When Holbrook’s first offensive play last Friday night resulted in an 18-yard gain by Lanny Newton-Pender, it looked as if the Roadrunnerss were going to steamroll visiting Ganado. Though that didn’t happen, the home squad did post a 21-7 win.
Holbrook overcame two holding penalties on that opening drive, which Cade Maestas capped with a 48-yard run just three minutes into the game for the early 6-0 advantage.
With 6:26 left in the first Wazuri Waits turned the corner on a 16-yard scoring run. Maestas’ two-point conversion run made the margin 14-0 in front of a large homecoming crowd at Roadrunner Stadium.
Ganado quieted the Holbrook crowd with 8:24 left in the half on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Lane Salabye to Michael Jones, closing the gap to 14-7 with the point after kick.
The Hornets were driving late in the half, looking for a tying score, when Wazuri Waits picked off a Hornet aerial to give Holbrook the ball on its own 25 yard line with 31 seconds left in the half. The Birds quickly marched down the field, but appeared to run out of time at the Hornets’ 10 yard line. Much to the dismay of the Hornets’ faithful, the officials said there was three-tenths of a second left on the clock, giving Holbrook one final play of the half. The Birds took advantage, scoring on that final play with a 10-yard strike from Maestas to Julian Garcia. Alex Haussman booted the point after, sending Holbrook to intermission with a 21-7 lead.
Both teams moved the ball well in the second half, but neither was able to score again, leaving the Roadrunners with a 21-7 win and improving their season mark to 2-3.
“I thought we moved the ball well, but penalties hurt us, as well as not scoring inside the 10 yard line. It is tough to simulate the double wing offense in practice for our defense. We started to get the hang of how to defend it in the second half,” said Coach John Bokker.
“The guys played tough. It was nice having Lanny Newton-Pender back in the lineup. At the end of the night we came away with a victory, but lost two starters. Jedde Bowman broke his leg. He is currently leading Arizona in tackles. We also lost Julian Garcia, who is one of our best players on both sides of the ball, to a shoulder injury. Never in my coaching career have I seen so many injuries in a single season,” said the coach.
Holbrook racked up the yards on the ground, finishing the night with 377 yards rushing. Maestas led the way, picking up 183 of those yards and a touchdown on 15 totes. In his first action of the year, Newton-Pender gained 115 yards on 12 runs. Garcia picked up 27 on four rushes. Miah Perry rushed once for 18 yards. Wazuri Waits had one run for 16 yards and a score. Danny Gonzales rushed twice for nine yards. Zakhari Waits gained five yards on three attempts and Michael O’Brien rushed twice, picking up four yards.
Maestas completed five of 11 passes with one touchdown and one interception. Garcia led receivers with three receptions for 42 yards and a score. Scottie Gishie had one 23 yard catch and Christian Pierce made one grab for 15 yards.
Holbrook has a favorable schedule over the next couple of weeks and should head into the St. Johns game in three weeks with a winning record. This week the Birds travel to face a Valley Sanders team that really struggles on the football field. Next week they return home to host Alchesay, also not known for its football prowess. Then will come back-to-back games against St. Johns and Round Valley. St. Johns is down this year, but still has a strong football tradition, and Round Valley seems to have built another powerhouse team.
