The West team dominated the 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl, coming up with big plays on both sides of the ball to win 26-11.
After a slow offensive start by the East team, the West team got the scoring going with a 51-yard touchdown run by Southern Miss RB Frank Gore Jr. A failed two-point conversion (no extra points allowed) put the West up 6-0 with just over 13 minutes to go in the first quarter. They then got after it defensively, with EDGE Solomon Byrd appearing to bring down East QB Jack Plummer (Louisville) for a 12-yard sack but illegal contact was called, giving the East team a new set of downs.
On 3rd and 10 from the West 42, Plummer hit TE Dallin Holker (Colorado State) for a 12-yard gain and a first down. On 3rd and 9 from the West 28, Plummer again went to Holker for an eight-yard gain, and the East went for it on fourth down, with Plummer hitting WR Tejhuan Palmer (UAB) for a 12-yard gain.
EDGE Grayson Murphy (UCLA) sacked Plummer on 2nd and Goal, and then DL Myles Murphy (North Carolina) sacked Plummer again. That forced the West into a field goal, and K Harrison Mevis (Missouri) nailed a 46-yard try to cut the lead to 6-3 with 34 seconds left. The final play of the first half was a holding penalty against OG Doug Nester (West Virginia) that knocked the West team back.
The West had another explosive play, with QB Taulia Tagovailoa (Maryland) hitting WR Jadon Janke (South Dakota State) for a 52-yard gain. Then, RB Jabari Small (Tennessee) ran for 12 yards and another first down, and then West quickly had a First and Goal. West got a new set of downs with a pass interference call against the East team, and then Tagovailoa scrambled for a two-yard touchdown run. Tagovailoa then found WR Josh Cephus (UTSA) for the conversion, and the West took a 14-3 lead with 12:07 left in the first half.
The East couldn’t respond, going three-and-out. The West would take over at their own 22. On third-and-short, Gore Jr. ran for 12 yards and a first down, and a few plays later Tagovailoa hit WR Tahj Washington (USC) for a gain of 30, and then Gore ran for 17 yards and another first down. A delay of game set the West back, and they couldn’t find the end zone, settling for a 26-yard Cam Little field goal to extend their lead to 17-3 with 2:05 left in the first half.
The East team again couldn’t respond, once again going three-and-out, and Matt Hayball (Vanderbilt) punted away, and the East took over at their own 34 with 1:18 left. On third down, Tagovailoa checked down to RB Blake Watson (Memphis) for a 17-yard gain, and then Watson followed it up with an eight-yard reception. The West then couldn’t convert on third down, with Charlotte EDGE Eyabi Okie-Anoma getting a run stop on third down. The half would end after a fourth down completion to WR Tahj Washington, with the West leading 17-3.
The West got the ball to start the second half, with QB John Rhys Plumlee (UCF) taking the field. The first play of the half was a 25-yard completion to Watson, and then Watson ran for 17 yards up the middle. Then, Plumlee hit Cephus for a gain of 18 yards and another first down, and West was in business once again. An illegal contact penalty against the East gave the West another first down, and on a third-and-long, pass interference against the East gave the West the ball at the one-yard line. Rhys-Plumlee took a read option into the end zone for a touchdown to put the West up 23-3 on the next play, and on the two-point conversion, the West was flagged for a holding penalty which negated Rhys-Plumlee’s conversion and set them back. They couldn’t convert, with Rhys Plumlee’s pass to Cephus falling incomplete and keeping the score 23-3 with 10:17 left in the third quarter.
The East got right to work, with QB Devin Leary (Kentucky) firing a dart to WR Cornelius Johnson (Michigan) for 15 yards and a first down. RB Isaac Guerendo (Louisville) then ran for 24 yards, and then WR Isaiah Williams (Illinois) took an end-around for another 20 yards, quickly getting down to the West 16. Leary was incomplete on three straight passes though, and his scramble on 4th and 10 was short of the sticks so the West would take over and maintain their 23-3 lead.
On 2nd and 9, Rhys-Plumlee hit WR Jadon Janke (South Dakota State) for a first down, but the West would have to punt following a sack by Houston EDGE David Ugwoegbu. The punt was returned by Oregon State WR Anthony Gould (Oregon State) for 80 yards and a touchdown, and then QB Austin Reed (Western Kentucky) hit WR Drake Stoops (Arkansas) for the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 23-11 with 3:23 left in the third quarter.
The East picked up a first down on a 13-yard run by RB Jacob Kibodi (Louisiana), and that was the final play of the fourth quarter. They moved down to the West 19 on the play, On 3rd and 10, the East gained six yards on a completion to Johnson, and they would go for it on 4th and 4. QB Austin Reed’s pass was deflected by LB Levelle Bailey and incomplete, so the West would take over at their own 13 with 13:07 left in the game.
On 2nd and 11 from the West 34, Rhys-Plumlee hit TE Zach Heins for a 34-yard gain over the middle. The drive would quickly stall out though, and the West would punt. BYU P Ryan Rehkow pinned the East at their 10-yard line. The West picked up a first down on a pass from QB Austin Reed (Western Kentucky) to RB Jaden Shirden (Monmouth) for a gain of eight. An offsides penalty against Gabriel Murphy (UCLA) moved the West up another five yards. On 3rd and 1 from the East 29, Watson lost two yards but K Cam Little (Arkansas) nailed a 48-yard field goal to extend the West lead to 26-11.
The East couldn’t get anything going, and they turned the ball back over to the West on the East 30 after a failed fourth down throw. On 2nd and 11, Watson ran for 18 yards and took the game down to the two-minute warning. The West would kneel out the rest of the game and take a 26-11 win.
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