Week three of the football season was a week of firsts for each of the four area teams. Two teams picked up their first wins of the season, while the other two suffered their first losses of the year.
Snowflake and Winslow both tasted defeat last week, with each losing on their home field. At the close of tonight (Sept. 19) one of these teams will be on a two-game skid while the other will move to 3-1. The last three meetings between the Lobos and Dawgs have belonged entirely to Snowflake in dominating fashion, including last season’s 46-14 Lobo win. Winslow’s big loss at home to Round Valley last week will certainly have the Bulldogs inspired to play a better game this week. Unfortunately, Snowflake’s loss to Seton Catholic will be a similar driving force for the Lobos, who appear to have an advantage over Winslow, at least on paper.
Joseph City picked up its first win of the year last week with an offensive explosion on the ground, piling up more than 460 yards rushing. The Wildcats will need to come close to matching that tonight when they host Mogollon. The Mustangs come into this matchup 3-0 on the season with an offense averaging just over 56 points per game. The good news for Wildcat fans is that Mogollon’s defense gave up 53 points last week in the Mustangs’ 64-53 win over Gilbert Christian. If Joseph City’s running game gets ramped up early in this contest, the Cats could have enough to keep pace with the Mustangs. It’s been three years since Joseph City has come out on top in this rivalry. If the Cats start slowly on offense, that may become a four-year stretch on the wrong side of the final outcome.
Holbrook also picked up its first win of the year in an exciting overtime game at home. Due to work being done on Window Rock’s field, the Roadrunners will once again play at home, hosting a Scout team with a 2-1 mark. Window Rock was one play away from being undefeated, but lost to St. Johns on the final play of the game in week one. Granted the Redskins are down a bit this year, but that game is usually a lopsided win for St. Johns. In the past two weeks the Scouts have rolled over weak opponents, outscoring Rough Rock and Rock Point by a combined total of 124-6. Holbrook will provide a tougher test than either of those teams. The Roadrunners found success last week with their ground game, rolling up 300 yards rushing. They should be able to repeat that performance tonight. Defensively they will need to do a better job containing whatever passing attack the Scouts may have if they want to even their season mark at 2-2.
Holbrook has dominated this game the last two years. Three seasons ago the Roadrunners won again, but only by 10 points. This game may be similar to that one if Window Rock has truly improved its program. Still, Holbrook should be the better team and should come out on top, moving its record to 2-2. In terms of power points, this is a critical game for the Birds to win to get closer to the state tournament in Division V.
