Nearly four hundred rushing yards from the Lobos in last Saturday night’s big quarterfinal victory over Coolidge was more than enough to move Snowflake into the semifinal round this weekend. Both Drew Schneider and Trevor McCray eclipsed the century mark in the 48-19 home field win over fifth seeded Coolidge.
Coolidge opened the scoring midway through the first quarter on a one-yard run from Dominick Ellis to move on top 7-0. It didn’t take the Lobos long to respond when Schneider scooted in from 51 yards out, knotting the game at 7-7 with just over five minutes left in the period.
With five minutes left in the half Snowflake took the lead for good on McCray’s 58-yard scoring run. Snowflake’s third big play of the half resulted with Schneider in the end zone again following a 41-yard scoring run. Brenton Ballard’s point after kick gave Snowflake a 21-7 halftime lead.
The Lobos picked up in the third period where they left off in the second. Schneider scored on a 45-yard run early in the period and the rout was on for Snowflake’s final home game of the season. Coolidge scored on a 30-yard touchdown pass with eight minutes left in the third, trying to make a game of it by edging the score to 28-13. The Bears did make it interesting for a while, throwing a second touchdown pass with one minute left in the third to trail 28-19.
The final period belonged to the Lobos. McCray scored on a one-yard run. Tyler Claridge hooked up with Travis Flake for a 35-yard scoring toss, pushing the lead to 41-19. Then, with less than two minutes left in the game, Claridge found Porter Black for a 20-yard score. Ballard’s point after finished the scoring as fourth seeded Snowflake advanced to the semifinal round with the 48-19 win.
Claridge completed six of eight passes for 134 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Black was the leading receiver, grabbing three balls for 78 yards and a score. Lane Penrod had two receptions for 21 yards and Flake had one 35-yard touchdown catch.
On the ground Snowflake piled up the yards, led by Schneider who gained 174 yards on just nine runs, scoring three times. McCray carried 11 times, gaining 125 yards and scoring twice. Zach Solomon rushed nine times for 43 yards. Penrod carried four times for 23 yards. Claridge had three runs for 17 yards. Alex Patterson rushed twice, picking up 11 yards, and Black ran one time for two yards.
Hosting Combs in the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 8, Snowflake scored less than two minutes into the game on a one-yard rush by McCray. Ballard’s point after kick gave the Lobos a lead they would never relinquish.
With two minutes left in the opening period Claridge connected with Black on an 11-yard scoring toss, pushing the margin to 14-0. Solomon capped an impressive opening period just moments later on a four-yard scoring rush, closing the first stanza with the Lobos comfortably on top 20-0.
Early in the second Black scored on a one-yard run, making the lead 27-0. Midway through the quarter a 28-yard touchdown run by Claridge advanced the score to 34-0. The final score of the half came on the legs of McCray, who rushed in from 18 yards out to make the halftime tally 41-0 with Ballard’s point after kick.
With half of the third period gone Solomon scored on a nine-yard run, making the margin 47-0 and sending the game into the running clock mode.
The Coyotes avoided the shut out with a 46-yard touchdown pass halfway through the final period. With five minutes left in the game, Claridge scooted in from 14 yards out to score the final points of the night for the Lobos. Combs added a touchdown in the final three minutes of the game, bringing the score to 54-12.
With the wins the Lobos move to 11-1 and will now face the team that handed them their only loss. Seton Catholic demolished Winslow 69-19 in its quarterfinal match up last Saturday. The Sentinels defeated Snowflake 23-14 over two months ago and neither team has lost since.
In that earlier contest unbeaten Seton compiled 301 yards of offense compared to 317 by the Lobos. The score was 20-14 at the half, with the Sentinels scoring the only three points in the second half. These two teams are evenly matched and many feel this will be the state title game, with the winner having the advantage over either No. 3 River Valley or No. 2 Sahuarita, which match up in the other semifinal game.
Snowflake and Seton Catholic will battle at Paradise Valley High School, while Sahuarita and River Valley match up at Marana High School. Both games are set to kickoff at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22. The state championship game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 29, at North Canyon High School in Phoenix.
