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ST. GEORGE — Snow Canyon's struggles continued Friday night as the Warriors fell 39-20 to the visiting Cathedral Phantoms from Los Angeles.
It was the Warriors' third loss in as many weeks, putting them at 0-3 to start their 2024 campaign.
"You never want to start 0-3, ever," Snow Canyon head coach Mike Esplin said. "When we're playing well and things are going smooth we're pretty good, but we're not playing that way all four quarters. We've got to be consistently — in all phases — better."
Despite the result, Esplin was not disappointed in his players. They were able to stay on pace with the Phantoms, a strong California team, for the majority of the first half before the game slipped away.
When Cathedral struck first, Snow Canyon answered back on the ensuing drive. Quarterback Joseph Smith connected with Cael Johnson for the team's first touchdown of the night to knot the score at 7-7.
Cathedral's Glenn Carrera III returned the following kickoff for another Phantom score, but the Warriors remained committed. With the ball right back in their hands, Snow Canyon continued their offensive momentum, helped by two pass interferences by Cathedral, and Smith found Trey Vaughn for his second touchdown pass.
"Our offensive line did a heck of a lot better compared to last week," Smith said. "Compared to this week, it was a whole new offensive line. They gave me protection, they gave us everything we wanted, and it was a great game offensively."
As the first half came to a close, Snow Canyon was down 25-14 and they were running out of steam. Cathedral, despite turning the ball over on two separate fumbles within three minutes of play time, managed to score a touchdown and a field goal before the break.
The Warriors scored just once more in the game, and waited until the final three minutes to do so. This time the touchdown came on the ground, ran in by sophomore Brody Lounsbury.
The defense allowed two more touchdowns but held the Phantoms scoreless in the closing frame.
"We'll be starting tomorrow morning watching more film, and we'll have a whole new intensity during practice every single day," Smith said about preparing for the next contest.
"We really have to protect our loyalty to each other," Esplin added. "We've got to continue to believe in each other."
Snow Canyon will have their first away game next week at Centennial High in Las Vegas. The Warriors won 38-14 when they hosted the Bulldogs last season.
