Shadow Ridge is 0-1 against Liberty since September of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Shadow Ridge Mustangs will head out on the road to face off against the Liberty Patriots at 7:00 p.m. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Nevada (Shadow Ridge is ranked sixth, while Liberty is ranked second).
Two weeks ago, Shadow Ridge took a serious blow against Bishop Gorman, falling 48-17. Shadow Ridge was down 28-3 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.
Evan Cannon put forth a good effort for the losing side as he rushed for 174 yards and a touchdown. Cannon is on a roll when it comes to rushing yards, as he's now rushed for 100 or more in the last four games he's played. Coen Coloma also helped out as he racked up 109 rushing yards.
Meanwhile, Liberty had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23.7 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They took down Arbor View 24-6.
Liberty's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Isaiah Lauofo, who rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyrese Smith, who threw for 148 yards and a touchdown while completing 72.7% of his passes.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Arbor View to a paltry 222 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Liberty's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out five times before it was all said and done. The heavy lifting was done by Leroy Maddox Taula and Emarion Jones who racked up four sacks between them.
Liberty's win bumped their season record to 7-2 while Shadow Ridge's defeat dropped theirs to 5-3.
Shadow Ridge was dealt a bruising 58-26 loss at the hands of Liberty in their previous matchup back in September of 2014. Thankfully for Shadow Ridge, Kenyon Oblad (who threw for 371 yards and four touchdowns while completing 75.9% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
