Holbrook’s magical football season came to an end on Friday night in Willcox. Playing in the second round of the 2A state playoffs on a field that should make Roadrunner fans appreciative of Holbrook High School’s grounds crew, the Roadrunners were knocked on their heels on the opening kickoff and never recovered in a 51-12 season ending loss.
Willcox entered the game as the fourth overall seed with their only two losses coming against the top two seeds in the state tournament field. Holbrook had to travel as the fifth seed with their unbeaten record. Willcox was known for their power running game and that power was evident in the first 12 seconds of the game, which was how long it took them to return the opening kickoff 78 yards for the 7-0 lead. On the night Willcox piled up over 500 yards of total offense with their rushing attack accounting for 379 yards.
Holbrook’s first possession lasted four plays when they failed to pick up a fourth down on their first series. The Cowboys showcased two strong running backs and they put points on the board again at the 7:21 mark of the period to lead 14-0. Willcox tacked on one more first-period score and led 21-0 at the end of the opening quarter.
They pushed that lead to 35-0 before Holbrook was able to put points on the board. Marcus Oberriter found Chase Sahmie in the corner of the endzone giving Holbrook their first six points. The two-point conversion failed.
Holbrook appeared to gain momentum late in the half when their defense held on a goal-line stand on fourth down. The next play took away all that momentum when Holbrook was flagged for holding in the endzone resulting in a safety and putting two more points on Willcox’s side.
Following the free kick, the Cowboys moved right down the field scoring on a 14-yard pass extending their lead to 44-6 and effectively taking the rest of the wind out of Holbrook’s sails. Danny Montijo scored the final points for Holbrook this season on a three-yard run early in the third. Willcox tacked on one final score late in the game to win the game 51-12.
Holbrook finished the season with an 11-1 overall record. Despite the loss, the Roadrunners still had a special season. All region honors went to Coach Shawn Holley as Coach of the Year and Marcus Oberriter was named the Region Player of the Year. Those selected to the first team all-region were Tristian Cowboy, Mauricio Baca, Larin Nez, Daniel Montijo, Slade Allison, Izzy Ramos and Kyle Smith.
Second team all-region honors went to Victor Saiz, Noah Padilla, Mason Archunde, Jeremiah Chatter, and Simeon Shaw.
