PRESCOTT — Since the year 2000, Prescott football has qualified for the state playoffs nine times. Of those appearances, the Badgers earned five first-round victories, but with each of those wins came a heartbreaking second-round loss.

Coach Cody Collett’s No. 6-ranked club will get another opportunity to rewrite history next week after their lopsided 42-20 victory against No. 11-seeded Vista Grande in the first round of the 4A bracket Friday night.

And they’ll get that chance against No. 3-seeded Snowflake, which beat the Badgers in the second round of the playoffs two years ago, 20-3.

Senior halfback Adam Lloyd put on a show, scoring four touchdowns on the ground while fellow senior teammate Uriah Tenette tossed two scores of his own to seal the deal.

“I’m really proud of our guys. We made huge improvements since the last time we played [Vista Grande], and we wanted to come out and show it tonight,” Collett said. “Sometimes you play a team twice and there’s a lot of motivation [on the other side], but I think our guys had a lot of motivation because we wanted to show how much better we are since that September night.”

Prescott beat the Spartans 31-26 in Week 4 action Sept. 20.

HOW THEY SCORED

Lloyd scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to open the game’s scoring with 10:37 to play in the first quarter, then added another with a 28-yard scamper and the Badgers were quickly up 14-0.

Tenette hooked up with Josiah Peoples on a 47-yard touchdown throw to make it 21-0 in the second quarter, and Lloyd added his third scoring run of the evening to make it 28-0 with 31 seconds before halftime.

“He’s been a workhorse all year,” Collett said of Lloyd. “He does a great job on defense too. He’s a wrestler, a two-time state placer so he’s tough as nails.”

In the second half, Tenette hooked up with Peoples again, this time on a 42-yard go route. Brendon Hunt scored to make it 35-7 and Lloyd scored his fourth to make it 42-14 with 6 minutes left in the game to seal the deal.

“It felt good,” Lloyd said when asked about how good it felt knowing Vista Grande couldn’t stop the run game. “It’s just a mindset coming into the game. We did it once, but we knew they were a hard team, so we had to do it again.”

Prescott senior quarterback Uriah Tenette (1) looks for an opening in the second half against No. 11-seeded Vista Grande on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Prescott. Tenette had two touchdown passes, while Adam Lloyd and four scores to lead the Badgers to a 42-20 first-round victory in the 4A state playoffs. (AJ Bergner/AzPreps365)

RECENT PLAYOFF HISTORY

Although the Badgers (10-1, 5-0 4A Grand Canyon) have made the state playoffs nine times since 2000, including this year, they’ve never done it ranked this high with a No. 6 seed.

Their top seed in the past 24 years came at No. 8 when they beat rival Bradshaw Mountain 14-6 in 2021. They were No. 9 (2000), No. 12 (2001), No. 9 (2004) and No. 11 (2008) in the four years they lost in the first round, and No. 10, No. 14, No. 8 and No. 10 in the games they won in 2006, 2007, 2021 and 2022, respectively.

SCARY MOMENT

Just 14 seconds before halftime, top Spartans (7-4, 3-2 4A Desert Sky) running back Fernando Moya appeared to raise his hand during a timeout like he wanted to come out of the game, and suddenly collapsed, then began having a seizure on the turf.

Medical personal and coaches from both sidelines rushed to his aid, while first responders arrived just minutes later and took him to a local hospital after he was helped to his feet.

Moya was on the ground for several minutes, and players from both teams knelt and huddled together in prayer with obvious concern for a teammate and competitor.

No update was given to press on the senior’s condition other than he was reportedly doing “OK” at the hospital.

Moya had 110 carries for 911 yards and seven touchdowns coming into Friday night.

UP NEXT

With a chance to make the 4A state semifinals and No. 3 Snowflake standing in their way, Collett said they have a “tremendous amount of respect” for the Lobos (11-0, 4-0 4A East Sky) program and what they’ve accomplished in recent history.

“Coach [Kay] Solomon is one of the best coaches in the state. They do a great job and we’re excited for the opportunity,” Collett said, telling his team after the game that Snowflake has been one of the best clubs in northern Arizona in recent memory, at any level.

The Lobos beat Canyon del Oro in their state playoff game Friday night, 59-6.

“The No. 1 thing we’re going to have to do is run the football. The last time we were over there, we couldn’t run it as well,” Collett said. “They make no secret about their gameplan, they come out trying to smash you. They are very downhill, physical, and we need to match that intensity from the get-go.”

Lloyd, who was sophomore when they lost to Snowflake in 2022, said that was a long time ago, and this is a very different Badgers football team.

“Going into this week, we must give 100 percent, be disciplined on every aspect of the ball, and go out and play and give it our best effort,” Lloyd said.

Kickoff at Snowflake on Nov. 22 is set for 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.