Football Preview: Shiprock Chieftains vs. Crownpoint Eagles
Shiprock has been on the road for three straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will host the Crownpoint Eagles at 7:00 p.m.
Shiprock is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 36 points last Friday, they were much more limited against Tohatchi on Friday. They were beaten by the Cougars 48-6. The loss continues a trend for the Chieftains in their matchups with the Cougars: they've now lost four in a row.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Crownpoint). They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Zuni 46-0 at home. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Lavontae Robinson was a one-man wrecking crew for Crownpoint as he rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries, and also threw for 59 yards and a touchdown while completing 72.7% of his passes. Robinson also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up a sack, forcing two fumbles, and making five total tackles (2.0 for loss). Calian Tenequer was another key player, rushing for 41 yards and two touchdowns.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Crownpoint was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 244 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 96.8 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last three matchups they've averaged 183.3.
Crownpoint wouldn't let Zuni keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Robinson was the leader in that area as all came courtesy of his dominant performance.
Shiprock's defeat dropped their record down to 0-6. As for Crownpoint, their victory bumped their record up to 3-4.
Shiprock came up short against Crownpoint in their previous meeting back in August of 2023, falling 28-21. Thankfully for Shiprock, Jonathan Antonio (who rushed for 45 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 179 yards and a touchdown on only 15 passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
