Shamrocks knock off NWC in 3A showdown
Reese throws for 4 TDs, YC defense comes up with late stand
Rhett Stallworth called it just another classic Yuma Catholic vs. Northwest Christian barn-burner.
The Shamrocks visited their rival in Phoenix on Saturday night and came away with a 36-30 victory in an early-season battle between two of the 3A Conference’s premier programs.
Junior quarterback Gage Reese completed 14 of 19 passes for 236 yards and four touchdowns, junior running back Ean Chavez totaled 150 yards (100 rushing, 50 receiving) and scored two touchdowns, and senior receiver J.R. Henderson caught seven balls for 151 yards and three scores.
“We think any time we can run for over 100 yards on them then we can play with them, because that keeps (their defense) balanced,” Stallworth said.
Yuma Catholic (2-0 overall) was down 7-0 early, but
took a 21-14 lead into the locker room at half and never trailed again.
The Crusaders (1-1) cut a 36-23 deficit to 36-30 with 4:50 left in the game, and got the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead, but the Shamrocks’ defense forced a turnover on downs just inside their own 40-yard line to effectively end the game.
Neither team turned the ball over in the contest, but Stallworth said that the high amount of penalties that were called prevented it from being a particularly clean game.
“The good thing is we still have a lot of room to grow,” Stallworth said.
The Shamrocks, who were were coming off a 55-0 win over San Manuel in their season opener, have next week off before traveling to Brawley (Calif.) on Sept. 7 for another big test.