Taylorsville • It wasn't enough that Murray quarterback Kevin Hales' 5-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave the Spartans their first lead of the game against archrival Taylorsville in what was billed as "The War on 54th" between the two schools located just a few miles apart on 5400 South.

The senior leader, who only left the field on kickoffs and punts, preserved his team's 20-10 victory against the winless Warriors by batting away a fourth-down pass in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.

"We picked up the tempo," Hales said. "We came out slow, but at the end, we picked it up."

Taylorsville, easily playing its best game of the season after being outscored 75-0 in its first two games, had an excellent chance in the waning minutes. The Warriors had the ball first-and-goal at the 5 but couldn't punch it in.

Seconds after Hales knocked down the pass, Murray's Christian Jensen put the game away by breaking a 97-yard run — his second scoring dash of the night.

Murray coach Dan Aragon said he was forced to use Hales both on offense and defense because a defensive starter sprained his ankle last week on the last play of the game against Hillcrest.

"He is a tough kid with great character," the coach said of Hales.

With their fans dressed in black for the "blackout game" against Murray, Taylorsville took a 7-0 lead when quarterback Dylan Wilson turned a short first-down attempt on fourth down into a 36-yard score for the Warriors — their first of the season.

With Nick Pappas playing a fine game on both offense and defense, Taylorsville led much of the way.

After Murray's Race Bryan picked up a fumble deep in Warrior territory, Jensen tied it on a 5-yard run. But the Warriors got a field goal from Colton Rasmussen to take a 10-7 halftime lead.

wharton@sltrib.com