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SANDY — There's no doubt it's a rivalry between two Region 6 teams after last year's four-overtime playoff game that saw West fall 36-34 to Alta.
But West got its revenge on a brisk September night as quarterback Kamden Lopati threw for five touchdowns in a 36-31 win on the road. But it didn't come without a fight in a back-and-forth affair.
After West controlled a 12-point lead at halftime, Alta came out of the break and managed two touchdowns and converted a 2-point attempt to take a 31-28 lead.
Alta quarterback Tucker Brown found Matt Mckea on a 26-yard touchdown pass after West muffed a punt and the Hawks recovered; and then on an ensuing possession Nito Fonua found the end zone on a 22-yard run for the first lead of the night.
But West finally reclaimed some momentum when Louie Hamilton caught a pass and quickly went 28 yards down field to give the Panthers a 36-31 lead — a lead West would never surrender, even though Alta made the Panthers sweat it out a little.
Alta's Trevyn Fabrizio flipped the script on a long return that got the Hawks down to the West 22-yard line. The Panthers defense stepped up and forced the Hawks into a four-down attempt that they ultimately couldn't convert, sealing the victory for the road team.
On the first drive of the game, Lopati showed his confidence early and got into Hawks territory, capping off the drive with an 11-yard toss to give West a quick 7-0 lead.
Lopati followed it up on the next drive with a 47-yard contested pass to Jaxon Toala to set up the Panthers inside Alta's 10-yard line. The two connected again to give West a double-digit lead in a hostile road environment.
But Alta gained some momentum on a kickoff return to West's 41-yard line, and then quarterback Tucker Brown found a soaring Matt Mckea for the Hawks' first score of the night.
Lopati couldn't be stopped, though, and added two more passing touchdowns in the second quarter, including a pass to Izaiah Holley on a quick pass to the sideline that he took for a 26-yard touchdown; and then Lopati found Chachi Pan for a 9-yard score.
Alta closed the gap when Brown kept the ball and scrambled for a 15-yard rushing touchdown, and then the Hawks managed a field goal just before the halftime breaks to make it 28-16.
Alta has a chance to recover after three straight losses and their second straight region loss next week at Highland. West earned its second straight region win after starting the season 0-3.
