Alema Te’o’s career got another week-long extension Friday night, and the Alta High football coach likely added another story to his retirement speech.
Te’o and the Hawks were thrilled to survive against heavily favored West in the state playoffs. The game felt a lot like the NCAA’s March Madness, as the 11th-seeded Hawks outlasted No. 6 West 36-34 in four overtimes.
Even West coach Olosaa Solovi appreciated both teams’ efforts from the opposite sideline.
“We certainly had our chances to win it,” he said, “but my hats off to them. That was one great game. We just didn’t make enough plays at the end.”
Alta sophomore Slade Taylor finally made the decisive play when caught the game-winning pass from Matt McKea, and that allowed the Hawks to celebrate with their coach one more time.
Next week, the Hawks will move on to play at Roy, with the winner getting a chance to move on to the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium.
“That’s why I always tell the kids … always play the game like there’s no tomorrow,” said Te’o, who revealed earlier this fall this would be his last season.
“The kids never gave up and I’m grateful we can practice again Monday and keep our dream alive.”
The teams relied heavily on the exploits of their quarterbacks – Alta’s Kepa Niumeitolu and West’s Isaiah Sue’sue – and finished tied 20-20 at the end of regulation.
Each squad scored touchdowns in the first two overtimes in which they followed “Kansas Playoff” rules and started their drives from the opponent’s 25-yard line.
Ironically, both teams missed their PATs in the first extra session but were successful on two-point conversions the second time.
West’s second OT score was particularly meaningful because Sue’sue was reportedly injured when he dove into the end zone after a 9-yard run.
He did manage to hand off to running back Kelvan Malepeai for the conversion, but never saw the field again.
Two plays prior, though, he gave West fans another stirring memory they’ll never forget.
Facing 4th-and-2 from the 17-yard line, Sue’sue was looking away when the center’s snap sailed by him.
He quickly ran backward and retrieved the ball near the 40, took several steps forward and toward the West sideline, then saw Tupouniua Unga open between two Alta defenders.
He lofted the ball upward and Unga made the catch to keep the drive alive.
“That gave us a lot of momentum,” Solovi said. “He has been making plays like that for us all year.”
Alta, however, recovered and scored on an 8-yard run by McKea, who occasionally replaced Niumeitolu and had several impressive runs.
McKea was also instrumental on two other important “trick” plays, including the game-winner, in which he lined up as a receiver, took a pitch from Niumeitolu, faked a reverse and saw Taylor open in the end zone.
“I saw (the pass) coming. It felt like it took forever to get to me,” Taylor said. “We’ve worked on it all season, so I knew it would work.”
The win improved Alta’s record to 9-3 overall — its best mark since 2016 — and avenged a 53-27 loss to West in early September.
West finished 6-4 after winning four straight games.