The deeper a team moves into the state playoffs, the more mistakes can come back to haunt it. Playing against seventh seeded Florence at North Canyon High School in the quarterfinal round of the Division IV playoffs Saturday, second seeded Snowflake made too many of those mistakes and Florence brought the Lobos season to a close with a 42-28 loss.
Snowflake had a 70-yard kick off return for an apparent score wiped away with a penalty. The Lobos also had issues taking care of the ball in crucial situations. Despite some of those early mistakes, they scored the only first period touchdown and led 6-0 at the beginning of the second quarter.
Most of the second period belonged to the Gophers. A four-yard scoring run put Florence on top, then following a Snowflake turnover the Gophers scored again, this time on a 28-yard run to lead 14-6. With five minutes left in the half, Florence scored its third consecutive touchdown of the period to move in front 21-6. Snowflake took away some of that momentum just prior to the half with a Doug Brimhall three-yard run to the end zone. A successful two-point conversion left the Lobos trailing 21-14 at the half.
In the third quarter the Lobos came out on fire. Just over three minutes into the half, Brit Smith took off on a long scoring run which tied the game at 21-21. Chase Walden then put the Lobos on top with a short run, staking Snowflake to a 28-21 lead heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth all the momentum switched back to the Gophers. Florence scored just two minutes into the quarter on a short run, knotting the game at 28-28. A big fourth down conversion led to the Gophers taking the lead for good with 1:13 left in the fourth on a 35-yard run by DeShaun Davis, who racked up 285 yards rushing on the night. The Lobos positioned themselves for a potential tie, but their final turnover of the night, and the season, allowed Florence to tack on an insurance score in the 42-28 win, closing out Snowflake’s 10-2 season.
