The Dragon football team ended homecoming week in a big way as they dominated their third home game of the season against the Soda Springs Cardinals on Friday, September 20.

The game didn’t take long to turn in Malad’s favor as they scored their opening drive that consisted of just two plays.  Starting at the thirty yard line after returning the Cardinal’s kickoff, the Dragons converted their first drive into their first touchdown.  Brady Showell, receiving the snap, stepped back to throw the short pass to Justin Toone.  Toone scooted to his right before busting down the sideline.  Soda Springs were desperate to bring him down and only put a stop to the play when he was just short of the goal line.

Setting up on their next down, Malad’s quarterback called a keeper, pushing his way through the defense and into the endzone for the first Dragon touchdown of the night.  The MHS offense lined up for the PAT, scoring the two points after Holden Tubbs grabbed the pass after running a square route across the endzone.

Up 8-0, the Dragon defense was charged and ready to go, managing to thwart the Cardinal’s attempts at a successful drive.  On their first down, the MHS met the ball hard, taking down the running back for a loss of yards.  Attempting a run up the middle on the second down, Soda Springs were caught up in the Dragon D-line that didn’t give an inch on the play.  Seeing that their running game wasn’t working, the Cardinals moved to pass.  As their quarterback dropped to pass, the Malad defense broke through and sacked the quarterback for another loss.  Soda Springs had no other option than to punt on their fourth down.

Malad began their next drive on the 38 yard line, running the ball up the middle for a seven yard gain.  They easily earned first down as they moved the ball to the twenty-five yard line.  The Dragon offense found great success over and over with plays pushing straight up the middle.  Putting up strong blocks and creating holes for the MHS running backs to run through, Malad was nearing the end zone once again.

Snapping the ball straight back to Drake Morrison, he wound his way down the left sideline, keeping out of reach of the defense until they brought him down within three yards of the goal line.  A quick snap and push up the middle scored the Dragons their touch down in as many drives.  Scoring on the two point conversion, Malad led 16-0.

With time of the first quarter expiring on the Soda Springs drive, the Cardinals returned in the second quarter with a renewed effort.  Connecting on passes and making forward progress rushing, they marched their way straight into the endzone for the touchdown.  Keeping them from scoring on the PAT, the Dragons found themselves up 16-6.

The Cardinals attempted an onside kick but failed to recover the short kick.  With their toes on the 50 yard line, Malad was set to make another touchdown scoring drive.  Moving the chains with nearly every down, the Dragons couldn’t be stopped as they headed for the endzone.  Showell, getting the long snap, ran between defenders for a twenty two yard gain.  The run was only made possible because of the excellent blocking by Showell’s teammates.

In only four more plays, Malad added another touchdown and PAT to push the score to 24-6.  Soda Springs seemed to be making progress on their returning drive but it was quickly shut down, once again by the Dragon defense before the first half ended.

The defense dominated the third quarter as neither team was able to string together a scoring drive.  But things picked up for Malad as they began the fourth quarter, moving the ball with small and steady gains.  Their greatest gain came as quarterback East Green faked the handoff to the right only to deliver it to his left.  Scooting up the left sideline unbeknownst to most of the defense, the MHS running back managed more than a ten yard gain before being tackled.

The Dragons scored one additional touchdown to end the game.  Matt Briscoe received the handoff with a wide open field ahead of him to the right.  Taking off in that direction, the Cardinal defense began to shift towards him and were suddenly between him and the endzone.  Instead of attempting to outrun them around the outside, Briscoe lowered his shoulder to take on two Soda Springs players.  Busting through the tackles, he inched his way to the goal line when one defender reached up to trip him.  Before coming down, Briscoe reached out with the ball to move it across the plane and score.

Looking to score one point on a field goal PAT, Dawsyn Peterson held the ball for kicker Brycen Howe.  Sailing straight through the goalposts, Howe’s kick tallied up a final point to put the Dragons up 35-6.  Across the game, Malad totalled 247 rushing yards on 51 carries, 67 passing yards on 5 of 9 attempts.

Chalking up a win for their homecoming week against their first conference opponent of the season was just what the Dragon football team needed.  Coaches and players commented that the fan turnout and support from the MHS pep band and cheerleaders to the fire department made their homecoming an extra exciting win.

The Dragons will play at home in their next scheduled game as they host the Wendell Trojans on Friday, October 4.