Utah Shock-35, Utah Wildcats-14
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Layton, Utah- Layton Christian Academy

Courtesy of Jordan Eames, Utah Wildcats.

 

With both teams coming off of a tough loss the week before, they came into this week hungry for a “W”. The Wildcats came in off a bye week and were hoping for the extra edge against the always tough Shock, but the Shock had other plans.

 

This game was one of polar opposites. The Shock came out hot, scoring on their first drive. The Wildcats, on the other hand, couldn’t get their offense going almost all game long. With the Wildcats defense on the field for the majority of total snaps, it was only a matter of time before the veteran QB Jeff Wissler found ways to beat the defense. Even though the Wildcats defense forced 4 turnovers and 2 sacks, the Shock defense came out on top forcing 6 turnovers. This caused a QB change for the Wildcats with Major Smith coming in and matching Jordan Hernandez with a touchdown. He was able to get the offense moving and sparked a new flame for the Wildcats. But it was too little too late, and through a stout defense and a huge punt return by Shock WR Sam Thomas, the momentum changed in favor of the Shock. As the clock expired, the scoreboard read 35-14.

 

 

Shock QB Jeff Wissler completed 19 passes for 143 yards and 3 touchdowns.  He completed passes to a group of receivers, including Sam Thomas, JJ Moncada, Graham Smith, and Chris Hooper.  Thomas led the receivers with 6 catches for 65 yards and a touchdown, and would also find success on special teams returning a punt 85 yards for a touchdown. Smith caught 3 for 25 yards and a touchdown, while Hooper caught 3 for 27 yards and a touchdown. Matt Mann took charge of the rushing efforts with 58 yards on 9 carries.

 

 

Defensively, the Shock had a monstrous day with 6 interceptions on the Wildcats.  3 of those interceptions were hauled in by CJ Ubani, one by Eugene Hess (60 yard return), and one by Fano Tagovailoa (28 yard return).  Eli Laumua also had an interception, which he returned 21 yards for the score.

 

 

Wildcat QB Jordan Hernandez completed 13-of-24 pass attempts for 159 yards and a touchdown, and was relieved by WR Major Smith, who completed 5-of-7 pass attempts for 75 yards and a touchdown.  Chris Marshall was the receiving leader with 114 yards on 6 catches followed by Smith, who caught 5 passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.  Alex Fowler caught the 25 yard touchdown strike from Smith for the final Wildcats score.  RB Kingsley Moungaloa led in rushing with 60 yards on 8 carries.

 

 

Jake Larsen led the Wildcats defense in tackles with 11 followed by Chaz Williams with 5.  Williams also had an interception on the day.  Tyler Christensen, Dom Perry, and Tyler Burgess each had an interception as well.

 

 

The Utah Shock completed another victory, moving them to 3-1 and knocking the Wildcats to 1-2. Needless to say the Shock will be taking this momentum into next week as they go up against the Wasatch Revolution, and on the opposite side the Wildcats will be looking to bounce back against the Davis Vipers.