MORGAN -- With just over a minute left in the first half of Friday's game between Morgan and Tooele, a couple of players from each team continued to push and shove well after the whistle had blown. To let the players know that the play had ended, referee Phil Leonard yelled out, "It's over!"
He couldn't have been more right. At that point, the Trojans led 41-6 with a whole half left to go. For all intents and purposes, it was over.
Thanks to a continuous clock in the second half, Tooele's misery ended quickly as Morgan finished with a 48-6 blowout win to stay alive in the playoff hunt.
Momentum was on Morgan's side from the opening kickoff, which was run back 88 yards by Lantzen Toomer for a touchdown. Later, Kade Carrigan scored from six yards out and he was followed by Joe Kippen, who finished off the first quarter scoring with a 19-yard run and dive for the pylon to put Morgan up 21-0.
Bridger Anderson added a 24-yard touchdown run during which no Buffaloes seemed interested in tackling him. Then following a Tooele touchdown -- a 70-yard pass play -- KT Tibbits returned that kickoff for another touchdown, this time from 95 yards out.
"KT made a heck of a fake and everybody went after Toomer," Morgan coach Kovi Christiansen said. "After Toomer had run the first one back, KT got his shot. Our special teams are a huge part of our game. If you can get momentum going your way on the very first play of the game, you're better off for the rest of the game."
Morgan's Garrett Largent, in what may be his only rushing attempt of the season due to concussions he suffered last year, concluded the first half with a bulldozing run from two yards away. At halftime, the Trojans had 233 yards rushing, compared to just seven for Tooele.
"Sometimes people don't really like our offense because we don't throw the ball all the time," Christiansen said. "But it suits our kids and their mentality."
A tedious second half was interrupted only by a 58--yard touchdown run straight up the middle by Talite "Junior" Fanua, who normally plays on the line. It was a bizarre sight to see No. 54 breaking away for a touchdown.
After 96 points in their last two games, the Trojans feel confident heading into their season finale against Ogden - a game that could go a long way to determine second or third place in Region 11.
* GRANTSVILLE 19, BEAR RIVER 2: At Grantsville, the Bears managed just a safety in a battle with the league leaders.
The Cowboys held the Bears to 118 total yards in offense and scored a key TD on Skyler Cloward's blocked punt return 39 yards for a score.
1-A North
* LAYTON CHRISTIAN 41, ALTAMONT 24: At Altamont,the Eagles' Brandon Faison made up for a miscue in exhilarating fashion.
Just seconds after fumbling away at TD to give Altamont the 18-6 lead, Faison scored on a 45-yard scoring run to close out the first half.
Early in the second half, Faison scooped up a fumble and ran 100 for the go-ahead score. Duce Namazi added a TD run -- his second of the game, while Kyle Yockey and Quincy Mason hooked up on another score.
Namazi rushed for 128 yards as LCA (2-1 in league, 3-5 overall) rolled up 363 yards in total offense. Defensively, Colin Greenhill had 17 tackles, Nick Edwards added eight tackles while Eliyah Mayberry chipped in with 10 tackles.
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