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Williams' prep football season ends with Salome cancellation

The Williams High School football team didn’t have the opportunity to end the season on a high note Friday after Salome cancelled its scheduled game with the Vikings.

Flood waters ravaged that part of the state over the past several days, but the school indicated to WHS coach Rick Shipley that the game would be played.

“I realize there are families there with problems ... but the thing upset me a little bit is I made the phone calls Monday and Tuesday and both times, the intentions were to play the game.”

With the game given the green light from the home-team Frogs, Shipley’s crew went through drills last week to prepare for the contest.

“It was not the best week of practice with the weather,” Shipley said. “But they said it was a go.”

Nevertheless, the game was cancelled and the season ended with both Williams and Salome sporting 0-4 region records, 2-6 overall.

For the Vikings, it was an uncharacteristic season. It was the first non-winning season in Shipley’s 12-year career, the previous low coming in 1994 when the Vikings went 4-4.

“It was a rough year in terms of we were in over our heads in a couple of nonconference games,” Shipley said, referring to Blue Ridge and Tuba City.

“I thought we rebounded a little bit with the two wins at home and then we came back and played the two best teams in the conference.,” Shipley added. “We played Mogollon as well as anyone else in the conference. But we came out of that with minor injuries and confidence problems.”

Next year, Williams will be playing in a new conference with realignment. Although not finalized, it appears Williams will play in a north region with two divisions.

One division would include Mayer, Orme, Williams, Mogollon and St. Johns and the other would include Valley, Many Farms, Red Mesa, Pinon and Rough Rock.

After each team plays the other four teams in its division, there would be a playoff with the No. 1 in one division playing No. 4 in the other division, No. 2 vs. No. 3, No. 3 vs. No. 2 and No. 4 vs. No. 1.

Those four winners would then advance to the state playoffs.

Shipley said that alignment is not finalized and could still change. Stay tuned.


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