Bulldogs open with win

The Winslow Bulldogs opened their 2004 football season with a 47-6 victory over the Camp Verde Cowboys in a non-conference game played in Camp Verde on Friday.

The Bulldogs got a huge break on the first play of the game when Michael Zaitz, senior transfer from Peoria, picked up a Cowboy fumble and ran 20 yards for the season’s first touchdown. The conversion kick failed and Winslow led 6-0 with only 13 seconds gone off the clock.

Camp Verde drove to near the Bulldog 20 yard line before surrendering the ball on downs. The rest of the first quarter was scoreless and Winslow led 6-0 going into the second period.

Zaitz got his second touchdown of the game midway through the second quarter on a five yard, fourth down run. The conversion pass failed and the Bulldogs led 12-0.

Winslow quarterback Tim Merritt passed nine yards to Orlando Vargas for a touchdown with three minutes remaining before halftime. Vargas completed the first half scoring by running for the two-point conversion that increased Winslow’s lead to 20-0.

Zaitz scored again on a 13 yard run with nine minutes left in the third on Winslow’s first possession of the second half. Jordan Payne passed to Merritt for the two-point conversion that gave the Bulldogs a 28-0 lead.

The lead grew to 34-0 on a 14 yard run by Zaitz with just under five minutes left in the third quarter. The conversion kick failed.

Camp Verde got on the board on a 20 yard pass from quarterback Houser to William Trajan in the closing minutes of the third period. The conversion kick failed and Winslow saw its lead cut to 34-6.

Zaitz scored his fifth touchdown of the game and his second on a fumble recovery when he caught a teammate’s fumble at the Camp Verde three and stepped into the end zone. The conversion kick was good and Winslow led 41-6 midway through the final period.

Matt Oso ran 55 yards with an intercepted pass to give Winslow its second defensive touchdown. The conversion kick failed and Winslow led 47-6 with less than two minutes left in the contest.

Winslow had 285 yard of offense compared to 143 for Camp Verde. The Bulldogs rushed for 206 yards. Zaitz had 115 yards on 14 carries. Vargas picked up 91 yards on 15 carries. Merritt and Payne were eight for 12 passing for 79 yards.

Winslow hosts Snowflake on Friday with kickoff at 7 p.m.