From Deseret News archives:
Samani helps Granger run past Murray
The Lancers' workhorse rumbled for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 21 carries to lead Granger (2-5 overall, 1-3 Region 6) to its first conference win, a 26-7 toppling of the still-winless Spartans (0-7, 0-4) Friday night.
Despite the lopsided score, the outcome was in doubt for much of the contest. In fact, Murray took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Nate Davis linked up with Travis Goettsche for a two-yard touchdown pass. The Spartans enjoyed the one-score cushion heading into intermission.
But while the home crowd got an eyeful of halftime homecoming pageantry, Granger coach Jonny Matich was pumping up his team — without saying anything. Matich said he left his players alone to think about their response to the halftime deficit, and they made a collective pact to come out with more enthusiasm for the final two quarters.
"It was a positive attitude," Samani said. "We went into the locker room, talked positive, and that's how we came out."
Matich concurred.
"They came out fired up," he said, adding that as a result, the Lancers' linemen sustained their blocks better. The results were visible immediately, as Samani, who rushed for 61 yards in the opening half, ripped off runs of 11 and 27 yards to set up his first touchdown, a one-yard plunge, with 5:24 left in the third period.
After Granger grabbed a 12-7 advantage on Brentt Phillips' 14-yard touchdown pass to Jose Corona, Samani went back to work. On the Lancers' second drive of the fourth period, Samani carried the ball four times for 80 yards, capped by a 61-yard blast up the middle that ended in the end zone.
"All thanks to the (offensive) line," he said. "I just saw daylight. I just saw a good cutback (lane), so I accelerated."
Granger put the game out of reach when Leka Sime picked off Davis and darted 22 yards for a touchdown. The interception was the final blow to the Spartans' sputtering offense. Murray posted a ho-hum 109 offensive yards in the opening half, but that total could have been higher if the team's receivers hadn't dropped a handful of passes, including one in the end zone. Murray's rushing attack was bereft of a feature back — seven players recorded a rushing attempt, with Brandt Anderson (67 yards on eight carries) posting the highest yardage.
Dropped passes continued to plague the Spartans in the second half, as did penalties. Murray nearly converted on fourth-and-12 with a little more than two minutes to play in regulation, but the pass was bobbled and dropped. The Spartans also had a third-down conversion negated on a penalty in the fourth quarter. The stalled drive came immediately before the Lancers' scoring drive that set up a 19-7 margin.
