Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- West Panthers defeated Granger Lancers 42-0, improving their season to 8-1.
- Louie Hamilton and Kamden Lopati led West's dominant performance despite numerous penalties.
- West coach Solovi praised the team's physicality; Granger aims to recover against West Jordan.
WEST VALLEY CITY — The smell of kettle corn might have been the only thing that was sweet at Granger High on Friday night.
West dominated Granger on their way to a 42-0 shutout win a game that was anything but pretty. A laundry load of flags rained down from start to finish, taking away highlight reel plays and prolonging the inevitable.
Behind a dominant ground game from senior running back Louie Hamilton and steady quarterback play from Kamden Lopati, West improved to 8-1 on the season, handing Granger (6-3) a humbling loss on its home field.
The game was marred by penalties on both sides — especially for the Lancers, who saw multiple drives stall and one player ejected late in the fourth quarter after an unsportsmanlike conduct call. But despite the disjointed rhythm, the Panthers' physicality and playmaking shined through.
"We feel like we were really sloppy throughout the game," West head coach Olossa Solovi said. "We know there are things we've got to work on, but we know this was a physical opponent, and they've been doing a really good job throughout the season."
After being forced to punt on its opening drive, West capitalized when Granger turned it over on downs after failing to convert a fourth-and-15 on the Panthers' 15-yard line.
Hamilton punched in a 1-yard touchdown following a Granger defensive hold that extended the West drive. The Panthers appeared to add to their lead moments later with an 81-yard punt return touchdown from Lester Falatea, but an inadvertent whistle wiped it off the board.
In the second quarter, the Panthers found their groove as Hamilton ripped off back-to-back runs of over 20 yards, setting up a short touchdown run by Lopati. On West's next drive, Lopati found Munson Vaenuku for a 36-yard strike to make it 21-0.
Granger's La'auli Figiel provided a spark for the team and intercepted a pass from Lopati. Figiel then led a Wildcat experiment for the Lancers that showed promise until his own pass was intercepted by Darious Watson in the end zone — ending the Lancers' best drive of the night.
The second half was more of the same as Lopati dashed for his second rushing touchdown, Hamilton broke tackles for another score, and Kellen Wood capped off the night with a 14-yard touchdown run to seal the 42-0 win.
Hamilton, who entered the night with 21 touchdowns, added two more to bring his season total to 23 and credited his offensive line for paving the way.
"Just staying as one, staying as one unit, just keep on getting better," Hamilton said. "Shout out to the O-line out there; they held their own, and they were the reason we got this dub."
The Panthers will close out the regular season next week against Cyprus (4-5), while the Lancers look to bounce back against West Jordan (6-3).
"We don't take anybody lightly," Solovi said. "We know Cyprus will be coming out very strong at their house. We're gonna enjoy this one tonight, get up early in the morning, and get back to work."
