Photo by Roxanne Duennebeil

Article by Nate Church

The Salt Lake Shred set a new franchise record in their Saturday, May 30, matchup against the Oregon Steel, winning 34-17.

When asked about what went into the record-setting performance, Salt Lake’s Jordan Kerr said, “I think our main contributor was D-line efficiency. They were so clinical on their turns … and you can’t ask for much more than that.”

A rainy Saturday afternoon departed from the Salt Lake Valley and rays of late spring sunshine bathed the field at Providence Hall High School, just in time for the Salt Lake Shred’s matchup against the Oregon Steel.

Salt Lake came out strong, jumping ahead quickly with two back-to-back goals. Oregon stayed close behind but couldn’t find a way to get ahead in the first quarter of play. The Shred took to the air with soaring hucks, completing 100% of their hucks in the first quarter.

Up 8-5, Salt Lake’s Eugene L’Heureux launched a 66-yard bomb towards the endzone. Streaking down the left side of the field, Simon Dastrup flew past a Steel defender in pursuit of the disc. “I’m going to be honest,” began Dastrup, “I ate a bunch of Chick-fil-a nuggets before this game, and as I was running I felt it in my stomach and thought ‘I better not puke while I’m running,’” he said laughing. Crossing the width of the field, and keeping his pregame meal down, Dastrup snatched the disc out of the air and landed in the endzone, putting an exclamation point on the Shred’s first quarter performance.

Continuing their offensive and defensive prowess into the second quarter, the Shred jumped up to an 11-5 lead in the first five minutes of play. The Oregon Steel couldn’t seem to stop the bleeding and struggled holding onto the frisbee, ultimately finishing the competition with 28 turnovers.

Many of those turnovers led directly to the Shred’s defensive line scoring points, something that, according to Salt Lake head coach Bryce Merrill, led to the new franchise scoring record.

“Our number one priority has been for our D-lines to figure out their offensive shape,” said coach Merrill. “I think a lot of that improvement goes to our D-line handlers … and I liked the rate at which our D-line handlers were scoring tonight.” The Shred defensive line ended the night with a 65% conversion rate and scored 17 points, half of the team total.

The Shred didn’t skip a beat coming out of the halftime break, running up the score and stifling Oregon’s offense, Salt Lake led 22-9 halfway through the third quarter. The trend continued into the fourth with score after score. 

The Steel saw some success, but offensive efficiency ultimately became their downfall, ending the game with a 36% offensive line conversion rate. The Steel also struggled on defensive production, going 1/2 on D-line conversions and 1/19 on breaks.

By the time the buzzer sounded, the Salt Lake Shred walked away with a dominant win over the Oregon Steel, 34-17.

As the final rays of sunlight faded into night, the energy rose as the stadium lights came to life. Riding high on their performance, Shred players and fans alike celebrated the big win. 

“[The fans] just bring a special energy and I think the guys respond to that,” said coach Merrill. “Seeing what some of the guys were able to do, I think a lot of that’s directly correlated to the fans. Great energy.”

Up next, the Salt Lake Shred will take on the Colorado Apex in a Friday night matchup on June 5.