By Rich Winter
Special to The Tribune
First published Sep 09 2011 10:56PM
Updated Sep 9, 2011 10:56PM
Riverton • After falling behind by two scores early here, Alta turned to the strong right arm of Tyson Blackner, who threw for three scores and ran for another as the Hawks improved to 3-1 with a 35-21 win over Riverton.
Things couldn’t have started worse for the Hawks, who fumbled the opening kick and went three-and-out on their first offensive possession and promptly found themselves trailing 14-0.
“Nobody panicked and coach just told us to step it up and that we couldn’t turn the ball over,” said Blackner.
The senior quarterback got one score back on a 14-yard strike to Ammon Barker, then used his legs to score from seven yards out and tie the game at 14-all.
Not to be outdone, Silverwolves running back Joey Jenson capped a 123-yard, first half effort with a 76 yard run that put Riverton back on top.
The Hawks’ offense responded with two quick scores as Blackner capped his first half with another strike to Barker and a third first-half touchdown to tight end Steven Richards, giving Alta a 28-21 halftime lead.
“I’m a little tired of starting slowly and we did the same thing against Timpview,” said Alta coach Rob Stephens. “Our kids came back fighting but you can’t put the defense in bad position with early turnovers.”
The fireworks slowed down considerably in a scoreless third quarter. The two teams combined for four punts and exchanged turnovers.
Hawk running back Bryan Engstrom who finished the night with 166 yards rushing and 78 yards receiving, finally putting Riverton away with a TD run late in the final quarter.
“I thought we did a good job of mixing in the run and the pass tonight,” said Stephens. “Our defense made some adjustments in that second half and they paid off.”
Blackner completed 12-of-17 passes for 165 yards and three scores in the first half alone.
Riverton running back Joey Jenson picked up 123 yards and scored two touchdowns in the first half. The Hawks defense did a much better job in the second half, limiting Jenson to 30 yards on four carries.
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