring Timmy Thao to reclaim the lead in the back-and forth affair. Brown was then intercepted to give the Leopards the ball back at their own 47-yard line.
Otukolo went back to work and found the end zone on a 7-yard rushing touchdown, and followed it up with a 16-yard score minutes later. He finished his four-touchdown night on a 2-yard jaunt to the end zone to give East a 48-34 lead.
Amid the Otukolo show, Alta managed a 25-yard field goal and a Breck Warren touchdown after a kickoff return to East's 12-yard line.
Even with a 14-point lead in the last minute of the game, East elected for some fun, and Crosby found fellow senior Marcus Loertscher with a lofted 26-yard pass for a 55-34 win.
East now has back-to back wins over Alta and have back-to-back dominant wins after last week's 42-23 non-region win over Mountain Crest.
East plays at home again next week in a non-region game against Valor Christian (Colo.). Alta falls in consecutive games and will look to recover next week against West in the Hawks' first region game of the season.
