The Winslow Bulldogs will journey to Lakeside tonight (Sept. 5) to meet the Blue Ridge Yellowjackets.
The Yellowjackets have started the 2014 season with a surprising two losses and are facing the possibility of what may be the worst start in the history of the school’s football program. Blue Ridge has had very few seasons in the last half century during which they lost three games and probably none in which they lost the first three.
The Yellowjackets began the 2014 campaign with a 30-8 loss to Sahuarita at Sahuarita. The Mustangs are a talented team, which was in the playoffs last season but lost to the Bulldogs in the playoffs at Winslow. The Mustangs have many of their better players back and are expected to be championship contenders.
Blue Ridge’s second opponent was the Prescott Badgers, a larger school with a good football tradition. The Badgers came to Pinetop and handed the Yellowjackets an unusually severe thrashing, 55-7, on their home turf.
Winslow started its season with a 44-7 win over the Roadrunners at Holbrook. The Winslow defense played very well and the Bulldogs put the game away early.
The Bulldogs have had some success against Blue Ridge, although they lost to the Yellowjackets in a close game early last season. Both teams improved that year and both were in the playoffs. Blue Ridge won the state championship and Winslow lost a very close game after defeating a good Sahuarita eleven.
Things don’t get any easier for the Bulldogs after the trip to Lakeside. They will host the Round Valley Elks on Friday, Sept. 12, and the Snowflake Lobos on Friday, Sept. 19. Round Valley is a powerhouse in the division just below Winslow’s and a state championship contender. Snowflake handed Winslow its worse loss of the season last year and is again expected to be a championship contender.
