Mustangs strike first, but Aggies roll

Shadow Ridge struck first on Friday, but Arbor View quickly turned the game around and rolled to a 40-24 home victory in the Sunset Region quarterfinals.

Shadow Ridge (3-7) executed a perfect onside kick to put their offense on the field first, but the Mustangs had to settle for a 25-yard Chris Mendoza field goal.

From there, Arbor View (10-0) took control. Denajiou McZeal took the Aggies’ first offensive play 44 yards for a touchdown. After a quick Shadow Ridge punt, Arbor View capped a 10-play drive with an 11-yard run by Charles Louch. Herman Gray then intercepted a pass and on the next offensive play went 48 yards to make it 21-3. Two drives later, Gray wasn’t burst up the middle for a 45-yard touchdown run and a 28-3 halftime lead.

Gray finished with 117 yards on seven carries, and McZeal added 57 yards on three carries.

Six plays into the second half for Shadow Ridge, Dominick Wilson bounced outside for a 30-yard touchdown run. Wilson finished with 99 yards on 22 carries with the touchdown.

Matthew Howitz completed 14 of 27 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown pass to Torry Graham for the Mustangs, while Michael Payton caught six passes for 54 yards and a touchdown.