It was a battle on the gridiron as the Malad Dragons hosted the Aberdeen Tigers under the lights on Friday, September 29.  The two teams brought intensity and an aggressive play to their game as it came down to the final minutes of the game to see just which team would come out on top.  Despite falling short on the scoreboard, the Malad team found moments of success on the field, especially on the offensive side.  Coach Coby Crozier shared, “It was probably the first time our offense has really clicked with what we’re trying to run.  I felt like we could run anything and it was working. The line was doing a great job at everything we threw at them.”

Going up against a tough defense, the Dragons found their way into the end zone repeatedly, scoring more in their game against the Tigers than any game thus far in the season.  With both a strong running game and passing game, Malad pulled together several successful drives to total up 30 points to end the game.  Midway through the 4th quarter, the Dragons were able to tie up the game at 26 points, but were unable to keep the Tigers scoreless for the remainder of the game.  

A true highlight of one of their scoring drives was when Ryan Jensen put up a great catch on a 37 yard pass from quarterback Braylin Tripp in the midst of an intense man to man situation from the Tigers.  His big gain played a crucial part in moving the Dragons down the field and into a scoring position and put the ball in the endzone on the very next play.  The Dragons totaled up 330 offensive yards, the most of any game this season, passing 192 yards and rushing 138 yards. 

Although the offense was firing on all cylinders, the Aberdeen Tigers offense was difficult to keep down, out scoring the Dragons with 42 points.  Aberdeen’s offensive pressure slowly and consistently made their way down the field with each drive.  Their patience won out as they found holes in the Malad defense and breakthrough runs that allowed for several scoring opportunities.  Coach Crozier said, “Defensively we have some work to do but I was proud of the boys and what they did accomplish.”

With the home loss, the Dragons season record now sits at 4-3 as they move into the final weeks of their season.  Next on their schedule, the Dragons will go up against the Pirates at West Side Friday, October 6.