For the first time in nearly two years, after the roars of their fans, family and friends finally echoed for the last time Friday, Aug. 27, off nearby Red Rock Hill and Segeke Butte, Monument Valley’s players didn’t know what to do.

They didn’t want to leave their family and friends, even though Winslow High School, who came back for a 20-15 opening-night victory over the Mustangs, already had.

Head coach Bryan Begay, who doubles as the school’s athletic director and is still awaiting word if he can continue in both capacities on his home sidelines Friday, Sept. 3, against Cortez, was right there with them, cycling through both attachment and regret after 22 months without a game.

“They can’t tell me to be away from practice,” he said. “The year off just killed us.”

For the first three quarters, the down time appeared to have given Monument Valley enough fire to take down Winslow for the first time in six years. Senior quarterback Andrew Sheppard, all-North Region at the position in pre-pandemic play as both a freshman and a sophomore, led the Mustangs to the Bulldogs 35-yard-line on their opening drive before taking it in himself.

“That’s what we want him to do: pass the ball, run the ball, run the r[un-]p[ass] o[ption],” Begay said. “Andrew’s a gamer. I think he would have been even better if he had his junior year.”

Sheppard’s scrambles, both in called plays and broken plays, set the tone offensively on a night in which only Winslow wideout Micah Johnson could match his escapability. The Bulldogs senior tied the score, 7-7, halfway through the first quarter with a touchdown catch of his own from fellow upperclassman Jace Lyons. 

“The first half, I was like, ‘God, I’m going to get fired,’” said Winslow head coach Brandon Guzman, whose offense could not convert two subsequent opportunities in the Mustangs red zone, giving up a 25-yard fumble return to go down, 15-7, heading into the halftime locker room. “I felt like we were more prepared than what we were. I felt like we were farther ahead in the offense before we played [Monument Valley]. 

“We struggled. But Friday night lights are different. That’s my fault. I’ve got to maximize my time with my boys better.”

Defensive lineman Tyson Atene, with 2:45 to play in the second quarter, batted down a Lyons swing pass ruled to be a backward lateral, scooped the football off the Navajo grass and rumbled with a contingent of blockers into the corner of the end zone. Sheppard bobbled the hold on the extra point but improvised a two-point conversion pass to wide receiver Nahvonie Gray in the opposite corner of the end zone.

“We played a helluva defense,” said Begay, whose two-deep line made three goal-line stands to maintain the lead halfway through the third quarter. “We forced them to do things they were uncomfortable doing. Coach Guzman made adjustments.”

Which eventually paid off, after the Mustangs went three-and-out on their subsequent possession, and Johnson’s 60-yard return of a Sheppard punt brought the Bulldogs back in the game, 15-14.

“The second half, I was like, ‘All right, man, I’m going to keep my job another week,’” said Guzman, who was able to elicit more and more sustained drives thanks to converted offensive linemen Chris Arellano and Gage Thomas. “My two running backs were my [offensive] guards last year. I have a junior and sophomores on the offensive line, so we’re just trying to get them developed.” 

But it was another running back, junior Bryan Larsen, who had the game-winner, hauling in a swing pass from Lyons from eight yards out with 11:44 to play.

“I’m extremely proud of these guys, just by how we reacted in the second half,” Guzman said.

Critical drops of Sheppard passes shot the Mustangs in their collective foot, as Begay said, on the final drive. Still, his quarterback had a first down from just outside the Winslow 10-yard-line with a minute to play. It was Winslow, that time, who made the final stand.

“We had a good offensive game plan; we just fell short,” Begay said. “We had the opportunity at the end, [but] we didn’t win the one-on-one battle. Somebody had to win; time had to run out.”