Gophers blow out Sandy to start league season

MHC FOOTBALL — The Gophers take a 35-0 lead into halftime of their 42-12 rout

By Darrell Jackson

The Gresham Outlook, Sep 26, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Darrell Jackson / The Outlook

Gresham's Brannon Dooley tears away from a Sandy tackler during the Gophers' 42-12 win Friday night.

Gresham used a dominating running game to dominate the line of scrimmage and Zach Scherba threw four touchdown passes as the Gophers cruised to a 42-12 victory over Sandy Friday at Gresham.

“We thought we could do what we wanted to against them running it,” Gresham head coach Todd Nagel said. “They moved a lot of guys in the blitz and we just took advantage of it and pounded it on the ground.”

Gresham scored the first five times they had the ball on offense. They started quickly when they took the opening drive 70-yards on six plays, culminating with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Scherba to Quintin Hardgrove.

After forcing the Pioneers offense on a four-and-out, the Gophers pounded out a 12 play, 52-yard drive, scoring their second score when Scherba hit Hardgrove a second time from 2-yard out.

Gresham continued to dominate in the second quarter when the scored two touchdowns in 15 seconds on their third and fourth possessions. After stopping Sandy on four downs, the Gophers marched 46 yards on nine plays, all rushing plays that ended when Wes Meng took a hand off and rumbled up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown.

On the ensuing kickoff, Sandy’s Dustin Spencer took that ball at their own 30-yardline and was nailed by a group of Gophers at midfield, fumbling the ball that Gresham recovered. Scherba took the first snap, rolled to his left and hit Brannon Dooley at the 20-yardline. Dooley then broke four tackles and rolled up the middle 48-yard for a touchdown.

“That is kids of the way we play,” Nagel said. “We aren’t going to break a lot of long runs, but we will work the ball and then take what the defense will give us in the air.”

Gresham seemed content content with running the ball to end the half, but when completed a 22-yard pass to Potter, Nagel had his offense go for the finishing touchdown.

On third and seven, from the Sandy 36-yardline, Scherba dropped back and hit Justin Potter on the left sideline at the 20. Potter then broke two tackles, cut inside and rolled into the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown giving the Gophers a 35-0 lead at half.

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