OREM — Orem's 5A football playoff opener couldn't have started much better, at least not for defensive coordinator Josh Arnold and certainly not for Lopeti "Juni" Moala.
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive lineman helped force a fumble, then a safety and added an interception — all in the first half — as the Tigers overwhelmed Timpview 40-22 in Friday's second-round tilt between Region 7 rivals.
"MJ (Bateman) did a great job coming through, hit him, and we just happened to get on top of it," said Moala, who also had a tackle for loss after the break.
"It was definitely one of those big things," Moala added. "You get this close down there, you've got to make a play. Getting those turnovers was definitely important to us. We pride ourselves on getting three-and-outs, but if we can get a turnover, we'll take that."
Orem (9-2) held the Thunderbirds to 83 rushing yards to continue its run of defensive force. The Tigers held opponents to 9 points or less for each of the past six games, including back-to-back shutouts to end the regular season.
In fact, Timpview's 22 points were the most allowed since Orem's 39-37 loss at Rocky Mountain (Idaho) back on Aug. 29. The last time the hosts gave up double-digit points in a win was a Sept. 5 win over Springville 17-14.
"When you get those turnovers and see that, you can play a little faster," Moala said. "It's less reading, and more reacting."
Orem quarterback Tayden Ka'awa did just enough, throwing for 163 yards and that included touchdown passes to Mack Ellison, Beck Coy and Baylor commit Kai Wesley.
But the Tigers' defense spotted the Alabama quarterback commit a 9-0, converted the first-place fumble into Easton Kojima's 2-yard touchdown plunge to open the scoring and adding a safety after a punt that rolled inside the 1-yard line.
"It's a major game of momentum, and I think they were feeling a lot of that," Orem coach Lance Reynolds Jr. said. "They came out and made a bunch of big plays early, and I think they fed off it. It was like a snowball rolling down the hill.
"It wasn't perfect; there are still a lot of things to fix. But I'm really happy with it."
Timpview's first-half drive chart included a fumble, a punt, a safety, a turnover on downs and Cole Engeman's 20-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Tua'one with 14 seconds left in the first quarter.
But Ka'awa responded with a 55-yard TD strike to Ellison, and the Tigers added a second interception by Parker Murray that helped keep Engemann out of the end zone again until the fourth quarter.
"Give our guys credit; they were being told that it wasn't beautiful," Reynolds said. "And they continued to fight and continued to battle, came out and play a lot better."
Engemann threw for 312 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, including 94 receiving yards and a touchdown to Wilkerson for Timpview (6-6).
Orem advanced to host Woods Cross in next week's 5A quarterfinals. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MST.
