Shelton 36, Yelm 28: Tyler Giraldes throws 4 TDs as Highclimbers hold off Tornados for first 3A SSC victory
Shelton started both halves strong and fought off Brandon Thompson and Yelm time and again in a 36-28 South Sound Conference 3A football victory Friday night at Yelm Stadium.
Tyler Giraldes, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound senior, tossed four touchdown passes for Shelton, and Climber classmate Skyler Ross had three interceptions as Shelton improved to 2-1, 1-0 in the SSC. Yelm is 2-1, 0-1 in the SSC.
After playing a 14-14 tie in the first half, Shelton marched the second-half kickoff 71 yards to take a 20-14 lead on a Willy Ruiz 4-yard run. The Highclimbers went up 26-14 on a Giraldes 6-yard pass to Taylor Toney.
Yelm countered with a 13-yard TD run by Thompson, set up by a 57-yard kickoff return by Jacob Lenoue.
Giraldes extended the Shelton lead to 33-21 with a 36-yard scoring pass, the first of two touchdowns tosses to senior Marshall McCullough.
A 28-yard Cody Bragg field goal pushed the Highclimber lead to 36-21.
Yelm answered with a 14-yard scoring pass from Dakota Hill to sophomore Kodee Gifford, but could not get closer.
Shelton got on the board first in a ragged first quarter on a 9-yard pass from Giraldes to senior wideout Kyle Kimball. A 39-yard Giraldes connection to Kimball and a 17-yard run by junior Trenten Osman got the Climbers close.
The second interception of the second quarter by senior cornerback Ross set the Highclimbers up at the Yelm 24 before Ruiz, a 5-foot-7, 180-pound senior, ran 21 yards to the 3. Two Climber penalties later, Giraldes found McCullough in the end zone from 13 yards as Shelton took a 14-0 lead.
Giraldes finished 13 of 27 passing for 230 yards.
Yelm got rolling with two touchdowns to pull into a 14-14 tie before halftime. The Tornados moved 72 yards on five plays, juiced by runs of 14 and 27 yards by Thompson and a 16-yard ramble by Nicholas Blanco, to reah the end zone on a 4-yard Thompson run.
The Tornados recovered a fumble at the Highclimber 26, and after a 14-yard Dakota Hill swing pass to Thompson, Hill found Thompson for a 12-yard touchdown.
The bruising Thompson, a 5-9, 187-pound senior, rushed for 109 yards in the first half and finished with 137 yards on 18 carries, with two TDs on the ground and one receiving.
Shelton 7 7 12 10_36
Yelm 0 14 7 7_28
S – Kyle Kimball 9 pass from Tyler Giraldes (Cody Bragg kick)
S – Marshall McCullough 13 pass from Giraldes (Bragg kick)
Y – Brandon Thompson 4 run (Cody Frye kick)
Y – Thompson 12 pass from Dakota Hill (Frye kick)
S – Willy Ruiz 4 run (pass failed)
S – Taylor Toney 6 pass from Giraldes (pass failed)
Y – Thompson 13 run (Frye kick)
S – McCullough 36 pass from Giraldes (Bragg kick)
S – Bragg 28 field goal
Y – Kodee Gifford 14 pass from Hill (Frye kick)
This story was originally published September 16, 2016 at 11:16 PM with the headline "Shelton 36, Yelm 28: Tyler Giraldes throws 4 TDs as Highclimbers hold off Tornados for first 3A SSC victory."