By Greg Perkins The first round of the 3A State Football Playoffs went pretty much as scripted with the small upset of No. 9 Benjamin Franklin winning over No. 8 Wickenburg to advance to round two. Third seeded Snowflake was part of that script with a relatively easy 32-0 shut out win over No. 14 Fountain Hills on Friday night. Hosting the Falcons, Snowflake posted 20 points in the first quarter to take control of the game. Brigden Turley got the Lobos on the board with a nine-yard scoring run midway through the opening frame. Just two minutes later Luke Patterson returned a Falcon punt 59 yards to pay dirt, pushing the lead to 13-0 with Samuel Crockett’s successful point after boot. Brydon Hatch completed the scoring trifecta with a defensive score a few moments later. He scooped up a Fountain Hills fumble and returned in 38 yards for the 20th point of the first period. Snowflake scored again early in the second quarter on a 42 yard burst by Turley. The point-after kick was no good, leaving the lobos with a 26-0 halftime lead. With six minutes left in the third period the Lobos scored their final points of the night on a David Brimhall six-yard run. Ethan Ramage completed four of 12 passes for 35 yards with one interception. Patterson had one catch for 21 yards; Traegon Standerfer, one for 12; Sam Ruehle, 1 for 6; and David Brimhall lost four yards with his only catch. The Lobos may not have had a good passing night, but they definitely got the job done on the ground, piling up 200 total yards. Turley led the way with 145 yards on just nine runs with two scores. Brimhall carried five times for 35 yards and scored once. Patterson had one 19 yard run. Cody Fox rushed four times for seven total yards. Ethan Walker gained five on one rush. Isaac Dally carried once for three yards and Terren Green had one two-yard run. Snowflake forced three Falcon turnovers with Sam Ruehle and Mayson McKinlay each having interceptions. Hatch had the one fumble recovery. Patterson was another weapon with four punt returns totaling 105 yards with the one score. With the win Snowflake advanced to host sixth seeded Sabino, which ended Blue Ridge’s season with a 38-6 win. This was the second time this year the Sabercats had beaten the Yellowjackets. Sabino will bring their 8-2 season mark to Lobo Stadium on Friday. If Snowflake can get past Sabino they would face either No. 10 Safford or No. 2 Yuma Catholic in the semi-final round next week.
