Coronado passes quality test against Shadow Ridge

Coronado football coach John Mannion sent his players onto the field Friday looking not only for a victory, but a quality victory.

His team delivered.

Though the Cougars looked sloppy in a season-opening  win over Clark last week, they dominated from start to finish Friday in a 30-14 home rout of Shadow Ridge.

Dane Cooper completed 10 of 18 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cougars (2-0).

Coronado’s defense also played a big role in the victory, holding the Mustangs (1-1) to 16 yards in the first half and 90 for the game.

“We played a team last week that ran a similar offense,” Mannion said. “So it was kind of like a re-do. Our defense was aggressive and disciplined, and they never broke.”

Cooper capped a game-opening  69-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Blake Smith to give Coronado an early 8-0 lead.

A 4-yard Cory Argubright touchdown reception in the second quarter helped the Cougars take a 16-0 halftime lead.

“Our offense really controlled the ball to keep the defense off the field,” Mannion said. “The win gives us a lot of confidence and a great head start.”

The Mustangs’ Zach Hill opened the second half by scoring on a 78-yard kickoff return. But third-quarter touchdowns by Marcus Garcia and Blake Riley helped the Cougars put the game away.

Reserve quarterback Nick McDearmon hit Jordan Karl for a 25-yard TD pass with a minute to go to close the scoring.