It was a battle of the corridor when the Holbrook Roadrunners went up against the Winslow Bulldogs for their season opener, a rivalry game that ended in a 12-0 victory for the Roadrunners.
It was a battle of the corridor when the Holbrook Roadrunners went up against the Winslow Bulldogs for their season opener, a rivalry game that ended in a 12-0 victory for the Roadrunners. Photo by Kellie Spangler/Spanglerpics
Holbrook’s Simeon Shaw (left) stretches for a pass as Winslow’s Dallas Tahy (right) defends during the rivalry season opener.
The Holbrook Roadrunners and Winslow Bulldogs line up at the line of scrimmage during their season opener, a rivalry game that ended in a 12-0 victory for the Roadrunners.
Holbrook’s Simeon Shaw (middle) sprints into the end zone for a touchdown as Winslow quarterback Gino Quinones (left) falls after a near tackle and Caleb Duran (right) runs to try and save the play.

The traditional I-40 clash this year came with a bit of a twist as both teams, and fans had to wait out an electrical problem with the lights at Emil Nasser Stadium. Once they were back to full strength the Roadrunners were able to return home with a 12-0 win.

Defense typically comes around before offense early in the season. This was the case in the Roadrunner win. Defensively they were stout, keeping the Bulldogs out of the endzone. Offensively, Simeon Shaw found the endzone on the opening drive of the game and again in the fourth quarter for an insurance score.

Bottom line is Holbrook was able to get a win in Winslow and they move into week two of the season with a 1-0 mark.

Offensively, Darren Justman completed 5 of 6 passes for 73 yards. Jonathan Sample went 2 for 4 for 21 yards. Matthias Montijo was the leading rusher with 74 yards on 16 carries. Shaw gained 41 on 7 totes with 2 finding the endzone. Justman had one 17-yard run. Baler Reidhead carried twice for a total of 13 yards. Manny Rico rushed 3 times for 9 yards.

William Kinds caught 2 passes for 53 yards. Shaw had 2 receptions for 17 yards, and Daniel John had one 9-yard catch.

Holbrook’s defense was led by Reidhead with 5 tackles. Manny Rico, Calvin Lee, Devin Ambrose and Gage Jones each were credited with 4 stops.

With their first win behind them, the Birds can now look ahead to hosting a good St. Johns team. The Redskins downed Monument Valley on Friday night 63-0. St. Johns is typically a strong team and this year appears to be no different. The team is coming off a 6-4 season, where they lost in the first round of the state tournament.

Last season the Redskins won this game 63-16. Two years ago, it was much closer with the team prevailing 25-16. Holbrook defeated St. Johns in the 2022 season by a final of 20-13. Roadrunner fans can be hopeful that Holbrook’s veteran squad can repeat that performance and move the team to 2-0 on the young season.

All tickets will be sold only on GOFAN for all Holbrook football games this season. All tickets are general admission and will be $7. Children under 5 are free. No cash will be accepted at the gate however, fans can purchase their GOFAN ticket at the gate with a card. Or they can be purchased ahead of time on the GOFAN app. Season passes of many options are available to be purchased at the district office.

Gates will open at 6 p.m. on Friday nights for a 7 p.m. kickoff.