On Friday February 17, 2023 the Shadow Ridge Mustangs Flag Football team won the 5A state championship for the second year in a row. After a hard fought season where they reigned undefeated, they pulled it all together and defeated Bishop Gorman High School 25-12 to take home the state title. 

Winning back to back state championship titles is quite the feat coming with many feelings. For Coach Erik Pack, “It is still sinking in. But it is definitely a feeling of accomplishment. I am proud of these athletes as they hustled the whole season and kept fighting no matter the score.”

Taking a state championship was nothing shy of a team effort for the Mustangs.

Freshman Jaylani Palmer says, “I think a key player is Kyla Moore because she leads our running stats and is always clutch. I think defensively Lily and Mikayla are great to have on the line because of the way they attack the run game.” 

Palmer herself had an outstanding performance during the state championship and helped her team pull it all together.

Junior Abby Covington says, “Jaylani Palmer is definitely one of our key players on both sides of the ball. While she is extremely good on both, she excels on offense. I always trust her to get open and catch the ball when we are in tough situations.”

The 5A state final allowed the Mustangs the opportunity to play at the Las Vegas Raiders practice facility.

Gallery • 6 Photos

Photo Courtesy of @coach_nighswonger on Instagram

Shadow Ridge celebrates their big win.

“It was really cool to end there. Our first scrimmages were at the facility and we weren’t looking too good. Everyone put in so much work and ending as the top team felt really good,” says Covington. 

The Mustangs ability to pull through made everyone proud. For Covington that made her proud as well. 

“Looking over at the parents and seeing how proud they were of all of us made me really happy, says Covington”

For Coach Pack, he was proud of a specific moment during the game where his athletes did what they needed to do. 

“Gorman scored right before half to tie it up. We talked to the athletes about not panicking and to keep playing our game and they responded by outscoring Gorman 19-6 in the 2nd half,” says Pack. 

The teams atmosphere and ability to simply be good teammates pushed them more than anything else.  

“They stayed calm, cool and collected. They continued to play with confidence and trusted in each other,” says Pack. 

For the second year in a row, the Shadow Ridge Girls Flag Football team brought the trophy home to the Ridge. Congratulations Flag Football.