By Greg Perkins Going into their road game at Whiteriver on Friday night, Holbrook knew they had to get ahead of the Falcons early in order to keep the much bigger Falcon team from running time off the clock while playing with a lead. Early on that strategy seemed to be in jeopardy when Alchesay took the opening kick-off and drove right down the field capping a 62-yard drive with a 10-yard run and two-point conversion taking the early 8-0 lead. Holbrook held Alchesay on their next possession forcing a Falcon punt which traveled just three net yards, giving the Roadrunners the ball back. Holbrook tied the game early in the second quarter on an 18-yard run by Marcus Oberriter. Izzy Ramos converted the two-point play making the score 8-8 at that point. Alchesay appeared poised for a go ahead score but fumbled on Holbrook’s 15-yard line. Holbrook’s first play following the fumble recovery was an 86-yard scamper by Oberriter making the score 16-8 with Ramos’ two-point conversion run. The Falcons again drove down the field but Holbrook’s defense held them on four and goal with under two minutes left in the half. Backed up on offense Oberriter had the ball snapped over his head resulted in a safety for the Falcons, which made the score 16-10 in Holbrook’s favor. Holbrook then intercepted a Falcon pass and quickly turned that into points when Oberriter found Ramos down the right sideline for an 80-yard catch and run pushing the lead to 24-10 at the half. Kyle Smith opened the second half with an 80-yard kick-off return for a score. The next offensive play for the Falcons was a fumble recovered by Triston Cowboy who returned it for another score and with less than a minute gone off the clock the Roadrunners quickly found themselves in complete control of the game leading it 40-10. Oberriter added a 50-yard scoring run. Danny Montijo scored twice in the fourth, one from 43 yards out and the second from just nine yards out and Holbrook finished the night with a dominating 62-24 win. This win sets up a huge game with St. Johns in two weeks. A game that will more than likely decide the region champion for the 2A Little Colorado Region. Holbrook improved their season mark to 5-1. They were ranked sixth in the 2A power points when the week began. Alchesay was ranked 12th prior to their loss. The win also pretty much guarantees the Roadrunners will be in the state playoffs for the first time in nearly 10 years back when they played in the 3A conference. This will be their first journey into the 2A playoffs. Oberriter completed just two of his three passes, but they went for 128 yards and a touchdown. Ramos caught both passes. On the ground, the junior quarterback rushed five times for an impressive 200 yards with three scores. Montijo carried four times for 56 yards, with two scores. Ramos gained 16 yards on seven tries, and Kyle Smith had one two-yard carry. Malakai Johnson led Holbrook’s defense with 15 tackles. Kyle Smith had 14, and Mauricio Baca made 12 stops. This week Holbrook will host Hopi on Saturday afternoon. Due to a shortage of officials on Friday nights the game was moved to Saturday. It will also be senior night for this game.
