Orem shakes off first-half rust to claim 21-20 Week 1 win over East

SALT LAKE CITY — Orem head coach Lance Reynolds said there was a lot of "knocking off the rust" and "getting things rolling again" Friday as the Tigers opened up the 2023 season with a 21-20 exhibition win over the East Leopards.

"We started a lot slower than I expected," Reynolds said. "Our kids were super tired of hitting our own guys, so it was fun to get out here and play. This is a beautiful evening for high school football at its best. It came down to the wire again against a great team. East always has a good team."

After a game of two halves that saw East go up 14-0 at the half and Orem score 21 unanswered points in the second half, the game came down to an extra point with 3:53 to go in the fourth quarter.

East's quarterback Tucker McCormick found Damian Otukolo on an 80-yard house call late in the fourth quarter, but the team lost the snap for a point-after attempt that would have tied the game up 21-21. The Orem defense quickly attacked and stifled any hope of getting the kickoff.

It was a game-winning defensive play in a game full of sacks, interceptions and errors — both forced and unforced — all over the field.

Reynolds' main message to his team — ranked No. 9 in the preseason KSL.com Top 20+1 rankings — was to clean up those unforced errors and live up to the potential he sees for one of the favorites in 5A this season.

"I think next week we can come out and start a lot quicker," Reynolds said, while finding time to praise his two-quarterback system of Branko Hansell-Fotu and Lance Reynolds Jr., who both scored on the night.

Orem takes on American Fork next in a Utah County showdown, while East welcomes another challenge in No. 1 Skyridge.

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