Westlake vs. Orem
Posted By Craig on September 26, 2009
September 25, 2009 – The Westlake Thunder (2-3) faced their third Region 7 opponent in the Orem High School Golden Tigers (1-4). Westlake was coming off of a 28-26 win over Mountain View the week before and was eager for another win against Tigers.
The support for both teams was spectacular. The Westlake side consisted of approximately 350-450 fans.
Orem started with the ball at their own 31 yard line and slowly marched down the field using their big offensive linemen to aid in an effective run game. The defensive highlight of the drive was when Cornerback Nick Waikevich #25 got into the backfield to create a 4-yard loss. Ultimately Orem found their way to the end zone using only 1 pass and taking nearly 7 minutes off the clock to grab the early 7-0 lead.
The Thunder took the field with the first chance with the ball and nearly went 3 and out until their punter was hit, causing a “roughing” penalty that gave them a set of new downs. Quarterback John Ursua #5 took advantage with 3 passing first downs and he ran for another. Running back Semi Taeoalii #21 also had a hard running 9-yard gain. The key play in the drive that led to the first Westlake touchdown was a pass to wide receiver Tre Ofahengaue #27 that got the to the 21 yard line. With 1 second remaining on the first quarter the game was tied at 7 points a piece.
The Tigers again got the ball back and again marched down the field using a persistent running game. They went 70 yards for a touchdown with 7:30 left in the second quarter, making the score 14-7.
After just a few plays, Ursua was picked off across the middle by Orem’s #3, who ran the interception back 25 yards for a defensive touchdown. With 6:37 remaining in the second quarter Orem led 21-7.
Westlake got the ball back again and showed a great mix of play calls that led them deep into Orem territory, but at the 18 yard-line they fumbled and lost the ball.
Orem took over with the ball, but Westlake stole the back ball when Caden Dortch #32 picked off the Orem QB at the 38 yard-line.
With less than a minute left in the first half, Ursua showed great poise and led his team down the field on a series of 10-12 yard passes to the sidelines. Ursua capped the drive off with a 13 yard run to the end zone for a touchdown, making the score 21-14, for Orem at halftime.
The Thunder were unable to get a drive going with their first possession in the second half, leaving the door wide open for the Tigers to widen their lead. Orem did just that when the capped off a 56 yard drive, again composed almost exclusively of run plays, with a touchdown. The score was now 28-14 with 4:17 left in the third quarter of play.
Westlake started from their own 23 yard-line and showed that they could move the ball, quickly getting 2 first downs. At about midfield is where the drive ended though. On 4th down Ursua was forced from the pocket, but able to avoid the pressure and throw downfield, but the pass was incomplete and Orem took over on downs.
The Tigers quickly gained 20 yards on the ground and finished a drive with a sweep play to the right that went 35 yards that ended in a touchdown. Westlake had a couple of chances to tackle the runner, but could not wrap him up. The score was now 35-14 for Orem. Westlake was ferociously cheered on by its crowd of fans from the other side of Utah Lake. At times showing their great disdain for the referee’s with shouts of what they thought were mistaken or missed penalties. This was no more apparent than when what looked like a great defensive stop on 4th down was called a first down for Orem, which ultimately allowed their fifth score and their biggest lead of the game.
The Thunder took over at their own 35 yard-line after a great return on the kick. Ursua completed a quick pass across midfield to Brandon Aldstadt #22. That play set up 43 yard pass completion to Eric Gustafson to the 1 yard-line. Taeoalii ran it in for the 1 yard score, making the score 35-21, with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter.
Westlake attempted what would be the first of 3 onside kicks, but failed to regain the ball and Orem had the ball at midfield. Again showing their commitment to the run game, the Tigers drove down the field. Their drive ended on an 8 yard run to the end zone to make the score 21-42 and 4:19 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder did not give up being down by 3 touchdowns though. In fact they showed great resilience. Starting from their own 5 yard line Ursua and the coaching staff engineered another great drive. After s couple of short gains, Ursua used his legs to get his team and the crowd back into the game when he ran 80 yards up the right sideline for an amazing display of speed and tenacity. The score was now 42-28 for Orem, but Westlake and its crowd were riled up.
A second onside kick was attempted, but Westlake again failed to recover as the ball went 15 yards and into the hands of a sure handed receiver who fell on the ball to protect it.
Orem started at their own 49 yard line, but were forced into punting for the first time of the night. It was apparent why Orem chose not to punt earlier in the game on fourth downs, when their punter, kicked what ended up being a 6 yarder, giving Westlake the ball at 39 yard-line.
Ursua completed quick passes of: 26, 26 and 4 yards to Gustafson, Aldstadt, and Ofahengaue. The drive ended in a 5 yard touchdown run by Ursua w/ only 45 seconds left in the game. The score was now 35-42.
The Thunder attempted their third and final onside kick attempt, but it too failed and the Tigers had the ball at midfield and simply kneeled down on every play to run out the clock and Westlake’s hopes of any comeback.
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