On Sept. 12, the Battle of the Bulldogs took place with the Winslow Bulldogs hosting the Safford Bulldogs. Safford was looking for its first season win and as always, they are big and fast. Winslow would start off slow and Safford took advantage of the time, scoring 20 points in the first quarter. Winslow would battle back and prevented several other scoring drives along with breaking up some big plays, keeping Safford from scoring in the second half.
At the beginning of the first quarter, Safford quarterback Jevyn Elliot would score on a 44-yard quarterback sneak. The point after was good, making the score Safford 7, Winslow 0.
With 8:47 on the clock, Safford would recover a Winslow fumble and run it 40-yards into the end zone for the touchdown, making the score Safford 13, Winslow 0.
With four minutes left in the quarter Safford would find the end zone on a 55-yard punt return and the point after good, making the score Safford 20, Winslow 0.
In the second quarter it would be a battle of the defensive lines with both teams preventing each other from reaching the end zone. Then with just 20 seconds left in the half, Safford would score their final touchdown of the game when Dane Jacobson scored on a 29-yard pass. With the point after good, the score was Safford 27, Winslow 0.
Late in the third quarter Winslow’s quarterback Gino Quinones would score on 5-yard keeper by Joseph Captain and that along with a point after, made the final score Safford 27, Winslow 7.
Winslow had 144 yards passing, 130 yards rushing and 274 yards total. Quinones would lead the team with rushing yards, with 12 carries for 48 yards, followed by Kavion Bumgarner-Ulibarri with 5 carries for 28 yards, and Bryce Williams with 7 carries for 9 yards. Captain would lead the team for passing yards with 7 catches for 61 yards. James Mendoza led the team in tackles with 4 and a blocked punt. Oriar Nichols Jr. lead team in sacks with 2 plus a fumble recovery. Jonathon Perdue and Ra’ed Deschinny each had 1 interception.
Next week the Winslow Bulldogs will travel to Gilbert to take on the Knights of Gilbert Christian on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.
