ST. GEORGE – As East High lined up for its first possession against Snow Canyon Friday night at Warrior Field, it appeared the Warriors were in for a long, hot night of mathematical calculations just to determine who the Leopards' eligible receivers were.
But Snow Canyon managed the math, holding East to only one first down the first quarter. By the time they allowed the Leopards' new spread-offense another first down, midway through the second quarter, the Warriors had pounced to a 27-0 lead which held up up to the end of what did prove to be a long, hot night.
With both teams touting new offenses, it was a game of opposites. Snow Canyon's new head coach, Jay Graft, had announced the end of the Warrior spread offense, opting for a more traditional offense, while East's new coach, Sean Knox, switched to the spread approach.
As East lined up to start the game, the large Snow Canyon crowd seemed to gasp as the Leopards stretched from one sideline to the other. Even the seasoned coaches had to wonder for a moment who was eligible to catch a pass.
"Did I think we could shut them out without knowing what their offense was?" said Graft. "No. But our kids were fundamentally sound, and I couldn't be happier for them."
It didn't take long for Snow Canyon to get on the board. Just about before you could say, "East is not playing West for the first time in almost 100 years," the Warriors had held East on its first possession and scored a few plays later on a 12-yard run by Chase Robinson and extra point by Jorge Luis Benavides.
After holding the Leopards again, the Warriors promptly scored on a 6-yard trot by Jake Jorgensen, but the extra point failed. Leading 13-0, the Warriors opened the second quarter with another score by Robinson, then Dillon Appel ran wide left for the two-point conversion and a 21-0 lead.
Appel caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Austin Larsen with 7:30 remaining in the second quarter, and the scoring was over for the night at 27-0. Snow Canyon's Connor Heward intercepted East's Tanner Curtis early in the third quarter to dash the Leopards' hopes for a revival, but Curtis outlasted the heat and combined with receiver Mason Garcia to come close to breaking the shutout as the final horn sounded.
The 27-0 victory was the first win for the Warriors (1-0) at their new stadium.
"Our philosophy is to have four or five plays we believe in," said Graft. "This was a great reward; my drive as a coach is seeing these kids excited."