Ty Bennett and his coaching staff have assembled one of the best varsity football teams Page has seen in years, but despite the team’s football IQ and key positions filled with talented playmakers, the Sand Devils were outplayed by Wickenburg Friday night, losing 7-20.

The Sand Devils struggled to enter their groove and couldn’t quite get the game’s momentum to swing in their favor.

Page started the game on offense. Feeling confident, the Sand Devils went for it on fourth down but came up short. The Wranglers took over possession of the ball on their own 40-yard line. On their third play from scrimmage, they advanced the ball to the Sand Devils’ one-yard line. They ran it into the endzone on the subsequent play but missed the PAT.

The Sand Devils had a costly fumble on their third possession of the game, which was recovered by the Wranglers on Page’s 25-yard line. Wickenburg capitalized on the Sand Devil mistake, and a few plays later found their way into the end zone again. They went for two points on the PAT and were successful, making the score 14-0 with 7:17 left in the second quarter.

Page’s defense made a big stop halfway through the second quarter, pushing the Wranglers back to their own one-yard line. Facing fourth and 25, Wickenburg was forced to punt from their own end zone. The Sand Devils fielded the punt at their own 45-yard line with less than two minutes remaining in the first half.

Quarterback Joey Benally connected with wide receiver Tyree Stingley, who carried the pass into the end zone. Sand Devil kicker Cole Tate kicked in the PAT, making the score 14-7 with 45 seconds remaining in the first half. The Sand Devils went into the locker room feeling the game’s momentum had shifted back to them.

That momentum indeed continued into the second half. Wickenburg started on offense, but Page’s defense held them to a three and out. The ball sailed over the head of the Wrangler punter, who fell on it. The Sand Devils offense took over on their 25-yard line.

But the drive – and momentum – ended when Wickenburg intercepted a pass on their 15-yard line.

The Sand Devils put together a stellar drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter, advancing the ball as far as Wickenburg’s five-yard line. But there the Page offense committed three consecutive false starts, until they faced fourth and goal from the 20-yard line. An end zone pass was knocked out of Stingley’s hand by a Wickenburg cornerback.

 Wickenburg put together an impressive last drive, taking the ball 95 yards for the score. After the PAT was missed, the score read Page 7, Wickenburg 20.