Riverton rallies for win

KEARNS — The Riverton Silverwolves overcame a 14-point deficit and fought back to top Kearns 41-38 in Region 3 football Thursday.

"My hat's off to them," said Riverton head coach Mike Miller, referring to the Cougars. "They're a great team. It was a good character-building win for us because we had to come back."

The Silverwolves fell behind early after turning the ball over on a muffed punt. Karl Finai took off on a 28-yard touchdown run to give Kearns a 7-0 edge.

On Kearns' next possession, Finai found the end zone from 53 yards out for his second score of the night and a 14-0 lead.

Riverton got on the board in the second quarter when Joe Schrader found Jordan Marshal for a 6-yard touchdown pass to cap a 13-play, 60-yard drive and cut the lead to 14-7.

A Finai 57-yard kickoff return set up a Matt Crocker 23-yard field goal to give Kearns a 17-7 lead.

With just less than four minutes in the first half, Riverton forced a Kearns punt and the Silverwolves took over with excellent field position at the Kearns 24.

Schrader scored on a 1-yard run to pull it to within 17-14 going into the locker room.

Riverton took its first possession of the second half 75 yards in nine plays to take is first lead of the night as Jordan Marshall's 3-yard score made it 20-17. On the next Riverton drive, Schrader found Tyler Young on a 45-yard touchdown strike that gave the Silverwolves a 27-17 lead.

Just before the end of the third quarter, Kearns struck back as the defense forced a fumble and Austin Vega recovered and returned it 23 yards for a score to cut the lead to 27-24.

In the fourth quarter, Riverton brought its lead to 10 once again as Jerris Koplin found the end zone on a 13-yard run with 10:39 to play for a 34-24 lead.

Kearns didn't give up and fought back as R. J. Tialavea scored on an 8-yard run with 7:40 to play to cap a five-play, 54-yard drive. The Silverwolves took the ensuing possession at their own 30 and marched 70 yards in 10 plays as Schrader scored on another keeper, this one from 2 yards out for a 41-34 lead with 4:05 to play.