Generals road win streak snapped

The Shafter High Generals football team saw their road winning streak snapped at seven games after a heartbreaking 30-28 loss to the St. Josephs Knights on Friday night.

The streak dated back to last season, and in those games, the Generals had outscored their opponents, 136-47.

On Friday night, quarterback Mariyon Sloan, in for the injured Ezekiel Osborn, had an outstanding game, rushing for 170 yards and two touchdowns while passing for 155 yards and a touchdown.

The game-tying touchdown was hauled in by Tremmel Spain, who caught the ball and ran 65 yards to score.

The game was like a heavyweight fight, with both teams trading punches, getting the feeling that whoever got the last punch in, would come out on top.

With the score tied 7-7, the Knights opened up a lead with a running touchdown, followed by a long pass for a TD, extending the lead to 21-7.

But the Generals came storming back in the second half, thanks to two touchdown runs by Sloan, one for 47 yards and one for 62 yards.

In the fourth quarter, the Knights regained the lead, going up 28-21. This led to a drive late in the game, with the Generals getting a couple of key first downs on third down situations.

The drive culminated with a 70-yard touchdown pass from Sloan to Spain, who ran down the sidelines for the score. The PAT tied the score at 28-28.

With just over a minute to play, the Knights were deep in Generals' territory when the Generals' defense came up big. Facing a fourth down, the Knights opted to try a field goal. Hector Cruz blocked the field goal, giving the Generals the ball. But, two plays later, Sloan was rolling to his right, looking for a receiver. He was hit as he was passing the ball, making the ball shoot to the right and out of bounds. Instead of calling an incomplete pass, the official instead flagged Sloan for intentional grounding in the end zone, giving the Knights a two-point safety and a 30-28 victory.

Shafter will look to rebound Friday night at 7:30 against the Taft Wildcats. This will be Homecoming Night, with the floats and the crowning of the Homecoming Queen and King at halftime.