By Dr. David Davis
In a battle of two teams who both advanced to the Class 6A Div I area rounds last season — it was no surprise that this game would be close.
Last year, the Sharks had to hold on for a 37-26 win as the Chargers made a fourth quarter rally but came up short.
In this year’s contest, Shadow Creek used a controlled offense to keep the Clear Springs’ offense off the field.
Shadow Creek had the ball for more than 27 minutes, with almost 15 minutes of possession time coming in the second half, allowing the Sharks to stretch a 10-0 halftime lead into the final 20-7 margin.
After a scoreless opening quarter for both teams, the Sharks scored a touchdown and a field goal in the second period for the 10-0 advantage.
Shadow Creek signal-caller Jacorey Watson connected with Ashton Jones on a 12-yard scoring strike with 8:44 remaining in the second quarter and then as time expired Aiden Bui booted a 33-yard field goal to give the Sharks a 10-0 lead at the break.
Watson did a lot of damage in the first half, throwing for 84 yards on a perfect 14-for-14 passing. He also rushed for 18 yards. Watson finished the game going 25-for-29 passing for 216 yards and two TDs while rushing for 56 yards on 14 totes.
The Sharks added 10 more points in the second half, all in the third quarter, when Bui booted a 33-yard field goal to increase the lead to 13-0 and then Chris Steart electrified the crowd with a 70-yard scoring jaunt for a 20-0 advantage.
Down 20-0, Clear Springs did make things interesting in the third quarter, when the Chargers put together a 10-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with a 1-yard blast by Xai’Shaun Edwards to cut the lead to 20-7. Edwards had a solid game, racking up 120 yards rushing on 10 touches.
Tylik Burton led the Sharks ground attack with 14 carries for 69 yards while also catching five passes for 39 yards.
Chris Stewart had four catches for 110 yards and one score while Ashton Jones had seven grabs for 46 yards and one TD.
But no one could find paydirt in the final quarter as the Sharks held on for the 20-7 non-district win to improve to 2-0 on the young season. Clear Springs fell to 0-2.
Shadow Creek will host the Bridgeland Bears on Friday, September 8 at 7:00 p.m. at Freedom Field.
