We started out slow but then we came and we dominated after that. We've been really working since January, and all that really paid off. – East running back Jaylen Warren
SYRACUSE — When you can run like these Leopards, there's no reason to throw.
East High senior running back Jaylen Warren churned his way for 187 yards and two touchdowns, including a momentum-changing 61-yard TD burst in the final minute of the first half, and the ground-gobbling Leopards cruised to a 28-10 road victory over Syracuse in their season-opener Friday night.
Sione Molisi added 97 yards and a touchdown of his own and senior quarterback Harrison Van Dyke contributed another 97 yards on just seven carries as East piled up an impressive 346 yards rushing.
"We started out slow but then we came and we dominated after that," Warren said after East rallied from early deficits of 7-0 and 10-8. "We've been really working since January, and all that really paid off. Everybody was getting committed and we started off with morning workouts and it all started adding up."
Derrell Atkinson gave Syracuse an early 7-0 lead on a 2-yard plunge in the last minute of the first quarter.
But Molisi took a pitchout from Van Dyke and sprinted 35 yards for a touchdown midway through the second quarter. On the PAT, a pair of penalties pushed East to the 1-yard line, and Warren punched in the two-point conversion from there for an 8-7 lead.
Syracuse's Jayden Grose hit a 38-yard field goal to make it 10-8 with 2:35 left in the half, but on East's ensuing possession, Warren broke free and scooted 61 yards to paydirt with just 47.4 seconds remaining until halftime.
The Leopards never trailed again.
"I just get excited," Warren, who had 22 carries for a whopping 8.5-yard average, said of his 61-yard TD romp. "My blood starts rushing and my adrenaline gets going, and all I've got to do is read my blocks. When my linemen started doing good and that started developing and they were getting their blocks, I was just reading it and took it from there."
"Jaylen's a heck of a running back," East coach Brandon Matich said. "The quarterback wanted to go to a two-minute offense and go no-huddle, but I said we need to get better at what we do, get better at running the football because we're not there yet, and he broke one. We got fortunate."
Warren bolted through the middle of the Titans' defense and went 25 yards for a third-quarter touchdown that made it 21-10, and Halani Utuone Jr. put it out of reach — especially with the way East's defense shut down the Syracuse offense in the second half — with a 25-yard scoring scamper of his own in the fourth quarter.
"We started out slow but then we came and we dominated after that," Warren said. "We've been really working since January, and all that really paid off. Everybody was getting committed and we started off with morning workouts and it all started adding up."
"It's a great way to start the season," said Matich. "Obviously the first game, you always have your ups and downs, your peaks and valleys, and you struggle with some things like turnovers, penalties and missed blocks. But doing those things and winning is a lot better than doing those things and losing, so we're happy.
"We made some first-game mistakes and we're a very young team, a young and talented team, so I was proud of the fact that they were mentally tough enough to persevere against a good program and a very well-coached team like Syracuse."
EMAIL: rhollis@desnews.com