Coronado passes quality test against Shadow Ridge
Coronado football coach John Mannion sent his players onto the field Friday looking not only for a victory, but a quality victory.
His team delivered.
Though the Cougars looked sloppy in a season-opening win over Clark last week, they dominated from start to finish Friday in a 30-14 home rout of Shadow Ridge.
Dane Cooper completed 10 of 18 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cougars (2-0).
Coronado’s defense also played a big role in the victory, holding the Mustangs (1-1) to 16 yards in the first half and 90 for the game.
“We played a team last week that ran a similar offense,” Mannion said. “So it was kind of like a re-do. Our defense was aggressive and disciplined, and they never broke.”
Cooper capped a game-opening 69-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Blake Smith to give Coronado an early 8-0 lead.
A 4-yard Cory Argubright touchdown reception in the second quarter helped the Cougars take a 16-0 halftime lead.
“Our offense really controlled the ball to keep the defense off the field,” Mannion said. “The win gives us a lot of confidence and a great head start.”
The Mustangs’ Zach Hill opened the second half by scoring on a 78-yard kickoff return. But third-quarter touchdowns by Marcus Garcia and Blake Riley helped the Cougars put the game away.
Reserve quarterback Nick McDearmon hit Jordan Karl for a 25-yard TD pass with a minute to go to close the scoring.