The state of Arizona knows all about Daniel Bridge-Gadd’s arm. The Paradise Valley quarterback already owns the school record for passing touchdowns, and his favorite receiver, Jacob Brown, broke the Trojans’ receiving touchdown record as well.
Bridge-Gadd threw for five touchdowns in Thursday’s 33-21 win over Desert Edge. It wasn’t his arm, though, that set up those scores.
It was his feet.
Time after time, Bridge-Gadd’s number was called to pick up a first down on the ground. He also evaded Desert Edge defenders, buying time for his receivers to get open.
“I think the other ten dudes on the offense know my skill-set,” Bridge-Gadd said. “When I get outside the pocket to extend the play, they know exactly where to be, where to go and not lose their head.”
The chemistry between Bridge-Gadd and Brown was never more evident than when the quarterback was pressured in the third quarter, rolled left, avoiding two tacklers in the backfield, and made an off-balance pass to the player he calls the “best teammate he could ask for.” Brown made the catch, broke a tackle, received a block, and was gone for the duo’s second touchdown of the night.
The plan was for the quarterback to not just be a part of the run game, but to essentially be the run game. In preparation for this game, the Trojans saw opportunity for Bridge-Gadd to tuck and run consistently.
“That was our game plan this week. We went empty (set) 98% of the time,” he said. “Me being our run game was a key thing. They clear out of the box and leave big holes. A couple times I had to extend the play and take what we could get, but that just gave our offense some balance considering we went empty for a good part of the game.”
Moving forward, teams will have to prepare for the senior both in the air and ground attack, and his style of play will be dictated from what the team sees in their preparation leading up to the game.
“If the game-plan calls for me to stay inside the pocket and throw the ball 40 times, I’ll do that. If the game-plan calls for me to hand the ball off every play, I’ll do that. I’ll just do what’s required to win.”
