'Red Mesa kids can play football!'

Another exciting chapter in the classic saga of cowboys versus redskins played out in the high desert of northern Arizona on Friday, Nov. 6.

The Cowboys of Willcox (9-2), located in southeastern Arizona near the Mexico and New Mexico borders, drove 10 hours into hostile Indian country to face the Red Mesa Redskins (8-2) in the first round of the 2A state football playoffs.

The Cowboys escaped with a 48-20 win.

The score is more lopsided than the game actually was. Red Mesa battled honorably before an accumulation of mental mistakes in the fourth quarter ended their season - and the tenure of their great coach Pita Olomua - one game too early.

"We knew we were gonna have a tough game," Willcox head coach Jim Hughes said afterwards. "They've got great athletes, and they're a good team. The Williams coach told me they're especially tough at home. He said when you go there it's like you're already down two touchdowns.  So to come up here and win, with all the travel we had to do, we feel fortunate."

Battling back

The Cowboys got out to an early 13-0 lead powered by senior running back Rudy Verdugo who amassed 143 yards rushing for the game.

Red Mesa appeared overmatched. However, the Redskins woke up and scored their first touchdown early in the second quarter.

With the Red Mesa crowd's noisy support, the Redskins followed up their first touchdown drive of the night by forcing a three and out on the Cowboys' next possession.

The offense followed that defensive stand with a 65-yard touchdown drive capped by senior Robert Atchinson's 8-yard run which gave the Redskins a 14-13 lead with five minutes to go until halftime.

"Yeah, we were a little worried," Willcox's Hughes said afterwards about the lead change, but his team sure didn't act like it.

The Cowboys went on a 74-yard drive in which they converted four third downs, including two in the red zone, before scoring a touchdown and adding a two-point conversion putting the score at 21-14 with only 33 seconds left in the half.

The Cowboys tried a little trickery in the remaining 33 seconds. They recovered an onside kick and on their first play ran a flea flicker that netted a 40-yard gain giving the Cowboys the ball at the Red Mesa 12.

Redskin junior defensive back Joseph Castillo ended that drive by intercepting a Cowboys' pass in the end zone as time expired for the first half.

The critical turning point in the game for the Cowboys was their first possession of the third quarter. On that drive the Cowboys faced a third and long from their own 35-yard line. They surprised the Redskins with a play-action pass to their junior tight end Shane Hicks who was wide open down the middle of the field.

The 65-yard score gave the Cowboys a 28-14 advantage.

The Redskins' next possession was horrible, netting a total of -10 yards. However the punt was brilliant, placing the Cowboys on their own goal line.

Momentum shifts

Momentum seemed to be shifting back to the Redskins when junior Orrin Yazzie recovered a Cowboy fumble at the 29-yard line.

The Redskins wasted no time cashing in the Cowboy turnover. On their first play from scrimmage senior quarterback Vernell Johnson threw a beautiful high arching spiral to a streaking Dustin Sagg.

Sagg made the tough catch in the back of the end zone.  Following that 29-yard touchdown pass Red Mesa was threatening Willcox again, 28-20, to finish the third quarter.

The fourth quarter started well for the Redskins. All night Red Mesa had difficulty stopping Willcox on third down, but they finally held their ground forcing a Willcox punt with 11:20 left in the fourth quarter.

Then disaster struck.

During the punt Red Mesa was called for a roughing the kicker penalty, which gave Willcox the ball at the Red Mesa 36.  The Redskins defense held for a few plays, but on third and six from the 28 Verdugo knifed through and scored a touchdown pushing the score to 34-20 in favor of the Cowboys.

On Red Mesa's next possession Verdugo struck again. He intercepted a pass and returned it 60 yards to the Redskin 20-yard line.

The Redskin defense stiffened once the Cowboy offense took the field. They stopped the Cowboys on third and six, but there was a penalty on the play.

To the total dismay of the Red Mesa coaching staff, their players accepted the penalty. What would have been a third and sixteen became a fourth and three at the 15-yard line. The Cowboys took advantage of the mistake converting the fourth down.

Two plays later a Verdugo touchdown with 7:12 to play pushed the lead to 42-20 in favor of the Cowboys, and sealed the win.

The Cowboys added their last touchdown with 2:36 left after Red Mesa turned the ball over on downs deep in their own territory.

Emotional ending

The end of the game was emotional for Redskins fans, not only because of the loss but because beloved coach Pita Olomua, who has built of powerhouse of sorts here in the desert, will be calling it quits.

This was the third consecutive year Olomua took Red Mesa to the state playoffs.

In fact, since 2001 the Redskins have only missed the state playoffs twice. During that time they regularly thrash their competition on the reservation establishing themselves this season with quality wins over 3A opponents Chinle, Ganado and Monument Valley.

The Redskins were the only reservation football team to host a first-round playoff game this season. The last reservation team to do so was Monument Valley back in 2006.

Undoubtedly Olomua's contribution to Red Mesa High School will be missed. As his players and their parents crowded around the goalpost following the game, he quietly thanked everyone for the opportunity for himself and the fantastic overall season they finished with.

After the game he lamented his team's mistakes against Willcox, but was moved by his team's performance over the years saying, "I just appreciate the opportunity that I've had here. I just appreciate the community accepting me for the last 10 years. The kids have really played hard for me all these years.  It's really all about them. They're the ones who deserve the recognition."

When told that the Willcox coach got nervous when his team briefly took the lead in the second quarter he wasn't surprised.

"Red Mesa kids can play football!" Olomua said emphatically. "We're not just some rez team. Other teams know who we are, what we've done, and people have a more respectful view of us because of that."

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