High school football: West wins Region 4 with trouncing of Granger

At this point in the high school football, the West Panthers are exactly where coach Olosaa Solovi wants them to be.

The Panthers captured the Region 4 championship Friday, burying Granger 42-0 in a battle between the league’s top teams. Louie Hamilton rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Kamden Lopati ran for two scores and passed for another as West improved to 6-0 in region and 8-1 overall.

With the 5A state playoffs looming, the Panthers are the top-seeded 5A school in the Deseret News poll and No. 3 in the Maxpreps.com/UHSAA rankings.

Solovi said as long as West can stay healthy, that’s a good place to be.

“We got through our season and handled everything anyone’s thrown at us,” said Solovi. “We set our goals in the preseason and we’ve taken care of our business.”

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In the 5A ranks, the state title appears up for grabs. However, West has made it clear that it’s the top team from Region 4. The Panthers have outscored their opponents by an average of 63-5, and every game was shortened by the UHSAA’s 35-point “mercy rule.”

West’s defense has also had four shutouts.

This may indeed be a return to West football’s “golden era.” The Panthers have tied or clinched first place in region in each of the last six seasons. The only thing missing is a state title. West last won a state championship in 1992.

“They are as good as anyone we’ve faced,” said Granger coach Pete Smolin, whose team lost to top-ranked Orem in the opener but then won six straight before Friday.

“We’ve got a good line and we’ve really emphasized that but West can match it, and then they have those great skill guys.”

The Lancers put up a fight early. They got inside West’s 20 yard line on their first drive, but gave up the ball on a fourth-down play. They also misfired on two other chances deep in Panthers’ territory.

Granger finished with over 120 yards in penalties — several unforced — which hurt its chances.

“Once things started going their way, we didn’t respond well,” said Smolin. “Give credit to West. Their big playmakers changed the game.”

Hamilton finished with 187 yards on 19 carries. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound senior had over 100 yards by the end of the first quarter.

His 1-yard run gave the Panthers the lead and Lopati added a short scoring run and a 36-yard touchdown pass to Monson Vaenuku to build a 21-0 halftime advantage.

Lopati and Hamilton added second-half touchdowns to make the score 35-0 and start the running clock. An impressive 14-yard run by Kellen Wood put the finishing touch on the outcome and allowed Solovi and the Panthers to begin focusing on their regular-season finale next week at Cyprus.

Granger fell to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in region. The Lancers had averaged 45.8 points per game in region play but were stymied, except for perhaps Sunia Fifita’s 82 rushing yards on 15 carries.