East-48 West-9

The West vs. East rivalry is one of the oldest rivalry games in Utah, and in the nation. It was a perfect and beautiful night in Salt Lake City as the two teams faced each other for the 112th time.

The East High Leopards visibly dominated the West High School Panthers in Friday night’s rivalry game. East struck first with a touchdown on a 16-yard pass with 5:40 left to play in the first quarter. The second quarter got started with the Panthers putting their first points on the board with a safety, after an Alex Espinoza punt that pinned the Leopards down on their own 1-yard line. Before the end of the first half the Leopards scored once again, with a touchdown to go up 28-2 heading into the locker room for halftime.

Both teams came rushing out onto the field after halftime, as East quickly continued their dominating performance by scoring another touchdown just 5 minutes into the third quarter. The Leopards defense was rock-solid throughout the game, sacking Espinoza a total of 11 times.  West did score in the 4^th quarter after a crafty 51-yard run from Espinoza that setup the Panthers only touchdown of the game. The final score was East-48 West-9, meaning the East High Leopards were crowned the Great American Rivalry Series Champions. Running Back Ula Tolutau was named the game’s MVP.