It may have been considered rough on the edges by most critics, but potential-packed Orem proved that it's uphill from here.
Although bogged down by mistakes, the Tigers (2-0) managed to hand Tucson Amphitheater its third loss in three years, 28-12, in a non-region contest at home Friday night.The Panthers (0-1) defeated Orem last year in Arizona, 22-19, but found a victory harder to come by this time around.
Opportunity knocked in the second half as the Tigers opened up the largest lead of the game, 28-3, by capitalizing on an Amphi fumble. In just three plays, quarterback Marc McCann found Spencer White in the corner of the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass. However, Orem head coach Paul Clark was disappointed that his Tigers didn't take advantage of more Panther miscues.
"We were sloppy all night on both sides of the ball," said Clark. "We've got to play better in the games coming up. We have got some things to work out."
Amphitheater coughed up another fumble in the fourth quarter that Orem didn't capitalize on that resulted in the Panthers taking over the momentum. With two minutes left in the game, Amphi quarterback Joe Romano connected with John Felix to close the deficit 28-10. The Panthers then tacked on a safety with less than a minute remaining.
Passing proved to be the ticket for the Tigers as McCann amassed 197 yards, 132 of them coming in the first half.
With 21 seconds remaining in the second quarter, McCann threw a three-yard bullet to running back Tyler Kukahiko to cap a seven-play scoring drive. Josh Carey tacked on the extra point to put the Tigers on top, 14-3. Kukahiko would score again in the third quarter on a 70-yard breakaway through the Amphi defense.
Orem struggled on the ground, posting only 27 first-half rushing yards.
"Amphitheater was just rusty," said Clark. "They are a good program with premier coaches. Our offense looked good, but we have to run more. In our league, you can't win with passing only."