Shadow Ridge has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. After each having a week off, the Shadow Ridge Stallions and The Mountain Ridge Mountain Lions will shake off the cobwebs and face off against one another at 7:00 p.m. on October 20th. Hopefully Shadow Ridge focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up four two weeks ago.
Shadow Ridge's 8-2 record from last season is now well into the rear view mirror after another tough outing. They took a serious blow against Apollo, falling 48-14.
The losing side was boosted by Jayden Pico, who rushed for 197 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 12.3 yards per carry.
Meanwhile, Mountain Ridge had to endure a seven-game losing streak dating back to last season, but that streak is no more. They blew past Valley Vista 35-9. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Mountain Ridge had established a 25 point advantage.
Esaias Penniman was the offensive standout of the match as he threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Kody Halpine got in on the action as well, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Shadow Ridge's defeat was their fourth straight at home, which dropped their overall record down to 1-6. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 6-1 Salpointe Catholic and 4-3 Saguaro (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 67.9% over those games). Finally capturing their first victory of the season, Mountain Ridge advanced to 1-6.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday' match: Shadow Ridge has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 194.3 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Mountain Ridge, though, as they've been averaging only 74.1 per game. How will Mountain Ridge fare against such a dominant running game?
Shadow Ridge came up short against Mountain Ridge in their previous matchup back in September of 2022, falling 38-27. Can Shadow Ridge avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
