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It has been a while since the Willcox Cowboys were able to win the Seney-Lohman trophy to say the least.
On Friday night, everything changed.
Willcox hasn’t beaten Benson since 2011. The Cowboys lost 10 straight in the series. Much of the frustration of the previous teams was released with the Cowboys’ 56-25 victory Friday night over the Bobcats in Benson.
The Cowboys’ offensive attack was mostly on the ground. The elderly Ayden Fuentes AND Cristiani panda were dominant running the ball, accounting for essentially all of the Cowboy scores.
Pando got things started on the opening drive, setting the tone early and driving down the field and scoring from six yards out to make it 7-0 early.
Benson’s offense took the field and didn’t wait long to respond. Senior Aiden Finch was the primary target on a scoring drive that ended in a 15-yard pass by the quarterback Dalton Crockett to him over a Cowboy defender to make it 7-6 after a failed PAT.
Pando would score again to make it 14-6. A turnover by each team briefly halted the scoring until Crockett returned to Finch for another touchdown, making it 14-12 after a failed two-point conversion.
Willcox coach Eric Hjalmarson admitted he was surprised by Benson’s new offense, a heavier offense compared to years past.
“Yeah, we made some adjustments … I thought they were going to run the ball a little bit more, but we were ready,” he said.
With 8:55 left in the second quarter, it looked like this game had all the makings of a back-and-forth contest, but that was as close as it would get.
Pando and Fuentes went on big touchdown runs that quickly made it 26-12. And with 35 seconds left in the half, Fuentes scored on another long run to make it 33-12 at halftime.
A great running game starts with the guys up front. Hjalmarson praised his forward line after their dominant performance.
“Our offensive line, they’re small, but we get it,” Hjalmarson said. “We’re working well, our coaching staff, everything’s just going well right now.”
Benson waited to start the second half and after a three-and-out, Pando returned a short punt from about 50 yards for another touchdown, making it 39-12.
Benson responded with a long drive that resulted in a one Colton Tyra rushing touchdown to make it 39-19 just over halfway through the third quarter, but Fuentes took the Cowboys’ first play from scrimmage into the end zone for another 60-yard run, all by himself leave the game in defeat 46-19.
Benson will look to bounce back next week as they travel to Bisbee (1-1).
Willcox will look to continue its momentum as it looks to move to 3-0 against visiting Sequoia Pathway, which is also 2-0 after Friday night’s 32-14 win over Tombstone at home.
Hjalmarson acknowledged the level of opposition that is on the horizon.
“You know, we have tough games. Sequoia Pathway is good, and then Morenci is definitely very, very, very good, and then Pima is also the real deal,” he said.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com Writing Intern Harrison Moreno is a southern Arizona native who has watched Wildcat athletics since he was a kid. He recently graduated from the University of Arizona School of Journalism with a focus on broadcast and audio journalism.
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