East-West Shrine Bowl a Thriller to the End

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The 97th Annual East-West Shrine Bowl was held in Las Vegas, Nevada at Allegiant Stadium. It featured some of the best talent college football has to offer. 110 players total were accepted from various schools across the country. 57 East team players and 53 West team players.

The first quarter was a sluggish start for the West team. Even with North Carolina running back Ty Chandler breaking a big 16-yard run. Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan was able to sling it completing an 18-yard pass to tight end Jelani Woods placing the offense inside the red zone. This is when the East defense showed up as Georgia Tech defensive back Juanyeh Thomas made a key tackle to set up a goal-line stop.

The East offense stepped onto the field looking to gain momentum and drive down the field. But unfortunately, Kent State quarterback Dustin Crum went 0-2 passing after a four-yard run by South Dakota State running back Pierre Strong.

The West offense dodged a bullet looking to score the game’s first points. Starting from their own 44-yard line, Coan showed he can have command of an offense completing five of seven passes. Florida State running back Jashaun Corbin added a couple of runs to help push the West into striking distance. But Coan would finish the drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to Oregon State tight end Teagan Quitoriano. The team would complete a two-point conversion to make the score 8-0.

On the next drive, West Virginia running back Leddie Brown would fumble giving the ball right back to the West. Brown had two previous runs which looked as if it gave the East momentum. The West was not able to get much out of it as they were forced to kick a field goal. Iowa kicker Caleb Shudak would miss the game’s first field goal leaving the score 8-0 for the time being. The West team’s Shudak would make a field goal, improving the lead to 11-0 before half as the East team would remain scoreless.

In the second half, the West team would score another touchdown and two-point conversion making the score 19-0 and having many think this game was over in the third quarter. This is when the East team had a huge play with Strong Jr. A catch and run for a 65-yard touchdown making the score 19-8. Momentum started to shift for the time being.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter, The West team scored another touchdown when Corbin ran in from four yards out to make it 25-8 and it looked like the game was over. But the East team was not done and they mount a comeback that would keep fans in the seats till the end of the game. With 3:53 left on the clock, the East would make it 25-16 on an EJ Perry 6-yard strike to Samouri Toure. It highlighted a 10-play 88-yard drive that saw Perry make some big plays. On the ensuing kickoff, the East would execute an onside kick that did not go their way. But a three and out set up the last drive of the game. A five-play 86-yard drive would end in a touchdown and two-point conversion but would come up one point short in a 25-4 West win.