The Winslow Bulldogs defeated the Warriors 56-8 in Tuba City last Friday night. The win improved Winslow’s record to 4-0 and left the Warriors with a 3-2 mark. Tuba City’s other loss was to the powerful Snowflake Lobos 49-6 in the season opener.
Winslow got good field position in the opening quarter after holding Tuba City and getting the punt at the Warrior 41-yard line. They drove to the five-yard line, from which Junior Villanueva passed to Brennan Sawyer for a touchdown. The two-point conversion run failed and Winslow led 6-0.
Tuba City recovered a muffed punt at the Winslow 32 to give the Warriors their best penetration. The Bulldogs pushed them back and the ensuing punt went to the Winslow 24.
The Bulldogs drove down the field and Villanueva scored on a 37-yard run. The conversion pass failed and the Bulldogs led 12-0 with a little over half of the first quarter played.
The quarter ended with Winslow driving again. The Bulldogs scored on a seven-yard pass from Villanueva to Yoaan Djassa. Villanueva then hit Sawyer for the two-point conversion and a 20-0 lead with eight minutes left until the half.
The next time they had the ball, the Bulldogs drove and scored on a three-yard run by Mikel Bonner. A two-point conversion pass from Villanueva to Sawyer increased the lead to 28-0 with about four minutes left in the half.
Tuba City scored on a 61-yard pass from Bauer Zack to Barlow Marquez. Christian Yazzie ran for a two-point conversion that cut Winslow’s lead to 28-8.
The Bulldogs came right back to score on a 51-yard pass from Villanueva to Djassa and a two-point conversion pass to Noah Upchurch to increase their lead to 36-8.
Tuba City picked off a pass near their end zone on the Bulldogs’ next possession. The Warriors moved to near midfield. The half ended with Winslow leading 36-8.
The second half began with another long Winslow drive, culminating with a Sawyer score on a five-yard run. The conversion pass failed and the Bulldogs led 42-8 with about seven minutes left in the third quarter.
The next time they got the ball the Bulldogs drove to inside the Tuba City 10 yard line and scored on a 12-yard pass from Villanueva to Jalen Lyons. The conversion pass failed and Winslow led 50-8 with just over a minute left in the third quarter. The quarter ended with the lead such that the fourth quarter would be played with a running clock unless the margin was trimmed.
Ironically, Winslow scored on the first play of the fourth quarter when Ahli Foster picked up a Tuba City fumble at the 12-yard line and ran into the end zone. The conversion pass failed and the lead was 56-8.
The rest of the quarter went quickly with the running clock and the Bulldogs walked off with a 56-8 win.
The Bulldogs will stay on the road on Friday, Sept. 22, with a journey to Flagstaff to meet the Coconino Panthers.
