Santa Fe cruises past North in Edlam matchup
EDMOND – Something about playing an “away” game on its own field apparently didn’t set so well with Edmond Santa Fe.
Mbari Snoddy had two touchdown runs in his first five carries, and the No. 8-ranked Wolves scored on five straight possessions to open the game en route to a 43-7 battering of cross-town rival Edmond North before a capacity crowd at Wolves Stadium.
The Huskies (0-1) were the designated home team in the only stadium Edmond’s three high schools use, but that’s not the way Santa Fe (1-1) treated the showdown in beating North for the third straight time.
“It wasn’t an away game for us,” Santa Fe coach Kyle White said. “A home game isn’t decided based on what sideline you’re standing on. You look all around and there’s Santa Fe on the walls, there’s Wolves Stadium right there. This was a home game for us.”
The Wolves outgained North 423-159 as Snoddy rushed for 156 yards on just 12 carries to lead a 260-yard ground attack. Santa Fe’s 36-point margin of victory was the largest for either team in a rivalry that started in 1996.
North’s best offensive drive of the first half came on its opening drive, but the Huskies punted the ball away after making three first downs, and Santa Fe promptly went on a 13-play, 79-yard scoring drive to take quick control.
Quarterback Kanan Hansen completed 5-of-5 passes for 52 yards in the march, the biggest a 30-yard strike to Braden Reichert that converted an early third-and-20 problem. Snoddy picked up 32 yards in four rushes, covering the final eight yards on a burst up the middle that made it 7-0 with 3:40 left in the first period.
Snoddy showed off his sprinter speed the next time he touched the ball, exploding through a tiny opening on the right side and racing 88 untouched yards to put the Wolves up 14-0 with 2:32 remaining in the opening stanza.
Santa Fe made it 3-for-3 on scoring drives the next time it gained possession, with Jaylon Williams knocking through a 24-yard field goal to end a 15-play, 55-yard drive that made it 17-0 midway through the second.
A pair of trick plays enabled the Wolves to extend their lead to 25-0 two minutes later.
Punter Caleb Bielamowicz shocked North with a fake on a fourth-and-25 play near midfield, tossing a short pass to Dom Johnson that turned into a 49-yard touchdown. The Wolves lined up for the extra point kick, but instead scored two points when Reichert rose up from his holder position and passed to Trace Ford in the back of the end zone.
North fumbled on the first play following the ensuing kickoff, and Caden Christenson recovered at the 11, setting up a short TD drive that Hansen capped with a 3-yard keeper.
The Wolves added a safety late in the half to take a comfortable 34-0 cushion into intermission.
North’s lone score came on a 3-yard run by Tyler Merkley in the third quarter, while Santa Fe got another safety and an 11-yard Snoddy TD burst in the fourth.