Third ranked Holbrook closes out regular season at Hopi

WINDOW ROCK

With a 9-0 record, the Holbrook football team continues to see its stock rise in the upper echelon in Arizona’s 2A football standings.

Entering Friday’s game at Hopi, the Roadrunners were ranked No. 3 in the latest Arizona Interscholastic Association statewide polls.

“We’re playing great,” first-year Holbrook coach Shawn Holley said. “I mean, the guys are playing a lot faster because they understand the system now.

“They’re just executing at a high level,” he added. “So, they’re playing really good football.”

Holley said they’re getting it done on both ends of the field. On the offensive end, quarterback Marcus Oberriter is putting up gaudy numbers in his final prep season.

The senior has completed 82-of-141 passes for 1,381 yards and 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. On the ground, he’s added another 499 yards on 39 carries and eight TD scores.

And although Oberriter makes the engine run, Holbrook has a litany of other weapons on the team.

Senior Daniel Montijo has rushed for 880 yards on 101 carries and 17 TDs.

“He’s caught 90 yards and three touchdown passes,” Holley said of Montijo. “He’s one of our top weapons, especially in the backfield.

The Holbrook coach said his defensive line is excellent.

“We got good size,” he said. “They’re fast, and they’re strong. We actually have the top two guys in the region with sacks.”

Holley said senior Mauricio Baca leads the 2A Little Colorado with 7.5 sacks, while senior Izzy Ramos has six.

The first-year coach also praised the defensive guys behind the trenches.

“Our linebackers scrape really hard, and they’re the big reason why we’re closing a lot of those gaps,” he said. “Those guys pursue hard.”

Sophomore Noah Padilla leads the region with 64 tackles, with outside linebacker Mason Archunde not too far behind with 57.

Holley said he’s looking forward to the state playoffs, but like any other team, they are shooting for the state’s top seed.

“I like where we’re at, but we always want to get that No. 1 spot,” he said.

In 2A Little Colorado Region play, the Roadrunners are 4-0, including a 20-13 win over St. Johns on October 14.

“Oddly enough, we were up 20-0 at the start of the fourth quarter,” Holley said. “That game was totally on me. We had a penalty on the ensuing kickoff, and we kicked it from the 25-yard line.”

Holley said the team opted to go for an onside kick, but instead of kicking it to the middle of the field, the ball was kicked to the outs side.

“We had a bunch of kids in the middle, so we had no containment on the outside, and they returned the kickoff for a touchdown,” he said. “After that, we lost the momentum.”

Looking at Friday’s game, Holley said the Bruins are playing outstanding, having posted a 6-3 record.

“Hopi is actually not a bad team,” he said. “They went 0-6 the previous year, so they’ve done a really good job of turning things around, so we can’t afford to take those guys lightly.

“We still got to show up and play Roadrunner football,” he added.

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