Preview: Bountiful RedHawks vs. Granger Lancers
The Bountiful RedHawks will head out on the road to face off against the Granger Lancers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams might be coming in a bit winded given how much these teams ran in their prior games.
Bountiful fell on hard times earlier this season, but after back-to-back victories it seems like their luck might finally be changing. They blew past Cedar Valley 51-7 at home. With Bountiful ahead 34-7 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
Bountiful's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Emerson Geilman, who threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes, and Siaki Fekitoa, who rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries. Fekitoa was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 56 yards. Brandon Wilkinson also helped out with an impressive 100 receiving yards.
Meanwhile, Granger had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 35.5 points), and they went ahead and made it five on October 11th. They didn't even let Hunter onto the board and left with a 56-0 victory. The result was nothing new for Granger, who have now won six matches by 27 points or more so far this season.
It was another big night for Carson Sue'sue, who threw for 366 yards and four touchdowns while completing 77.3% of his passes, and also punched in two touchdowns on the ground. Sue'sue hasn't dropped below three passing touchdowns for four straight games. Landon Figueroa also helped out as he racked up 134 receiving yards.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Hunter to a paltry 91 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Granger's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out 14.5 times before it was all said and done. It was a group effort, with four picking up two apiece.
Their wins bumped Bountiful to 7-4 and Granger to 7-3.
We should be in store for an exciting game Friday as both teams have no problem gaining yardage. Bountiful has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 352.5 total yards per game. However, it's not like Granger struggles in that department as they've been even better at 490.4 per game. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Bountiful came up short against Granger in their previous matchup back in August of 2018, falling 28-21. Can Bountiful avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
