Manti scores 38, but San Juan pulls away in second quarter

ByRobert Stevens

BLANDING—Manti scored first and led after one quarter, but San Juan took control before halftime and beat the Templars 61-38 on Friday, Sept. 25.

The Templars opened a 17-14 lead in the nonregion game before the Broncos scored 20 points in the second quarter. San Juan led 34-24 at halftime and added 27 points after the break. Manti scored in every quarter but could not recover the lead.

Ben Taulapapa found Hudson Crane for a 51-yard touchdown to start the scoring, according to the Deseret News scoring summary. San Juan answered on a 5-yard run by Beau Yeomans. Kingston Wright then threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Crane, putting Manti ahead 14-7.

San Juan tied the game on a 66-yard pass from Yeomans to Randall Black. Tyler Steinfeldt kicked a 43-yard field goal late in the quarter to give the Templars their final lead, 17-14.

Brigg Palmer changed the score with three second-quarter touchdown runs for the Broncos. His 6-yard run put San Juan ahead 21-17. He scored again from 30 and 4 yards before Taulapapa ran 5 yards for Manti’s only touchdown of the quarter. The Broncos carried a 10-point lead into halftime.

Palmer added a fourth rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Black caught his second touchdown pass before Wright connected with Crane from 20 yards for Manti. Tevon Vakautakakala ran in the two-point conversion, and the Templars entered the fourth quarter behind 47-32.

San Juan scored twice more before Manti’s final touchdown. Crane caught a 74-yard pass from Wright with 8:40 left, and the Templars missed the two-point try. Both MaxPreps and Deseret News credit Crane with four touchdown catches, although their receiving-yard totals disagree.

The touchdown count, rather than either yardage figure, tells the clearest story of Manti’s passing attack.

Wright completed 21 of 36 passes for 338 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, according to matching game statistics on both sites.

The same sources list Yeomans at 21 of 33 for 370 yards and four touchdowns. Manti’s 38 points could not match an opponent that scored in each quarter.

The loss dropped Manti to 1-6 and lifted San Juan to 6-1. Manti returns home Thursday, Oct. 1, to face North Sanpete in a 3A South game. The Hawks come in at 5-2 after beating Carbon 42-14 Friday.