Hillcrest learned the hard way Friday night that it probably isn't best to schedule the state's No. 1-ranked 5A team for homecoming.
Chances are not too many alumni will be impressed by the 49-19 drubbing the Huskies received at the hands of the top-ranked Orem Tigers.The Tigers dismantled the Huskies from the beginning, establishing a dominating ground game and a deadly aerial assualt on their first two possessions.
"We did a pretty good job in all facets of the game," Tiger coach Paul Clark said. "We dominated the first half and played a lot of kids in the second half."
The game was basically over with seven minutes left in the second quarter when Rick Swenson ran 59 yards for the first of his three touchdowns to make it 28-0 in the Tigers' favor.
"He is a great runner," Clark said. "He has 4.4 speed and weighs 195 pounds."
The Tigers had too many weapons for Hillcrest coach Lee Leslie's liking.
"They were bigger than us, they were stronger than us and they were faster than us," he said. "They are one of the top five teams I have seen in the last ten years. My team is young. We expected to take our lumps."
It didn't take the Tiger's offense long - its first possesion of the game, in fact - to deliver its first lump in the form of a 44-yard scoring strike from quarterback Joel Clark to Mitch Josephson.
Hillcrest managed a first down on its first offensive series behind some ad-libbed running from quarterback Shawn Kojima when his protection broke down, but an interception by Chad Barney put the ball back in Orem's lethal claws.
Two plays and a 47-yard off-tackle run from Jared Tucker later, and the visitor's momentum was like a tidal wave.