Holbrook earned their way into the 2A state playoffs by virtue of winning the Little Colorado region. That win garnered them the 16th overall seed, and as that number they were forced to take on number one Pima on Friday night in the first round of the playoffs.
Pima came into the game with a back-up freshmen quarterback, but that was soon a non-factor as their defense controlled the game in a 56-6 win over Holbrook. The Roughriders provided little running room for either Matthias Montijo or Darnell Nez, each of whom racked up impressive numbers in region play. Pima’s defense spent a large majority of the night tackling Holbrook runners for losses.
Sophomore quarterback Darren Justman was also under pressure for much of the game. He did have a couple of long completions but three interceptions, one of which was returned for a score were indicative of Pima’s defensive presence.
The Roughriders did pile up over 300 yards rushing using their physicality in the trenches. Junior quarterback Jeremiah Martinez found the end zone five times rolling up 164 rushing yards.
With the win Pima improved to 11-0. Holbrook’s season comes to a close with the loss with an overall record of 7-4 and their third consecutive region title.
