Rivalry week is upon the local football teams. Holbrook travels to Winslow Friday night, Oct. 21, in the battle of Interstate 40, Snowflake hosts rival Show Low in a battle of unbeaten teams and Joseph City hosts rival Mogollon in the first round of the 1A State playoffs after defeating the Mustangs last week in the regular season finale.
The 1A state playoffs get underway at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, in Joseph City, where the seventh seeded Wildcats will host the 10th seeded Mustangs. The two met just last week in Heber in a contest won by the Cats 22-14. That win is what dropped the Mustangs to the No. 10 slot in the rankings, setting up the rematch this week.
The good news for the Wildcats is that the last two times these two teams met twice during the season, the same team won both games. In 2013 Mogollon won both games and in 2011 Joseph City won both. If this trend holds true the Cats should be in good shape.
Joseph City won last week’s game and everything points to this being another very close game between the two rivals. Playing at home will help the Wildcats. Whoever wins this game will advance to the second round of the state bracket, where they will face the second ranked and undefeated Panthers on Saturday, Oct. 29, in Superior.
Speaking of unbeaten teams, the 8-0 Lobos will play host to the 8-0 Cougars in Snowflake this Friday night. Snowflake is ranked No. 1 in the 3A rankings while Show Low comes in at No. 5. The difference is basically a strength of schedule separation, with the Lobos having the tougher overall schedule based on power points.
Show Low has won four of the past six meetings, including last year’s 35-27 thriller. The Cougars hold the edge in total yards per game with 487. They have a large advantage in passing yards per game, with 248 compared to just 109 for the Lobos. Snowflake holds the edge in rushing yards per game with 271 compared to Show Low’s 239. The deciding factor in this game will most likely come down to which team can play its style of offense the best. If the Lobos can get their running attack working and control the clock, as well as put points on the board, they could head into the state playoffs in two weeks as the top team. If the Cougars can get their passing attack in gear and pile up quick points, they have a chance to knock the Lobos off the top spot and move up in the rankings at the same time.
This game may also be a preview of at least a semi-final game, if not a state championship game.
Winslow (5-3) hosts Holbrook (2-5) Friday night in the traditional I-40 battle, which has been dominated by the Bulldogs for nearly two decades now. While neither team is at the same level as Snowflake or Show Low, Winslow still has a chance to make the state playoffs with a win. With the Bulldogs’ loss to Payson last week, they dropped to No. 13 in the rankings and need to stay in the top 16 to reach the post-season. With a likely loss to Show Low in the season finale, they need a win this week to give themselves a cushion in the rankings.
Holbrook is not headed to post-season play, but could spoil the Bulldogs’ chances.
In common opponents this season Holbrook is 1-4, while Winslow isn’t much better at 2-3. One telling stat is that Winslow is 4-0 at home this year, while Holbrook is 0-3 in road games. Winslow holds the edge in rushing yards per game, while Holbrook has the advantage in passing yards. Both teams are coming off big losses last week, but Winslow has a little more to play for this week.
Last year this was a 34-0 Winslow shutout. This game should be much more competitive. Holbrook can score points on big plays, but can its defense keep the Bulldogs from matching those points? It has been a long, long time since Holbrook has beaten Winslow on the gridiron. Could this finally be the year the Roadrunners get it done?
