With a handful of “zero” week games played last week, the majority of high school teams kick off the season this weekend. That includes area teams Holbrook, Winslow and Joseph City. Snowflake will be playing its second game of the season this week.
We will begin in Lobo country, where Snowflake will host Chinle in its home opener. Last week the Lobos handled the Warriors 49-6 in Tuba City. Last year this meeting entirely belonged to Snowflake, with the Lobos prevailing 52-0. Having one game already under their belt, plus traditionally being the much better team, look for the Lobos to cruise to a 2-0 record. Last season Snowflake went 9-2 before getting upset in the opening round of the state playoffs. Chinle finished 4-6 last season.
Winslow will play host to Monument Valley. Last season this game turned in the final moments, leaving the Dawgs with the bitter taste of a 24-23 loss. Monument went on to win its first 10 games of the season before the Bulldogs got revenge in the first round of the playoffs, where they upended the fourth ranked Mustangs 40-6. Winslow finished the season the following week and posted an overall mark of 7-5. With this game being played in Winslow, combined with the memory of what happened in week one last year, look for the Bulldogs to turn the tables and start the 2017 campaign in the win column.
Joseph City went 7-3 last season before losing in the second round of the 1A playoffs to Superior. This week’s opponent, Valley Union, was one of those three losses. Hosting the Wildcats last year, Valley Union won 54-16. The Blue Devils, who also went 7-3 a season ago, started this season at 0-1 after dropping their opener to Bagdad last week, 54-16. Can the Wildcats send them to 0-2 with a home field win? Joseph City lost some key players to graduation, but with players like Matt Fields and others returning, the Cats’ should have the edge, especially on their home turf.
Holbrook won’t play its first game until Saturday night as part of the Kickoff Classic at the Skydome in Flagstaff. The Roadrunners will face Wickenburg in the nightcap scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. The Birds are once again under new leadership, with Coach Kelly Kinghorn taking over. Like several teams, including the Wranglers, the Roadrunners graduated some key players. They do have more than 20 seniors on this year’s roster, so they have some experience to draw on. Wickenburg graduated what were statistically its top two quarterbacks. However, what really hurt Holbrook in last year’s 53-26 Wickenburg win was the Wranglers’ rushing attack. They return their leading rusher, who gained over 1,100 yards last season. Holbrook will need to find a way to corral the Wickenburg rushing game to have a chance to open the season on a high note. Last season the Wranglers went 8-3, finishing as the 14th seed in the playoffs, where they fell in the first round. The Roadrunners were 2-7 last year.
