vs
| 10/31/25 - Home | 55-17 W |
| 10/03/25 - Away | 35-14 W |
| 10/11/24 - Home | 47-10 W |
| 10/06/23 - Away | 49-3 W |
| 10/07/22 - Home | 19-20 L |
| + 5 more games |
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Manti had no problem doing just that on Friday. They claimed a resounding 55-17 victory over the North Sanpete Hawks. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 34-10.
Manti's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Tala Taulapapa led the charge by rushing for 98 yards and two TDs on only five carries, while also throwing for 80 yards and one touchdown. Taulapapa's longest rush was for an impressive 50 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Carter Mason was another key signal caller, throwing for 260 yards and three TDs while completing 78.6% of his passes.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Manti proved: they limited North Sanpete to a paltry 2.7 yards per carry. While three picked up at least ten total tackles, Taulapapa stood above the rest. He rushed for 98 yards and a pair of scores on only five carries, and also threw for 80 yards and one touchdown. Manti didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 15.8.
Manti didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Ty Pringle and Griffin Cox. Another thorn in North Sanpete's side was Mac Olsen, who picked up a sack, forced one fumble, and made ten total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Despite the loss, North Sanpete still got an impressive performance from Ayden Akee, who rushed for 85 yards and one score.
Manti pushed their record up to 8-3 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 43.7 points over those games. As for North Sanpete, their loss ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 7-5.
Coming up, Manti will face off against Morgan at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The Templars will need to watch out since the Trojans have now posted at least 31 points in their last three matchups. North Sanpete does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
