West Valley City » Oh brothers!

That's what Weber must have been thinking Friday as the Hunter senior brother tandem of La'au and Fausia Tanuvasa led the Wolverines to a tense 24-20 victory in the first round of the Class 5-A playoffs.

These were two of the hottest teams in the state coming into the state tournament. The Warriors had won six of their last seven games while Hunter rolled to five straight wins and the Region 2 title. A frigid afternoon didn't do much to cool either down.

The Tanuvasa brothers were too much for Weber.

La'au is Hunter's go-to back and he proved that by finishing with 130 yards and two touchdowns, most of the yardage coming on hard, short yardage runs in an offense that uses a big front line and large blocking backs.

"They were really tough yards," he said, doing his best to credit his teammates for his success. "They are a good football team and it's exciting to win our first playoff game in awhile."

La'au said staying positive when things get difficult is a key to his success. That's why Weber's first score that came when David Daines blocked a punt that was recovered by Spencer Buswell in the end zone for a touchdown didn't cause the home team to panic.

"I try to keep a positive mind the whole game," said La'au. "Once you start falling apart, everything goes wrong. We did a good job coming back from that."

Indeed, La'au tied

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the score on a six-yard run midway through the second quarter. And then it was Fausia's turn. He lined up at quarterback and took a draw play straight up the middle for a 50-yard touchdown that gave Hunter a 14-7 halftime lead.

Hunter coach Dustin Pearce said the Tanuvasas have been important this year.

"They are our go-to guys," he said. "They are good athletes and good leaders."

And the Wolverines needed that senior leadership in this one as the Warriors refused to quit. After stopping Hunter on three downs to open the second half, Weber stunned the home team when Dallin Adams fired a 49-yard pass to Jake Oberg on the Warriors' first play from scrimmage to tie it.

La'au Tanavasa appeared to put the game away by capping a 47-yard drive with a one-yard run for a 24-13 lead. But Adams gave the Warriors a chance by capping a 42-yard drive with a two-yard run with 1:58 to play. Hunter turned the ball over to La'au who ran out the clock.

wharton@sltrib.com

Storylines

La'au Tanuvasa ran for 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns to spark the Hunter offense.

» Fausia Tanuvasa, La'au's brother, lined up in wildcat formation and ran 50 yards for a touchdown to give Hunter a 14-7 lead at halftime.