Holbrook’s Roadrunners traveled to Page last Friday night, where they were hoping to extend their winning streak to three. Unfortunately, the Sand Devils had other plans. Page used a dominating rushing attack to score the game’s first 30 points en route to a 72-35 home field win.
The Roadrunners got a solid passing game from Frankie Ulibarri, who completed 14 of 20 passes for 210 yards with three touchdowns and one pick. Finn Kinghorn made his return to the lineup, completing 1 of 11 passes for two yards, but threw a pair of interceptions. The first of those resulted in Page’s first score of the night, as it was returned 38 yards for a touchdown.
Playing from behind at the onset, and with Zakhari Waits limited to just 37 yards on 14 carries, the Birds had to go to the air. Ulibarri’s favorite target was Jeffrey Jones, who caught four balls for 114 yards and a touchdown on a 58-yard bomb. Kinghorn had five receptions for 57 yards, with two going for scores. Jalen Nez had four catches totaling 21 yards and Brady Buckley had two for 20 yards.
Holbrook’s rushing attack finished with just 88 yards. Ulibarri led the way with nine carries for 43 yards and two touchdowns. Along with Waits’ 37 yards, Jones had eight yards on six attempts.
Page utilized its mammoth size in the offense line to pile up 531 rushing yards, with several of those yards coming on long runs in the first half. The Sand Devils had scoring runs of 61, 44, 46 and 80 yards, along with a pair of kickoff returns that went for scores.
Ulibarri not only played well on offense, he also led Holbrook’s defense with 12 tackles. Nez made nine, and Tyson Begay and Oscar Hernandez each had six stops.
With the loss, the Roadrunners dropped to 2-3 on the season. The remainder of the season will be against East Region teams, beginning with the Blue Ridge Yellowjackets, who come to town on Homecoming night on Friday, Sept. 29.
The Yellowjackets, like the rest of the East Region, are no longer a dominant football team, at least like they have been in the past. They come in with an identical record to Holbrook at 2-3 with losses in their past two games.
