A week after scoring just three points in a very disappointing loss to Brighton the week prior, East let all that frustration out on Skyline on Thursday night.
The Leopards racked up 512 yards of total offense and then overcame a 100-minute lightning delay in a dominating 63-24 win over Skyline in which it led 49-3 midway through the third quarter.
East scored on offense, defense and special teams on a night when seven different players marched into the end zone.
Amini Amone and Michael Fonua were the two-headed monster that Skyline never had an answer for. Amone finished with 23 carries for 168 yards and two touchdowns while Michael Fonua added 10 carries for 146 yards and two scores.
It’s hard to image how an East team that scored 63 points on Thursday only scored three the week before, but penalties absolutely killed East against Brighton. Discipline was a point of emphasis all week leading up to the Skyline game and it paid off as the Leopards had just five penalties the entire night, its fewest in seven years.
“We really, really focused on those little tiny details and really expanding and defining what discipline is to these kids and how it all adds up together … and I think they got the message tonight. I think we had a really good, professional well-tenured crew tonight,” said East coach Brandon Matich, who said he let the players address the team after practice each day this week leading up to the game.
The win helped East improve to 3-1 in Region 6 play and with help a share of the region crown is certainly still a possibility.
Amone helped set the tone right away with a pair of rushing touchdowns on East’s first two drives to grab an early 14-0 lead. A fumble halted East’s third drive, but it followed by scoring on its fourth and fifth drives for the 28-3 lead with 1:36 remaining in the first half.
“Tonight we were able to move the ball, we ran the ball differently tonight that we did the last few games in terms of the way we called plays,” said Matich.
Play was halted after that score for over an hour and a half because of a massive lightning storm that moved through the area.
East didn’t let up after the delay, though.
In those final 90 seconds of the first half, defensive lineman Sam Tuakoi intercepted a pass that slipped out of the hands of Skyline’s QB, with East QB Tucker McCormick scoring on a three-yard TD one play later. Then, with 25 seconds left in the half Zion Andreasonen blocked a punt with John Amone returning it 21 yards for the touchdown and the 42-3 halftime lead.
East pushed the lead to 49-3 midway through the third quarter as Chase Barker returned an interception 56 yards for the touchdown.
With the outcome long since decided, Skyline’s offense scored three touchdowns the rest of the way on a couple of big plays. It ended up finishing with over 350 yards of total offense after being held to just 107 in the first half.