The Lobos entered Friday night’s home game vs Marcos de Niza needing a win to move up in the 4A rankings. After starting the season 0-2, they have now run off five straight victories and climbed into the 17th position in the rankings prior to Friday night’s win over the 14th-ranked Padres.
The Padres received the opening kickoff and Snowflake’s defense quickly forced a punt. Snowflake’s first drive ended with a Lobo fumble recovered by the Padres on their own 20-yard line. The Lobo defense again forced a punt giving their offense the ball with a short field to work with. However, a second Lobo fumble was also recovered by Marcos de Niza. This time the Padres took advantage converting that fumble into a touchdown on an eight-yard pass play, putting the visitors on top 7-0 late in the first quarter.
Snowflake answered quickly when Payton Papa returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards tying the game at 7-7 with Sam Brown’s PAT.
Karter Raban put the Lobos on top midway through the second quarter on a 24-yard rushing touchdown. Brown’s kick made the score 14-7.
The Lobo defense forced a three-and-out, and their offense scored in two plays with Kanton Turley punching it in from four yards out. The PAT was good giving the Lobos a 21-7 cushion with five minutes left in the half.
Snowflake increased their lead in the final minute of the half when Brennan Bryant connected with Colton Tidwell on a 46-yard catch and run. Brown’s kick made the score 28-7 at the half.
Snowflake got the ball first in the second half and scored again on a one-yard run by Turley opening the lead up to 35-7 just three minutes into the third quarter.
Marcos de Niza tried to make a game of it late in the third, scoring on a 10-yard touchdown pass closing the gap to 35-14. They scored again before the quarter ended, this time on an eight-yard pass making the score 35-21 and pulling within two scores of the Lobo lead.
Bryant’s one-yard touchdown pass to Raban gave the Lobos a 42-21 lead early in the fourth.
Jo Jo Lerma put the final insurance points on the board, returning a Marcos de Niza interception for a pick-six from 24 yards away extending the lead to 49 to 21. Those were the final points in the 49-21 Snowflake win.
Bryant completed 10 of his 19 attempts for 1,442 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. Tidwell had two catches for 61 yards and a score. Papa caught 2 for 32 yards. Raban had 3 catches for 31 yards with a touchdown. Turley had two grabs for 12 yards, and Ezra Baum had one six-yard reception.
The rushing attack was led by Turley, who picked up 151 yards on 11 rushes with two touchdowns. Raban gained 79 yards on 10 attempts, scoring once. Tyler Parry gained 11 yards on four runs, and Jett Smith carried twice gaining eight yards.
Andrew Bentley led the defensive unit with 14 tackles. Jett McCray made 11 tackles and Lerma was credited with 10. Hayydn Nichols, Brent White, and Jhett Yellowhair each had one quarterback sack.
With the win, the Lobos improved to 5-2. This week they travel to Eastmark to take on the 10th-ranked Firebirds. Eastmark is also 5-2 on the season and coming off a 58-6 win over Desert Sunrise last week. Both teams have one common opponent at this point in the season. They both defeated Poston Butte. Eastmark defeated the Broncos 41-8, while Snowflake won in a much closer contest 37-26.
A tough road win would go a long way in setting up the Lobos for postseason play. They still have three games in their regular season but Eastmark is the highest-ranked opponent left on the schedule.
