The Sabino Sabercats defeated the Winslow Bulldogs 48-0 in the Arizona State 3A Conference football quarterfinals on Saturday at Tucson. The win improved Sabine’s record to 11-1 for the season and dropped Winslow’s to 7-5. Sabino will play Show Low in a semifinal game. Show Low edged Yuma Catholic 28-26.
Winslow was without several key players, including its best defender, Ahli Foster, who was injured in the win over Monument Valley. The Bulldogs improved throughout the season, but also suffered injuries that were challenging.
Sabino had a touchdown called back on a penalty before taking the lead with just 3:35 left in the first quarter on a 20-yard pass from Alex Bell to Drew Dixon to complete a nine-play, 80-yard drive. Bennett Nottingham converted for a 7-0 lead.
The next score came with just 59 seconds left in the quarter on a 35-yard pass from Dixon to Nottingham to complete a 10-play, 53-yard drive. Nottingham converted to give Sabino a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Sabino blocked a Winslow punt to set up its next score, which came on a 35-yard pass from Bell to Dixon. Nottingham converted for a 21-0 lead.
Taylor Killian scored Sabino’s next touchdown on a three-yard run with 2:55 left in the half. The conversion increased the lead to 28-0.
The final score of the first half came with just eight seconds left to play on a Dixon to Damen Nelson 17-yard pass. That completed a seven-play, 61-yard drive and the conversion gave the Sabercats a 35-0 lead.
A 15-yard pass from Bell to Luke Moran with 10:28 left in the third quarter increased Sabino’s lead to 41-0 after the conversion failed.
The final score came midway through the quarter on a 66-yard pass from Bell to Nottingham. The conversion put the final score on the board and sent Sabino into the semifinals.
