High school football: Panthers finish playoff push by pounding foe

Looking for a season-defining win and coming off a heartbreaking last-minute loss a week ago, West High's football team entered Thursday's game against Granger with something to prove and a chip on its shoulder.

The Panthers stepped up to the challenge and took out their frustrations on the Lancers, winning 55-20 in the final game of the regular season.

"We're learning how to win games like that with class," said Panthers first-year head coach Justin Spencer. "Granger came out with guns blazing. Hats off to (Granger head coach) Doyle (Holt). They're a young, talented team."

West used the running back tandem of Misitana Afeaki and Anetipa Vaisagano to put most of its points on the board, as the Panthers' duo rushed for three and two touchdowns, respectively.

"Offensively, we played really well, except for the turnovers," Spencer said.

West turned the ball over four times in the contest. Conversely, the Panthers were penalized only three times, compared to 13 in last week's loss."We have a talented football team and I'm really proud of our guys. We didn't commit penalties and we learned to play through it," Spencer said. "Penalties are contagious."

Afeaki's TDs came on runs of 41, 4 and 21 yards, while Vaisagano's night featured a 75-yard touchdown journey in the closing seconds of the first quarter.

Samson Faifili scored two touchdowns for the Lancers.

After fumbling away the game's opening possession, it looked as if the Panthers might be in trouble. Granger marched down the field and scored first on a 10-yard run by Faifili to cap a 37-yard drive with 9:25 to play in the first period.

West answered when Afeaki took off on a 41-yard TD run to tie with 6:45 to play in the first, and Vaisagano gave the Panthers the lead with his 75-yard scoring run that came with eight seconds to play in the quarter.

Trailing 21-7 midway through the second, the Lancers didn't give up. Taking over at its own 28, Granger needed six plays to make the game competitive as Faifili scored on a 28-yard run to pull the score to 21-14... After that, it was all West.

The Panthers took a 34-14 lead into the half. Afeaki scored on runs of four and 21 yards in the third to put West up 48-14, and Eric Takenaka scored on a 19-yard scamper with 1:54 to play in the third to make it 55-14 and to put the mercy rule into effect.

Lancers backup quarterback Nico Meza made it respectable when he scored on a one-yard run midway through the fourth, but his pass fell incomplete on the two-point try to account for the final score.

Spencer said he's not looking at the playoffs as business as usual.

"This is a new season for us and we need to go into it with a different attitude," Spencer said of the upcoming playoffs.

He's optimistic the Panthers, who improved to 5-5, will win consecutive games for the first time this season.

"I've been telling the kids all year that at some point they're going to have to win a big game against a good team," he said. "This is our chance."