Three relatively familiar match-ups and one which hasn’t been played in 13 years headline tonight’s (Sept. 23) gridiron action for area teams.
St. Johns and Snowflake, despite their close proximity, haven’t squared off in football since 1998. With the Redskins playing at the 2A level and the Lobos competing in 3A, there just weren’t many chances. This year, with the realignment to divisions, the Arizona Interscholastic Association computer scheduling has put these two schools on the football field, despite the fact that they still don’t play in the same division, with the Lobos in Division IV and the Redskins in Division V.
St. Johns comes in with a 3-1 mark on the heels of last week’s big win over previously unbeaten Chinle. The Redskins don’t have a lot of numbers on the sideline, but they do have a veteran coach and will bring a hard hitting team. The Lobos played well in last week’s win over Show Low, and appear to have the depth and leadership that will take them deep in the playoffs. They have recovered well from losing Tyler Johnson and have a balanced offense. They dominated the line of scrimmage against a Show Low team which beat St. Johns handily in the first game of the season. Playing their second of three straight home games, the Lobos, if they don’t have an emotional letdown after last week’s win, should cruise in this game on Homecoming night. This game will be hard hitting, but the Lobos just have more talent on offense.
Winslow travels to Chinle and will more than likely hand the Wildcats their second straight loss. Chinle made some noise through the first three weeks of the season, but that was against lesser opponents. The Bulldogs have a good team again this year and under first year head coach BJ Little, they should continue what has been a dominant past against Chinle. In the last three seasons the Bulldogs have outscored Chinle 163-7. Winslow hasn’t really been tested yet this year, and the Bulldogs will move their record to 5-0 with another easy win tonight.
Joseph City is coming off a huge win over rival Mogollon last week and the toughest thing about this week’s game will be surviving the long trip to Fredonia for a Saturday game. The Lynx are just 1-3 on the season with a win over Beaver Dam, and at least on paper they don’t appear to have anything to counter a highly talented Wildcat squad that has its sights set on a third straight title. Joseph City will be well traveled, but will return home with its perfect record intact.
Holbrook picked up its first win of the season last week, but tonight the Roadrunners begin a very difficult three-game stretch. They travel to Lakeside to face what many think is the best team in the state, at least in Division IV. The Blue Ridge Yellowjackets have steamrolled their way to a 4-0 mark, and they have dominated Holbrook in the past two seasons with shutout wins.
