Defensive lineman Patrick Ng sparks Coronado by Desert Shields

Have yourself a day, Patrick Ng.

The Coronado defensive lineman set the tone early with a sack and a blocked punt to help the Cougars to a 37-0 road win over Cheyenne.

Coronado (1-1) limited Cheyenne (0-3) to 105 yards of total offense, and pressured Desert Shields quarterback James Henry all night.

The Cougars finished with two sacks, a fumble recovery and nine tackles for loss. Cheyenne only crossed into Cougars territory twice, thanks in part to Ng and cornerback Dillon Stewart.

On the second play from scrimmage, Ng dropped Cheyenne Henry for a 14-yard loss to set the stage for the biggest play of the game two plays later.

“I called ‘eagle’ in the B gap, and me and Dillon, who is the corner, he called and said ‘Hey, I’m going to go outside,’” Ng explained. “So what happened was I just went straight and (Cheyenne’s) outside guy didn’t do anything.”

Ng exploded through the line, untouched, and blocked the punt. Stewart made the recovery in the end zone for an early touchdown.

“I was very excited actually,” Ng said. “I’ve never blocked a punt before.”

Coronado coach William Froman said his team’s defensive line was the biggest difference on Friday night and said the blocked punt helped rally the defense.

“The blocked punt got us fired up and created the momentum,” Froman said, “but our defense really was lights out.”

The Cougars offense wasn’t bad, either. Justin Balanga ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns to help Coronado storm to a 21-0 halftime lead.

Ian McCullough also had a defensive touchdown via a 19-yard fumble recovery in the first half, and the Cougars coasted in the second half.

Ng credited the defensive coaches for putting the Coronado players in the right position to make the plays. He also was pleased with the intensity level his teammates showed against Cheyenne.

“This win is very important. I mean coming back from a loss, I really wanted to win,” Ng said. “So, honestly, on a scale of 1 to 10 we wanted to come back like 20 … I mean the intensity level in Week 1, we were kind of a bit cocky and then we straightened things up after two weeks.”

Coronado quarterback Landen Rowland didn’t attempt a pass in the first half and finished 4 of 6 for 77 yards. La’Avionce Richard added 50 yards rushing on 10 carries.

“The boys had a bye week, and they worked really hard,” Froman said. “We choked in the first game. This game was a little cleaner football game than that one.

“We were kind of rusty on offense (in the 6-0 loss to Canyon Springs). We installed some wrinkles that weren’t working, but now they are beginning to take hold. Our quarterback was trying to open up a little more in the passing game. You know, to make this a little less predictable.”

Derionte Green’s 54 yards on two carries was the lone bright spot for the Desert Shields.