Chinle extends win streak with 22-0 shutout over Winslow

By Truman Begaye
Special to the Times

CHINLE

The Chinle Wildcats (4-2) continued their midseason surge Thursday night, shutting out the Winslow Bulldogs 22-0 to notch their fourth straight victory.

Chinle controlled the pace with three touchdowns spread across three quarters while its defense kept the Bulldogs (1-5) off the scoreboard.

“I think the seniors were committed to making sure we don’t repeat what happened last year when we played them,” Chinle head coach Pita Olomua said. “We had it all the way into the fourth quarter and let it slip from our fingertips. That left a bad taste in their mouths, so this year they made sure not to make that same mistake.”

Sophomore running back Cody Curley led the Wildcats’ ground attack with several long runs, while the defense showed its improvement in tackling—a focus they did all summer.

“If the kids are blocking and doing their assignments, we can move the ball easily,” Olomua said. “Defensively, we worked on their tackling. From last year, we knew we missed a lot of games because of that, so one of the highlights this year is how well they’ve been tackling.”

The breakthrough came late in the first quarter. After driving to the Bulldogs’ 1-yard line, Curley powered across for the first touchdown. A successful two-point conversion gave Chinle an 8-0 lead with four minutes left in the quarter.

Winslow responded with a steadier second quarter, stringing together first downs and capitalizing on a fumble recovery that set them up at Chinle’s 35. But the Bulldogs stalled and turned the ball over on downs in the final minute of the half. Chinle made them pay. Junior quarterback Dechelly Nalwood connected with receiver Kanin Tsinigini on a 23-yard touchdown strike, and another two-point conversion stretched the lead to 16-0 at halftime.

“Our offense has been struggling all year, it’s been an ongoing issue for us,” Winslow head coach Jordan Payne said. “It seems like when we do get something going, we’ll drop a pass or have a penalty and it stalls us out. It just feels repetitive each week.”

The Wildcats put the game out of reach in the third quarter when Curley picked off a Winslow pass at the Bulldogs’ 39-yard line. Chinle pounded the ball forward again, and Curley capped the short drive with a 2-yard rushing score. The two-point attempt failed, but the Wildcats still sealed the shutout at 22-0.

Chinle now turns its attention to homecoming, hosting the Ganado Hornets (5-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. Winslow will look to regroup when it welcomes the Monument Valley Mustangs (0-6) on Friday.

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