Hopi defeats Pinon, improves to 4-4 for season <br>

Hopi appeared to bust the game open with 18 points in the second period. Midway through the second quarter, the Bruins took over on downs at their own 39 yard line.

It took just two plays to score. Adams hit Schjang with a 48-yard pass to setup the TD and then found Delvin Huma for the 13_yard scoring strike. The pass failed for the conversion, but Hopi led 19-8 with 5:04 left in the half.

Following an Eagle punt, Hopi moved 72 yards on five plays. A personal foul helped keep the drive going and Adams then hooked up with Schjang on a 45-yard TD pass. The pass failed again on the conversion attempt, but Hopi zoomed ahead 25-8 with 3:04 remaining in the half.

Six plays later, Schjang intercepted a pass and Hopi took over on its 27 yard line. A 22-yard pass to Schjang and a 25-yard pass to Pete kept the drive going before Adams hit Navenma with a two-yard pass for the score as the halftime clock expired. The kick failed, but the Bruins led at intermission 31-8.

After Pinon failed to move the ball at the start of the second half, Hopi took over at its own 37 yard line. The first two plays lost nine yards, but Adams hit Pete with a four-yard pass and Huma for 39 yards to setup the TD before connecting with Harris for the three-yard TD pass. Navenma kicked the extra point as Hopi had a 38-8 bulge with 7:58 left in the third.

Eight plays later, Seth Collateta recovered a fumble for Hopi at the 49. A 31-yard pass from Adams to Schjang kept the drive moving before Navenma kicked a 24-yard field goal as the Bruins led 41-8 with 41 seconds left in the third quarter.

Coach Semore substituted freely after this and Pinon scored three touchdowns. In the early fourth quarter, Seaton Clark scampered 65 yards for a TD and Eagle quarterback Ryan John connected with Joshua Ramirez on the conversion pass as Pinon pulled within 41-16 with 9:13 left in the game.

Later in the fourth period, Eric Yazzie recovered a fumble at the Hopi 18. On the next play, Ramirez broke loose for the TD run. John hit Clark for the conversion pass as the Eagles were down 41-24 with 3:28 to go.

Four plays later, Hopi fumbled and Pinon recovered at the Bruin 40. It took just two plays to score. Ramirez setup the TD with a 22-yard run before Clark ran it in from 18 yards out. Ramirez ran in the conversion points as Pinon pulled within 41-32.

Hopi tried to run out the clock, but when Pinon called a time out, the Bruins went back to the air. Adams hit Pete with a 19 yard pass to setup the score and then found Schjang in the endzone for a 25 yard scoring strike with 5.3 seconds left in the game.

Coach's comments

Hopi High Coach Russ Semore said the Bruins started the game slow and sloppy.

“But give Pinon credit because they came ready to play and they have some pretty good players,” he said.

Coach Semore noted that Hopi didn’t start its normal lineup because some of the players had missed a practice.

“But our other kids stepped up and started playing pretty well,” he said.

Coach Semore said Adams and Schjang had incredible nights.

“Jeremy threw great and Michael caught everything in sight, made some good moves and headed for the endzone,” he said.

Coach Semore was also pleased that receivers Delvin Huma and Denvy Harris had the first touchdowns of their high school career. He added that Tyler Pete didn’t make a lot of receptions, but came through in the clutch.

Coach Semore said the Bruin defense settled down after making some errors at the start. He installed his junior varsity offense after Hopi jumped to a 41-8 bulge in the third quarter.

“Pinon hits real hard. Some of our younger players hadn’t experienced that, and it was good experience for them,” he said.

Backup quarterback Matt Lamson played in parts of the third and fourth quarters. Coach Semore believes the experience will help the young quarterback.

Coach Semore said the Bruin special teams had their best games of the year.

“The opening kickoff was outstanding with Charles Villa throwing an incredible block to open up the lanes for Michael,” he said.

As always, Coach Semore said he appreciates the fans' support.