Grantsville’s Gauge Pyne (64) tries to pull down Carbon’s Collin Lewis
during a Sept. 28 game at Grantsville High School. Grantsville defeated Judge Memorial 44-21 on Friday to improve to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in Class 3A North play. (Courtesy of Corey Mondragon)
Grantsville’s Ammon Bartley (7) makes a leaping catch during a Sept. 21 game against Union at Grantsville High School. Grantsville defeated Judge Memorial 44-21 in a Class 3A North game Friday night in Salt Lake City. (Courtesy of Corey Mondragon)
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Loading...The 2018 season keeps getting better for the Grantsville football team.
The Cowboys now know their first playoff game will take place on their home field, clinching no worse than a third-place finish with their 44-21 victory over Judge Memorial on Friday in Salt Lake City. Grantsville (7-1, 3-1 Class 3A North) now needs a win over Emery or a Union loss to Morgan this week to clinch second place and a first-round bye.
Friday’s result wasn’t unexpected, as Grantsville came in as one of the top teams in Class 3A and Judge Memorial (0-8, 0-4) has struggled all season. Junior running back Parker Thomas rushed for three touchdowns and Daltyn Peasnall caught a 33-yard touchdown pass to help the Cowboys build a 28-0 lead after one quarter, and Dayne Linton booted a 23-yard field goal to give Grantsville a 31-0 halftime advantage.
Judge Memorial didn’t score until more than three minutes into the second half, and the Cowboys responded with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Logan White to Kayden Bohman to go ahead 38-7. The Bulldogs scored two more touchdowns before Grantsville’s James Fuluvaka scored on a 2-yard run with 4:11 left in the contest.
The lopsided score led to a quiet night statistically for many of Grantsville’s top players, though it also gave them some much-needed rest. Thomas had 77 yards and three TDs on 10 carries, Trent Brown had 73 yards on 10 carries and Fuluvaka had 68 yards and a score on 12 carries as the Cowboys racked up 278 rushing yards as a team. Quarterback Jackson Sandberg was 3-for-5 for 84 yards and a TD. White came on in relief and went 6-for-12 for 93 yards and a score. Noah Mouritsen led Grantsville with three catches for 56 yards and Peasnall had two catches for 50 yards and a TD.
Defensively, the Cowboys held the Bulldogs to 32 rushing yards and 278 total yards. Fuluvaka led Grantsville with six tackles and Chace Gipson and Gauge Pyne each had a tackle-for-loss. Bohman added a sack and Floyd and Pyne each had a quarterback hurry. Isaac Riding had a fumble recovery.
The Cowboys will hit the road Friday night to take on Emery in Castle Dale. A victory will give Grantsville a second-place finish in Class 3A North and an automatic berth in the Class 3A quarterfinals. A loss, paired with a Union win over Morgan, would put the Cowboys in third place and have them hosting a first-round playoff game next week.
