May 3, 2024
By Quincey McKeen
Friday evening, Salt Lake Shred took on the San Diego Growlers at their home stadium at Mesa College. Last year was a rebuilding year for the Growlers and they have a fairly young squad for 2024, with a few veteran returners like Travis Dunn, who proved his metal in this game. Shred was missing a few key players: Selfridge, Mounga and Hoffman, who were playing in college regionals and Lindsley, who could not attend. Shred players stepped up to fill the gap and Growlers versus Shred proved to be an exciting matchup!
Shred jumped into the game with an early lead, with two breaks in a row, scored by Porter Oyler and Simon Dastrup. The Growlers answered back with a score and a break of their own, after a double team on Field forced a turn. After a couple of holds, San Diego’s Casey Shugarman had a huge layout D, allowing San Diego to score and return the game to serve, 3-4 in the Growlers favor. Shred followed with a patient offensive hold and then a big break chance with one second left in the first quarter. Chad Yorgason hit Gene L’Heureux with a huge cross field blade for a Shred break, ending the quarter 5-4 for Shred.
Shred started on offense in the second quarter, getting it back after a turn to hold. The teams traded holds for the remainder of the quarter, but not without some exciting moments. Elijah Jaime had a great hop-in score; San Diego hugged the sideline all the way for a three pass hold; Ben Field had a massive double handed layout for a Shred score; and Jaime reeled in a big Jacob Miller hammer, despite tight defensive pressure. In the final point of the quarter, Field got the frisbee back after a foul, but then had a mis-throw to Jace Duennebeil. The Growlers had a chance to break with 40 seconds on the clock and the score at 9-8, a crucial chance to tie up the game. A timeout was called and Shred’s defensive line was put on the field. Chad got a huge D and threw it to Joe Merrill with time running out. There was a call on the field and the frisbee went back to Chad, at which point a second timeout was called. Shred’s offense came back out and the Growlers seemed a little lost, perhaps they didn’t have time to complete assignments. Sean Connole was wide open and without a mark after receiving the frisbee, allowing him to throw a laser to Field for the score. Shred held to end the quarter 10-8.
Out of the half, Shred capitalized on a San Diego turn after a throw hit the turf. San Diego held on the next point, getting it back after an overthrown huck. The Growlers then got a break after a huck to Jaime was well defended, bringing the score to 11-10. Duennebeil got bookends for the next Shred hold, with a block after a Shred turn. Jordan Kerr made an amazing bobble catch from the ground, hopped up and threw a low inside pass to Duennebeil for the score. Both sides traded holds with smooth offense, until Dunn went up for a huck, only to have it bounce off his hand. Shred then had a chance to break, but San Diego’s Matt Miller snagged the Callahan for a Growler hold. In the final point of the quarter, Kerr was overthrown in the end zone and San Diego had another chance to break, with just 15 seconds left. A timeout was called but to no avail; San Diego’s huck was defended by Shred and the clock ran out, with the score at 14-13 for Shred.
The fourth quarter opened with holds for both teams, and included a spectacular layout grab from Dunn. In the next point, Jaime maintained possession after he was plowed into by the Growler defense and Shred held. Shred then had a break chance after a big D from Zach Wolfe on a San Diego huck. Shred got the frisbee and a timeout was called. Coach should have let them cook - Shred turned after the timeout and San Diego held, bringing the score to 16-15. A couple more holds from both sides brought the score to 17-16. Shred maintained the frisbee after a “catch your D” moment - Miller chased the disc down despite the D and got it on the second attempt. Connole saved the frisbee on a low pass but then came off the field after some contact with his defender. Jaime was able to reel in a throw under pressure and despite not being the intended target for a Shred hold. A great roller pull from Kyle Weinberg put the frisbee out the back corner. Shred's defense kept the frisbee trapped in the back corner and San Diego called a timeout, but the frisbee was thrown out the back of the end zone and Shred got it on the doorstep. Shred worked the red zone and scored. The Growlers scored the next point quickly with a huck to Dunn, bringing the score to 19-17. In the final point, Shred got the frisbee off the sideline quickly after a roller pull from the Growlers, and maintained until the clock ran out, ending the game 19-17 for the Shred. Shred passed the first test of their California road trip and headed to Los Angeles!
