Shadow Ridge routs Gorman for 13th consecutive flag football win — PHOTOS
Shadow Ridge flag football continued its chase to the top seed in the Class 5A playoffs Friday night with a 37-6 road victory over Bishop Gorman.
The Mustangs (16-1, 6-0 Southern League) dominated on both offense and defense in taking down the Gaels (9-6, 1-4). Shadow Ridge has 13 consecutive victories, while Bishop Gorman has lost four straight games.
Shadow Ridge head coach Matt Nighswonger said that despite Bishop Gorman’s record, the blowout win was good news for his team.
“The score doesn’t indicate Gorman’s level. They’re a good team and always tough to play against,” he said.
Shadow Ridge had a great start, scoring 18 unanswered points through the first quarter and a half.
Senior Jaylani Palmer was the main contributor to the Mustang scoring attack. In the first half alone, Palmer reeled in six catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns.
Gorman focused its defense on Palmer in the second half, leading Shadow Ridge to find other ways to score.
Senior Mariah Stevens-Walden had four catches for 23 yards and a touchdown to make the score 31-6 in the second half.
Quarterback Chloe Covington threw for 197 yards and five touchdowns on the day, but had the longest play of the day when she recorded a 37-yard catch from Palmer.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Mustangs were getting to Gorman’s quarterback the entire game. In total, Shadow Ridge had six sacks, led by senior Ashlyn Mitchell and junior Kendall Williams who each had two sacks.
Palmer made her presence felt on defense as well as she opened up the second half with an interception. It was the first of two interceptions in the game for the Mustangs.
The second interception, made by junior Lily Christensen, set up a 1-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore Presley Walker to make the score 24-6 early in the third quarter.
“Our defense was phenomenal,” Nighswonger said. “Our defense has been playing really great football. We shut them down.”
With two weeks left in the regular season, Shadow Ridge is closer to claiming the top spot in the 5A playoffs.
Nighswonger isn’t looking too far ahead yet.
“We really do try not to take any team for granted, because in 5A, if we take someone for granted and we have a bad night, we lose.”
