The matchup between Gresham and Sandy on Thursday hardly resembled the 23-0 effort from their previous meeting. The Gresham Gophers had to suffer through a 61-21 loss at the hands of the Sandy Pioneers. The Gophers haven't had much luck with the Pioneers recently, as the team's come up short the last seven times they've met.
When it comes to explaining why Gresham lost, don't look at Liam Arnold. Despite the final result, he rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries, and also threw for 130 yards on nine of 16 attempts. Arnold's longest rush was for an impressive 56 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.
Even though they lost, Gresham was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 222 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since the start of last season.
Sandy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Caden Mcmahon, who rushed for 116 yards and three touchdowns on only five carries. The dominant performance gave Mcmahon a new career-high in rushing yards. Mataio Olomua was in the mix as well, providing Sandy with two touchdowns.
Gresham's loss dropped their record down to 1-5. As for Sandy, they pushed their record up to 3-3 with the win, which was their third straight at home.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Gresham will take on Nelson at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Nelson's defense has only allowed 15 points per game this season, so Gresham's offense will have their work cut out for them. As for Sandy, they will challenge Central Catholic at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Sandy is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 31.2 points per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
