Shadow Ridge celebrates 1st playoff win in 15 years

How bash you observe a playoff triumph 15 years successful the making?

After Shadow Ridge finished disconnected Durango, 38-7, successful Friday night’s Class 4A authorities quarterfinals, bluish fume poured from the Mustangs’ location bleachers. Players got successful enactment for a celebratory chant. Coach Travis Foster knew what was coming adjacent — dashing to the locker country to debar a Gatorade bath.

“It was a large acquisition for the kids, and this is simply a large measurement for the program,” Foster said. “It’s thing that we’ve been chasing for a agelong time. … But we’re not done. We request to support grinding.”

The playoff triumph was Shadow Ridge’s archetypal since Nov. 3, 2006 — a 31-19 triumph implicit Sierra Vista. The Mustangs (8-2) won’t person to hold agelong for the accidental to marque it 2 successful a row, arsenic the Mustangs volition sojourn Las Vegas High adjacent Friday night.

The Mustangs’ violative enactment paved the mode connected Friday, arsenic Shadow Ridge racked up 290 rushing yards. The lion’s stock of that enactment went to Jaquieze Holland, who rumbled for 138 yards and 3 touchdowns connected 20 carries.

“I emotion moving down those guys,” Holland said. “They’re ever opening up holes. It’s large due to the fact that there’s ever a pancake block, and I tin conscionable get open.”

Holland got his squad connected the committee archetypal with a 1-yard touchdown tally aboriginal successful the 2nd quarter, putting the Mustangs up 6-0.

Durango (5-5) responded astir 5 minutes earlier halftime with a 14-yard touchdown walk from Maverik Cormier to Sterling Lewis, giving the Trailblazers a 7-6 lead. That didn’t past long, though. On the adjacent drive, Shadow Ridge backmost Coen Nicholas Coloma ran it successful from 7 yards, giving the Mustangs a 13-7 halftime lead.

It was each Shadow Ridge aft that.

Early successful the 3rd quarter, Holland took a transportation from Coloma, broke a mates tackles and bulldozed his mode into the extremity portion to marque it a 20-7 game. Holland scored his 3rd touchdown 3 minutes later, this clip from 11 yards out. Another rushing TD soon earlier the extremity of the 4th by Caleb Fisher enactment the crippled retired of reach.

Ryan Murphy added a 33-yard tract extremity precocious successful the 4th quarter, finishing disconnected Shadow Ridge’s 2nd triumph implicit Durango this season. The Mustangs bushed the Trailblazers 17-15 connected Sept. 3.

Cormier finished 9-for-29 for 109 yards for Durango.