By Tim Peterson
Special to The Tribune
Published Oct 1, 2010 11:14PM
Updated Oct 2, 2010 12:43AM
Tooele • Despite the long bus ride from southern Utah, the No. 1-ranked Hurricane Tigers showed why they are considered a heavy favorite to win the Class 3A title, as they dismantled 4A’s Tooele Buffaloes 48-14.
The Tigers have been outscoring their opponents by an average of 20 points a game, and Tooele’s fate was no different Friday night.
Thanks to a Hurricane interception deep in Buffaloes territory and three second-quarter touchdowns, the Tigers pulled away from the hometown team, but it wasn’t easy early on for the 3A powerhouse.
“They brought it to us, and it was their homecoming, they played with pride. But we just kind wore them down,” said Hurricane coach Chris Homer.
With Hurricane trailing 7-0 in the second quarter, Tigers running Jarom Healey become a huge factor in the game — beating the Tooele defense on the ground and through the air.
On a pivotal Tigers drive during the second quarter, Healey took a handoff from quarterback Adam Long and rambled right through the heart of the Buffaloes defense for a 22-yard score to tie the game at 7.
The touchdown seemed to hand all the momentum to Hurricane.
“It brought a lot of motivation [and] intensity to our side. I think that kind of woke everyone up,” Healey said.
Later in the quarter, the senior kept a Tigers drive alive with an outstanding one-handed catch and run.
The effort put Hurricane inside the Buffaloes’ 35-yard line, and three plays later, Healey would punch it into the end zone from 5 yards out.
With only 45 seconds to play in the first half, Tooele quarterback Nick Hyde didn’t see Hurricane defensive back Josh Phillips, who picked off Hyde’s pass and returned it to the Tooele 18-yard line.
That mistake set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Trann Smith, who ended up having three trips into the end zone.
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