Snowflake’s five-game winning streak came to a halt on Friday night at Eastmark High School, where they fell to the Firebirds by a final of 27-10. Eastmark was ranked 10th prior to that win and the Lobos were sitting in the 13th position. The Lobos need to remain inside the top 16 in the final two weeks if they want to advance to the 4A state playoffs. In order for that to happen they may need wins over Apache Junction this week as well as a win over Sierra Linda in the final week of the regular season. The Lobos will be heavily favored in both matchups.
Friday night Eastmark took the lead with six minutes left in the opening quarter on a one-yard rushing touchdown. The PAT gave the Firebirds a 7-0 lead which held up through the first period.
Payton Papa stopped a long Eastmark drive early in the second with an interception deep in Snowflake territory. However, the Firebirds quickly turned the tables with a pick-six extending the lead to 14-0. Eastmark added to their lead again late in the second period on a 68-yard scoring toss, pushing the margin to 21-0.
Snowflake’s offense struggled to move the ball much of the half but finally got points on the board at the end of the half with a 28-yard Sam Brown field goal, making the halftime score 21-3 in favor of the Firebirds.
Snowflake came out in the second half and scored on their opening possession with a 12-yard scoring toss from Brennan Bryant to Papa. Brown’s PAT made the score Eastmark 21, Snowflake 10.
The third quarter ended with another Lobo turnover giving Eastmark the ball at midfield heading into the final frame. A second pick-six from the Firebird defense put the final points on the board late in the fourth leaving Snowflake with a 27-10 loss.
Bryant completed 15 of his 30 passes for 132 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions. Payton Papa was the leading receiver with four catches for 39 yards and a score. Ezra Baum had four receptions for 27 yards. Kater Raban had three for 25 yards, Colton Tidwell had two for 33 yards and Kanton Turley caught two for 8 yards.
On the ground, Turley led with 85 yards on 17 attempts. Jett McCray gained 31 yards on six rushes.
Aaden Coor led the defense with 21 tackles. Jo Jo Lerma had 17 stops.
This week the Lobos now 5-3 will travel back to the Valley to face the Apache Junction Prospectors. They are just 1-7 on the season, having lost four in a row, and should provide the Lobos with a good bounce-back game.
