Andrew Hughes is a journalism student at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism assigned to cover Shadow Mountain High School.

The Shadow Mountain Matadors secured a 60-0 victory Friday night against the Coronado Dons in Scottsdale, Arizona in impressive fashion on the gridiron.

The 2-4 Matadors' have leaned on their running attack all season, and Friday was no different.

Junior stand-out running back T.J. Allen has been the catalyst, averaging 124 yards a game on the ground.

In limited action, he continued his success on just seven carries Friday, tallying 125 rushing yards as well as one score.

Head coach Ron Fagan expressed the importance of staying disciplined and keeping this opponent in front of them all week.

“We did pretty good on both sides of the ball. We executed. My guys did great, we got a lot of guys involved,” Fagan said.

The Matadors welcomed back two of their stars on the offensive side, including starting quarterback Joey Meyn, who was out last week with a concussion.

He was accompanied by two-way standout Mateo Hernandez, who solely played safety last week and this week returned to his prominent receiving role.

This very same connection would hit big mid-first quarter, connecting on a 54-yard touchdown pass to open up an offense that would continue with sustained success.

The Matadors' defense would pick up right where it left off in last week’s impressive showing, with a stinginess that allowed them to force two turnovers in the first half.

Junior middle linebacker Sean Collins would be a beneficiary of one of those turnovers, returning an interception to the house.

Hernandez would also open the game on the defensive side with an interception of his own.

The Matadors’ cohesion on both sides of the football allowed them to trot back to the locker room at halftime with a 39-0 lead.

Fagan knew this could be a game where he could insert some of his guys who may not play much in more tightly contested contests.

“A lot of seniors got to play. We got Tyler (Cole) a touchdown. We have been trying to get him one. He’s a senior and this is the most playing time he has gotten his entire career,” Fagan said. “When we were at camp he said his dream was to score a touchdown, so it was important for this team to get him one.”

Cole, a receiver, has been with the program his whole high school career, and this year is the first time he has earned consistent playing time.

Opening up the half, everybody on the Matadors sideline knew who was going to get those targets.

They kept trying to target Cole once they got down to the goal line midway through the third quarter, to no avail.

Finally, they would hit Cole in the end zone, to a loud cheer from the Shadow Mountain faithful.

Hernandez, who plays the same position as Cole, knew how special that moment was for him and their team.

“It was so exciting. I have known he has always wanted a touchdown and we got it for him and it was just exciting,” Hernandez said.

Cole after the game said it was special moment.

“It’s pretty cool. It’s just an, ‘I finally did it’ moment. I have wanted it my entire career and am grateful for the opportunity to finally do it,” Cole said.

Fagan feels that games like these can be the pedestal the program needs to do special things to close the season.

“We know we got to start stacking these wins because we let some go earlier in the season,” Fagan said. “We are trying to win out and get to the playoffs.”

According to Fagan, Shadow Mountain will be at full strength for the first time all season next week, setting up the possibility that the Matadors could finish the season strong and sneak into the postseason.

Shadow Mountain aims to continue its feel-good resurgence next Friday for a homecoming matchup against Valley Lutheran.