Riverton • On a night of big numbers, East running back Sione Molisi may be had the biggest.
It was a 90-yard kickoff return where Molisi first went to the right sideline then traversed across the field to the left and eventually found himself in the end zone.
And that didn’t even count, thanks to an illegal block penalty.
But Molisi and friends had plenty of big plays that did as East outscored Riverton 63-34 in Region 3 action Friday.
“I thought offensively our kids performed well and we executed well,” East coach Brandon Matich said.
PLAYER OF THE GAME <br>Sione Molisi churned his way to 183 yards rushing to lead East's potent attack. Molisi's 13-yard run with 47 seconds left in the second quarter made the score 28-14, and East never relinquished the lead.
The numbers bore out Matich’s opinion. Three East (7-1, 4-0) players had topped 100 yards rushing.
Molisi, a 5-foot-6 senior, led the way with 183 yards.
“I knew Riverton was going to come out and play with us,” Molisi said. “Our coaches say that with us being in championship games and winning them, everybody we go against will be like a championship game.”
Leopards quarterback Ben Ford also broke loose for 154 yards, while Charlie Vincent tallied 159 on the ground, including 90 on one play when he ran for a touchdown in the first quarter.
That made the score 21-7, but Riverton (3-5, 2-2) answered quickly with an 80-yard drive culminating in a 1-yard pass from Cannon Coggins to Stetson Thacker.
When Molisi scored his lone touchdown 47 seconds before halftime, East pushed the score to 28-14, and the visitors were able to keep at least that two-possession margin for the rest of the game.
But Riverton was persistent in keeping chase. Coggins aired it out for 424 yards passing on a 20-for-37 night.
East defender Vili Tausinga stepped in front of Coggins’ attempts for a pair of interceptions.
“We wanted to bracket No. 2 [Riverton receiver Trystyn Hymas],” Match said. “We wanted to make sure we had two guys on that guy because he was eating us alive in the first half.”
While East was winning a state championship in Class 4A last year, Riverton was struggling through a one-win campaign.
Matich said he wasn’t at all surprised that Riverton was starting to turn around things under veteran coach Blaine Monkres, who is in his first year with the Silverwolves.
“You’ve got a coach who’s won several state championships,” Matich said. “He’s a proven winner wherever he’s gone. He’s going to find a way to win and improve throughout the year because he’s got a change of culture here.”