The Lobos remained unbeaten on Friday night with a 41-0 shutout over Poston Butte in their first region game of the season. Poston Butte came in winless on the season and didn’t have much of a chance against what is sure to be a top-five Snowflake team when the 4A rankings come out on Oct. 14.
The Lobos started slowly with just one touchdown in the opening quarter. After trading punts with the Broncos, Snowflake put together a drive that ended on a Brenner Green 35-yard rushing touchdown midway through the period. The 2-point conversion failed, leaving the Lobos with the 6-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Snowflake found its rhythm. Their defense held the Broncos on downs, then a series of passes set up a short one-yard plunge by Jacob LaDuke. McCoy Norton’s PAT made the score 13-0. A second defensive stop quickly led to a score as LaDuke found Reidhead for a 44-yard catch and run. Norton’s boot extended the lead to 20-0. LaDuke tossed his second touchdown pass of the quarter with a 17-yard completion to Green. Edge Bryant ran in the 2-point conversion, and Snowflake went to the half with a 28-0 lead.
Snowflake scored twice in the third quarter. After a Raban interception halted Poston Butte’s first drive of the half, LaDuke connected with Gionn Jones for an 88-yard catch and run, extending the lead to 34-0. Snowflake’s final points of the night came on a short 5-yard pass from LaDuke to Christian Smith. McCoy Norton kicked the final point through, giving the Lobos the 41-0 win. Neither team scored in the final quarter.
LaDuke had an efficient night passing the ball. He completed 9 of 14 passes for 239 yards with 4 touchdowns. He also rushed 5 times for an additional 29 yards, adding his fifth touchdown of the game.
Green carried just 6 times but gained 79 yards with a score. Bryant had one 3-yard tote, and Hayydn Nichols carried once for 2 yards.
Jones had one 88-yard catch for a score. Nash Reidhead had one 60-yard catch for a score. Christian Smith had 3 receptions for 54 yards with a score. Green caught 2 for 19 yards with a score, and Colter Willis had 2 catches for 18 total yards.
This week, the Lobos will host Combs. The Coyotes are 5-1 on the season but come into this game off a 37-0 loss last week to Arcadia. Before that loss, they had not given up a single point with shutout wins in their first five games. The question is how good their defense is or how good Arcadia is, a team Snowflake will face in their final regular-season game.
Snowflake clearly has the offensive firepower to put points on the board in this game. Whether or not Combs’ defense is that good, or Arcadia just was that much better, is what Lobo fans will find out Friday night at Lobo Stadium.
