WEST VALLEY CITY — The first half proved to be an even battle for Cyprus and Granger on Friday night as the two teams opened Region 6 play.
But it was the second half that saw Cyprus' offensive line take over to help the team walk away with an 18-13 victory at Granger.
"Last week in our game we didn't come to compete," said Cyprus head coach Sonny Sudbury, referring to a blowout loss to Hunter. "Granger has good players and this week our kids got after it and we competed."
It took Granger just one minute and 18 seconds to score after Pauliasi Vake rushed 21 yards into the end zone. Cyprus answered back later in the quarter when quarterback Peter Mirabile scored from six yards out on a keeper.
Both teams put together impressive drives in the second quarter, but neither was able to finish. The Pirates' struggles came on a missed field goal and fumble with 31 seconds left in the half. Meanwhile, the Lancers fumbled the snap on a fourth-and-inches attempt and later tossed an interception to keep it a one-point game.
Granger finished the first half with 188 yards of offense, while Cyprus recorded 183.
The second half saw the Pirates o-line of Nick Rickards, Ryan Jenkins, Josh Griffel and Aaron Pouha take control. The four figured out the Granger defense and began opening holes for running back Henna Brown.
Brown rushed for 34 yards on 23 carries in the first half but pounded out 150 yards on 14 carries in the second half with two scores.
"Our boys really picked it up and played hard tonight," Brown said. "It was important for us to pick up our first region win tonight."
Brown's first score came on a 10-yard run on Cyprus' first possession of the second half. He then took the ball 57 yards up the middle and towards the visiting sideline for another score to increase the lead to 18-7.
Granger managed to answer in the fourth after Haiola faked a handoff and then sprinted 50 yards into the end zone to cut the margin to 18-13.
The Lancers had another chance when they recovered a Brown fumble on the 50-yard line with four minutes and 42 seconds left to play in the game. But the Pirates defense held on fourth and eight to preserve the victory.
The Pirates played the second half behind backup quarterback Jake Jenkins after Mirabile left with an injury to his collarbone.