Orem • Friday’s Class 4A football state quarterfinal often took on the appearance of man vs. boys when Desert Hills visited Orem.
And that was for both sides.
Even fans of the host Tigers came away impressed by one 37-yard run by burly Thunder quarterback Noah Sewell in which he hurdled an Orem defender.
But nothing beats those 90-yard plays, the specialty of Orem junior Puka Nacua on this night.
Three touchdowns by Nacua lifted the Tigers to a 37-17 victory over Desert Hills and a trip to Rice-Eccles Stadium next week for the Class 4A state semifinals.
Nacua is the younger brother of current University of Utah wideout Samson Nacua, who played high school football at Timpview.
“He’s been holding that over my head, that I hadn’t made it to Rice-Eccles yet,” Puka Nacua said. “I’m glad I got there now.
“Hopefully we’ll be up there Nov. 17,” the date of the state championship game.
After Desert Hills (6-5) took a 3-0 lead on a 32-yard field goal by Logan Callister, Orem (10-2) grabbed the lead on a 96-yard pass from Cooper Legas to Nacua.
The next 90-plus play for Nacua came on second-half kickoff. Nacua went 95 yards, which eventually led to an 8-yard pass from Legas to Enoch Fiso to give the Tigers a 21-3 lead.
The lead went up to 27-3 three minutes later when Legas completed a 93-yard touchdown strike to Nacua.
PLAYER OF THE GAME <br>Orem junior Puka Nacua moved to within two touchdowns of the state record for scoring receptions in a single season by grabbing three on the night to push his season total to 22. Nacua also set up another short TD by returning a kickoff 95 yards.
Nacua sits two touchdown catches shy of the single-season mark (24), which was set three years ago by Brighton’s Simi Fehoko.
“Puka’s a special player,” Orem coach Jeremy Hill said. “People say he’s the best receiver in the state. I say he’s the best player in the state. I think he’s the best receiver in the west. I believe that with all my heart.
“You just saw it out here. He makes plays that others can’t do.”
Sewell, the younger brother of Desert Hills’ highly recruited offensive tackle Penei Sewell, also was difficult to contain. The sophomore rushed for 127 yards.
But Orem, up only 7-3 at the time, managed to stop Noah Sewell on a fourth-and-1 try at the Tigers’ 7-yard line early in the second quarter.
“He’s a load. He came over there [to the sideline] one play, my boys tackled him, and I helped him up,” Hill said. “I’m like, ‘This is a grown man I’m helping up.’”