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Utah Latest - State Roundup

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Utah Latest - State Roundup

It was an eventful weekend in Utah's Boys HS tournament, with the various conference-leading teams all in action.

West Valley defeated Bright 33-27 to stand 3-0 in the Multi-School Central Conference - Brighton was the only other undefeated team in that Conference. Kau Toa won convincingly over TC Fusion in a clash of two 2-0 teams. Kau Toa took the game 41-5 and now is along on top of the Multi-School Northern. 

In the Multi-School Southern, Genesis won by forfeit, and United had a non-conference game - we'll discuss that one later on in this article. 

In the Single-School conferences, Herriman defeated Alta and Copper Hills and sits 4-0 in Single-School Central Conference, while Highland and East both won - Highland 58-10 over Davis and East in two games, one non-league and one league game.Those two teams are now 3-0 in the Single-School Northern. Snow Canyon played a non-conference game (details below), and remains 3-0 in the Single-School Southern, while idle Las Vegas Academy is 2-0. Those two teams face off Saturday.

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So on to the game reports.

East HS took on Olympus in a non-conference game, and then had to turn around and face off with Wasatch in league play.

 On Friday, East took an early lead on Olympus with a try from Halani Utuone as he crashed through the line. Olympus replied with a try, but East scored again through Napa Nuuse to make it 12-7. Olympus took the lead at 14-12 and then 21-12. Utuone looked to break through for another East try - he was tackled high and the resulting penalty try made it 21-19. Olympus scored once more in the first half, and it was 28-19 at halftime.

East made some changes at halftime, and put Pate Langi over early after some good work keeping possession. Then Nuusa scored his second, and took the lead 33-28. Fusi Teisina scored on an eightman pick, and East led 38-28. Olympus scored two late tries, but couldn't quite bring it in and the game ended 38-35 for East.

The result was not important with regard to the standings, but it certainly put East forward as a challenger for honors in the state.

The next day, East took on Wasatch HS and the Leopards leapt to a 36-22 victory to get to to 3-0.

 

 

Meanwhile, United took on Snow Canyon in a clash between brother coaches Colin Puriri (United) and Michael Puriri (Snow Canyon). The game is played for the Ra Puriri challenge trophy, named after the two brothers' father.

United seemed to control the game early on, but the teams changed ends tied 0-0.

"We had possession and territory but we just couldn't get any points on the board," said Colin Puriri. "They are a strong team and they really defended well."

At halftime, United made a few adjustments, but it was really about fixing the execution and not losing the ball. Flanker Bailey Wilson was a terror through the day and was essential in United's effort to keep the ball coming back on their side. The halfback combination Mica Matua and Kaymahn Siufanua worked nicely together, and United won 24-10.

"It's always nice to beat your own brother," said Colin Puriri. "We have a pretty good rivalry going, and he's had the trophy for the last couple of years, so it's good to get it back. We just needed to keep hold of the ball in the second half."