Holbrook was hoping to turn a successful summer of work into a season-opening win on Friday night, however, Page came to town with other ideas.
The game certainly opened on a positive note with Simeon Shaw returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Holbrook added a second kickoff return for a score later in the first half.
Page went to work with a productive passing game, which netted them 300 yards and 4 touchdowns from their junior quarterback Joseph Benally. He also threw three interceptions with Shaw collecting two and Darren Justman catching one from the other team’s quarterback.
Following Holbrook’s opening kick return for a score, Page came right down the field and scored as well. Holbrook led 20-12 at the end of the first quarter. Both teams scored once in the second, leaving the Birds with a 26-18 halftime lead. Holbrook was shut out in the second half.
Page pulled within two at 26-24 with the only third-quarter score. In the fourth, the Sand Devils put up 23 points. Their passing game along with a ground-and-pound rushing attack in the final four minutes seemed to wear Holbrook down and seal their fate with a final score of 47-26.
Benally completed 23 of his 42 attempts for 300 yards with 4 scores and 3 picks. His leading receiver was Tyree Stingley who had 107 yards on 8 grabs. Shaine Begay caught 9 balls for 80 yards. Benally spread the ball around completing passes to six different receivers. On the ground, Page was paced by Landon Mansker who piled up 172 yards on 21 rushes with a pair of touchdowns. Most of his work came in the second half. In total Page had 480 yards of total offense.
Holbrook’s Justman completed 16 of 31 for 131, with 2 scores and 2 picks, one of which went for a Page score. Shaw was the leading receiver with 60 yards on 6 receptions. Chance Sahmie caught 3 for 49 with a score. Daniel John has 4 catches totaling 17 yards with 1 short touchdown grab. On the ground, Holbrook struggled to gain traction against the Sand Devil front. Manny Rico gained 44 yards on 10 rushes. Justman carried it 4 times, gaining 19 yards. Holbrook finished with 188 yards of total offense. However, they did get nearly 200 yards and two scores from special teams.
Christian Lerma led Holbrook’s defensive unit with 14 tackles. Justman added 10 as did Victor Saiz. Daniel John, and Shaw each were credited with 8 stops.
This week Holbrook travels to Winslow for the annual I-40 battle. Last season the bragging rights went to the Bulldogs with a 36-6 win at Roadrunner Stadium. This week will see if Holbrook can turn the tables. Winslow is 1-1 this year with a big win over Window Rock in zero week. They were soundly beaten by Payson 34-6 last week.
