Roy • Alta coach Alema Te’o sauntered into his team’s postgame huddle with a smile.
“The only announcement I’m making,” he boomed, “ is practice on Monday.”
The huddle erupted with cheers.
The Hawks extended their season with a 52-6 win over Roy in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs Friday. Alta advances to the state quarterfinals to play Springville.
Alta took a dominant lead early with running back Zach Engstrom scoring three of the Hawks first four touchdowns.
“He’s a self-made guy,” Te’o said. “He’s a kid of character. His work ethic is beyond belief.”
But Engstrom played down the accomplishment, and he used his first touchdown as an example. He carried the ball the final 3 yards of Alta’s first drive to give the Hawks an early 7-0 lead. But he was quick to point out McCoy Didericksen’s huge contributions that drive, including a 33-yard run.
“That’s the secret,” Engstrom said, “just get behind the guys who are doing the work.”
After scoring on its first drive, Alta recovered a Royals fumble to regain possession. The Hawks scored on 9-yard carry by Engstrom.
Alta quarterback Will Dana tried to go to him again on third-and-10 the next drive, but Dana’s pass just glanced off Engstrom’s fingertips at the edge of the end zone. The Hawks opted to take the field goal, and Jett Sollis’ attempt was good.
ALTA 52, ROY 6 <br>• Alta advances to the state quarterfinals to face Springville. <br>• The Hawks score four touchdowns in the first half. <br>•.Zach Engstrom runs for three TDs in the first half.
Dana then connected with wide receiver Donovan Spillers for a 19-yard touchdown pass. The Hawks’ final score of the half came when Engstrom punched it in from 2 yards out.
Roy quarterback Jaxson Dart had to leave the game in the first half with an elbow injury. The freshman starter was replaced by sophomore Dylan Parish.
Parish threw the Royals’ only touchdown pass of the night. The 33-yard pass found Josh Gallegos, who pulled down the ball and stepped into the end zone with just 40 seconds left in the first half.
Alta went into the intermission up 38-6, and Roy wouldn’t score again.
“I got together our coaching staff, we assessed the entire year,” Te’o said about his team’s defense, “and we said, ‘Let’s simplify this things. Let’s put our kids in a position where they can play fast and can be aggressive.’ And that’s what we told them: This week we’re going to pin our ears back and we’re just going to come after people and let the chips fall.”
Evidently, that worked Friday.
The second half was the Tu’u Afu show.
The Hawks running back scored on two monster runs. The first, a 17-yard carry, gave Alta a 39-point lead, more than enough to go to a running clock with 4:37 left in the third quarter. The second was a fourth-quarter 40-yard run.