On Sept. 27, the Winslow Bulldogs welcomed home alumni for homecoming and hosted the Crismon Rattlers of Queen Creek. This maybe the last time that the Bulldogs will face the Rattlers, as next year Crismon will be moving up to 5 or 6A. The Crismon team is large and very talented and with a team of 53 on their roster they are impressive foe.
Although the score may not reflect it, the Bulldogs held this team defensively throughout most of the game and both the defense and offense (which many of the Bulldog players play both) never gave in or up.
In the first quarter both teams would march up and down the field, with neither getting a score. Midway through the second quarter, Rattler Dominick Nix would score on a 41-yard carry. They would then attempt a 2-point conversion using an old NAU formation, but the Bulldog defense would not be fooled, and it would fail. With a minute left in the half, Nix would again find the endzone on a 29-yard run, followed by the point after by Jayden Snowden, who was impressive to watch his kicking skills, making the halftime score Crismon 13, Winslow 0.
In the third quarter Nix would score early on a 66-yard run, followed by the point after. In the fourth quarter Nix would score on an eight-yard carry, followed by a 2-point conversion pass by Carson Robinson to Cameron Pope. Late in the quarter, Rattler Adrian Hartman would score on a 13-yard carry, but the 2-point conversion would fail leaving it a final score of Crismon 34, Winslow 0.
Winslow had 142 yards passing and 125 yards rushing for a total of 269 yards. Michael Romero led with 56 yards rushing, followed by Bryce Williams with 48 yards. Joseph Guerrero led in passing yardage with 16 yards. Perry Alberry with 2 fumble recoveries and James Mendoza with 1.
Crismon had 46 yards passing and 369 yards rushing. This coming week is a bye for the Bulldogs and they will be back in action at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, hosting the Chinle Wildcats at home.
