Shadow Ridge run game too much for No. 5 Green Valley

Shadow Ridge came into Thursday night’s game against Green Valley planning to run the ball.

The Mustangs were successful. They had to throw the ball only twice en route to a 42-36 road win.

Shadow Ridge is a run-dominant team with its triple-option attack. The Mustangs (5-3, 2-2 Class 5A Division II) showed how effective the offense could be with 273 yards and five touchdowns on the ground against the Gators (5-2, 3-1), No. 5 in the Review-Journal’s 5A rankings.

“If we’re throwing the ball more than nine times, it’s not going well for us,” Shadow Ridge coach Travis Foster said.

Out of the seven players with a rushing attempt, senior fullback Malahkai Berry led the way with 128 yards and three touchdowns.

Berry got his scoring started on Shadow Ridge’s second possession after senior Tyrell Craven took the kickoff 88 yards to the Gators’ 7-yard line. The next play Berry was in the end zone to tie the game at 7-7.

After Green Valley went up by a field goal late in the second quarter, Shadow Ridge moved quickly to get back into the red zone. Berry finished the possession off once again with an 8-yard touchdown run to put the Mustangs up 21-17.

Coming out of halftime, Berry struck again on a 7-yard run to put Shadow Ridge up 28-17.

In the third quarter, Green Valley’s offense stalled out, and the Mustangs’ lead grew to 35-17 going into the fourth quarter.

After getting a turnover on downs, the Gators cut Shadow Ridge’s lead to 35-24 after sophomore Michael Lewis found senior Trey Glasper for an 11-yard score.

With another quick stop, Green Valley was in the end zone again, this time with Lewis finding junior Elyjah Cobwell to cut the lead to 35-30.

However, Shadow Ridge’s running game came up big again, as Craven ran 43 yards for a touchdown to push the lead back to 42-30. Lewis scored on a 15-yard run with seconds left to provide the final margin.

Foster said he was proud of his team for bouncing back from last week’s 43-14 loss to Legacy.

“Last week was really disappointing,” he said. “I think the kids came out flat. We wanted to make sure we didn’t fall down to these guys, and play from ahead.”