McDearmon, Mustangs outlast Faith Lutheran
Nick McDearmon ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more Thursday night to lead Shadow Ridge’s football team to a 43-30 win over visiting Faith Lutheran.
McDearmon, who carried 27 times for 216 yards and had 159 yards passing, scored on runs of 7 and 4 yards in the first half and ran 96 yards to give the Mustangs a 33-7 lead on Shadow Ridge’s first play from scrimmage in the second half.
He completed a 7-yard touchdown pass to running back Marcus Williams to give the Mustangs (6-4, 4-4 Northwest League) the lead for good late in the first quarter and added a 17-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Zack Ducksworth in the second quarter.
Joe Portaro tried to rally the Crusaders, throwing three second-half touchdown passes as Faith Lutheran (4-6, 2-6) pulled within 43-28 on Portaro’s 21-yard pass to tight end Brett Lubbe with 8 minutes, 26 seconds remaining.
Portaro was 21 of 48 passing for 323 yards as the Crusaders threw for 396 yards in the game. Portaro also completed TD passes of 43 yards to wide receiver Sean Bischel and 27 yards to wideout Don Pearson.
Faith Lutheran crept within 43-30 on a safety with just more than two minutes to play but muffed the ensuing free kick. The Mustangs recovered and ran out the clock.
The teams combined for 215 yards in penalties in a game that lasted longer than 3½ hours.
Shadow Ridge, which went 1-8 last season, kept alive its hopes of qualifying for the Sunset Region playoffs. The Mustangs would make the playoffs as the Northwest League’s No. 4 seed if Cheyenne beats Legacy tonight.
A Legacy win over the Desert Shields would put Legacy in the playoffs and eliminate Shadow Ridge.
