Bulldogs come up short against Seton Catholic

Winslow fights hard but falls short in 27-20 season ending loss at Seton Catholic, Kelly Wood runs for 312 yards on 40 carries

The Seton Catholic Sentinels ended Winslow's season Nov. 16 defeating the Bulldogs 27-20 on Seton Catholic's home field in one of the final games of the Division IV Arizona State Football Playoffs. The loss left Winslow with an 8-4 record. Seton Catholic advanced to the semi-finals with an 11-1 record.

Seton Catholic drove 80 yards in 13 plays and scored on a fourth down one-yard run by Antonio Campanella on their first possession. The conversion failed and the Sentinels led 6-0 with just seconds left in the first quarter.

Winslow tied the score on a two-yard run by Kelly Wood with 8:40 left in the first half. Seton Catholic blocked the conversion kick leaving the score tied at 6-6. The Bulldogs drove 66 yards for the score.

The Sentinels regained the lead on a 15-yard pass from Kyle Johnson to George Wolter. Johnson then converted to give Seton Catholic a 13-6 lead.

Wood scored his second touchdown of the game on a 30-yard run to complete a 92-yard drive with just 2:40 left in the half. Nick Thomas converted to tie the score at 13-13, which was the score at the intermission.

Seton Catholic scored quickly at the start of the second half on a 63-yard pass from Johnson to Niko Villegas. Johnson converted to give the Sentinels a 20-13 lead less than two minutes into the second half.

The Sentinels scored the second time they had the ball in the half on a five-yard pass from Johnson to Brandon Garcia. Johnson's conversion increased the Seton Catholic lead to 27-13 with 6:22 left in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs drove into scoring position but surrendered the ball on downs at the Sentinel nine-yard line. The third quarter ended with Seton Catholic still leading 27-13.

Kelly Wood scored for the third time

in the game for Winslow on a 15-yard run. Thomas converted to cut the Seton Catholic lead to 27-20 with just under eight minutes left to play.

The Bulldogs threatened to score in the closing minutes but came up short as the Sentinels intercepted a fourth down pass on their five-yard line with just time for one more play.

The game was hard fought and not decided until the final seconds. Seton Catholic used an excellent passing attack.

Johnson completed 18 of 24 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns for Seton Catholic. Wood had a sensational night running for 312 yards on 40 carries leading the Winslow offense and scoring all three Winslow touchdowns.

Winslow coaches and fans congratulated the Bulldogs on a fine season despite the loss Saturday night. The team played well and overcame a plethora of injuries to reach the state playoffs and give the defending state champion Sentinels a close game not decided until the final seconds.

Seton Catholic will play the River Valley Dust Devils on Saturday at a site to be determined. River Valley upset the Snowflake Lobos 28-14 in Snowflake to earn its berth in the semifinals.

The Blue Ridge Yellowjackets defeated the Coolidge Bears 49-0 at Pinetop to advance to the semifinals against the Show Low Cougars. The Cougars beat the Safford Bulldogs 64-20 in Show Low. Teams will play semifinal games at a neutral site agreeable to both contenders.