Snowflake literally ran all over visiting Eastmark in the second round of the 4A state football playoffs on Friday night at Lobo Stadium. The 15th-seeded Firebirds were no match for second-seeded Snowflake, who steamrolled their way to a 35-0 shutout win to advance to the quarterfinal round next Friday.
Snowflake racked up 322 yards rushing on the night with four touchdowns on the ground. Brenner Green amassed 163 of those yards on 27 runs, with the workhorse junior finding the endzone once Jacob LaDuke gained 95 yards on 14 attempts with two touchdowns.
Christian Smith ran it just twice but gained 42 yards and scored once. Talmage Lucas carried 4 times for 23 yards.
Through the air, LaDuke completed 6 of 14 attempts for 71 yards with one touchdown and had one pick. Mason Raban was 1 for 1 for 15 yards.
Snowflake’s defense forced an Eastmark punt on their first series of the game, setting the tone from that point forward. However, the Firebirds did intercept LaDuke’s first pass of the night, returning it to the Snowflake 46-yard line. The Lobo defense held, getting the ball back to their offense in three plays.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Lobos broke the ice early in the second period on a Jacob LaDuke 17-yard run. McCoy Norton’s PAT was good, giving the home crowd a 7-0 lead.
Another turnover on downs by Eastmark set the Lobos up with good field position, which they took advantage of with a Smith 34-yard scoring run, extending the lead to 14-0 with Norton’s kick.
Smith then intercepted an Eastmark pass late in the second quarter, setting up the Lobos inside their own 30-yard line. Jacob LaDuke scored in the final seconds of the first half on a 4-yard run, sending the teams to the half with Snowflake on top 20-0.
Snowflake started the second half with an 83-yard scoring drive that took up a big chunk of the third quarter. Green capped the long drive with an eight-yard run. LaDuke found Nash Reidhead for the 2 point conversion, extending the Lobo lead to 28-0.
Raban scored the final touchdown of the night on a 12-yard run midway through the final quarter. Norton’s PAT made the final score 35-0 in favor of the Lobos.
This week, Snowflake will host seventh-seeded Mica Mountain in the quarterfinal round. The Thunderbolts downed 10th-ranked Lake Havasu 35-0 on Friday night to advance to the game in Snowflake. Micah Mountain went 8-2 in the regular season, with their two losses coming to Sunnyside and ALA West Foothills.
Snowflake defeated ALA West Foothills 30-10 back in week two of the season. Micah Mountain has won seven straight games, with five of those wins being shutouts. The most points they have allowed all season were 21 in their 21-14 loss to ALA West Foothills.
Can their stingy defense stop Snowflake’s rushing attack, as well as LaDuke’s aerial game? Snowflake may have the best offense they have seen all season. With the game being played in a cold Lobo Stadium on Friday night, look for the Lobos to advance to the 4A State Semi-final round, where they would see either No. 14 Coconino or No. 6 Gila Ridge on Nov. 28. Either way, that game would be in Snowflake once again.
Top-ranked Arcadia easily won its second-round match-up with a 50-25 win over St. Mary’s. Mohave ranked fourth is also still in the mix. Third-ranked Bradshaw Mountain was upset by Coconino in the second round.
