Over its expansive lifetime, The Granger football team has had both wins and losses. They’ve won both here at home, and at regional championships. As such, let’s see how the 2024 Fighting Lancers are doing.

In 2023, The Lancers were led to a 5-0 Regional Championship by coach Pala Vaitu’u. It was the first regional title for Granger since the year 2000.

Afterwards, Coach Vaitu’u stepped down as the head coach. Dr. Howe found a replacement for Vaitu’u’s position, Pete Smolin. Currently, the Fighting Lancers are in the middle of their season, standing at 48th in the state with a record of 3-5. They are started the region by facing the West Jordan Jaguars. 

Izaiyah Eteaki (11) is the starting strong safety and receiver for the Granger, holding the highest number of interceptions in the Granger’s 5A region. He says after getting a new head coach, it was a little difficult to adapt, but as they kept playing, the team started to grow more and more. He says there have been obstacles and hardships, but they got over them step by step.

Ifo Pili (11) is a three-star defensive end and tight-end who recently transferred all the way from New Mexico. He says that he came here knowing that Granger was a strong and growing football program. He also finds the football team to be very fun. Pili believes that football at Granger is more than just a team, it’s his brotherhood. “Coach Smolin is a great fit for the team, He pushes the team to get better every day,” he said.

As for some of the other team members, Viliami Fifita (10) is a starting defensive end and left tackle on Granger’s junior varsity squad. This is his first year ever playing football, and he says it’s been going great. He also says that the coaches and the players have helped him progress his skill. Fifita has been doing great getting at least one sack every game. 

One of the biggest roles on a football team is the quarterback — the player who controls everything that’s happening on the field, and this year the Lancers have Aidan Welchman (11), who recently moved up from Arizona.

Welchman says that Granger’s Team has been nothing but welcoming to him. He also says that Granger is the strongest team he has ever played with, especially the offensive linemen. Welchman also praised the work of the coaches in enriching his abilities. He has been doing magnificent with his receivers.

Ulii Figuel (11), is ranked ninth in the state of Utah for receiving yards. Figuel has been helping the team score every game. He says that, although they haven’t been winning every game, he sees the progress in all the players within the team. He is one of the captains for the Fighting Lancers, so it’s his job to always make sure everybody is pulling his own weight.

The team has been doing great going up against these highly-ranked teams, and a big part of that is because of the new head coach, Pete Smolin. 

Within the short time he’s had, he’s built this team to be strong and hard working. The team is still building and becoming better and better every day. “This is a great team with a lot of potential,” coach Smolin said. The three things the Lancers focus on are attitude, character and effort, or as Smolin Calls it: A.C.E. The team is full of all of that, and he thinks that this is a great football program.