Shadow Ridge’s offense struggled to find consistency most of the night on Friday against Desert Pines.
Fortunately for the Mustangs, the team’s defense was absolutely dominant.
Blake Holmstrom had an interception, a forced fumble and a sack to key the defense as Shadow Ridge pulled out a 25-7 homecoming win over the Jaguars.
“Blake Holmstrom did a great job,” Shadow Ridge coach Ethan Lewis said. “He’s a senior that is an ultimate football kid. He understands football, he understands what’s going on.
“He’s a sponge in the classroom, he’s doing exactly what he’s supposed to do. And tonight was a perfect example of his preparation and his opportunities.”
Holmstrom may have had some of the biggest plays, but the senior linebacker was far from alone on a defense that limited Desert Pines to two first downs.
“Man, we just do what we do all the time and just lock them down,” Holmstrom said.
Desert Pines finished with just 24 yards of offense on 37 snaps. Holmstrom said one of the keys for the Mustangs (3-2, 2-0 Division I West) was keeping Desert Pines quarterback Jerome Jackson from getting comfortable.
“Stopping the screens for sure, and just stopping the quarterback draws and all that,” Holmstrom said. “And just really being a team. Everyone doing their job.”
Holmstrom’s first big play was his interception on Desert Pines’ third offensive play. He returned his interception 10 yards to the Jaguars’ 23, and two plays later Mujahid Gilliard took an option pitch and turned the corner for an 18-yard TD run that put the Mustangs up 6-0.
Though the defense continued to be stout, a special teams miscue led to the only score of the game for the Jaguars (2-3, 0-1). Kal-El Bibera recovered a botched snap on a punt at the Shadow Ridge 17-yard line, setting up a 7-yard TD run by Jackson, and the extra point gave the Jaguars a 7-6 lead with 5:27 to go in the first half.
The lead didn’t last long, as Shadow Ridge drove 86 yards on five plays, capped by a 27-yard TD run by Gilliard that made it 12-7 with 2:22 to go in the half.
Most of the offensive highlights in the game came from Gilliard and Isaiah Jones. Gilliard scored on both of his first-half carries, and Jones finished with 176 yards and a TD on just eight rushes.
Jones had runs of 15 and 41 yards to set up Gilliard’s second TD run. He added an 80-yard scoring run with 4:30 to play to essentially ice the game for the Mustangs.
“We kind of have a little bit of a crowded backfield, but Jones does a really good job. He’s our Northern Arizona guy that they’ve offered him, and he’s doing a really great job. He’s got to play some defense, so we’re spelling him a little bit offensively.”
Isaiah Ruiz and Evan Collier each added a sack for Shadow Ridge, and Charles Parker had an interception. Jones added a key tackle for loss on fourth down to end a Desert Pines drive in the fourth quarter.
“It’s homecoming night, we had to go out and do what we’ve got to do,” Holmstrom said. “We locked in. We’ve been struggling after halftime with offense and we came out and really did what we’ve got to do.”
