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As the Cottonwood-Copper Hills football game came close to ending, a shout from one fan echoed through the bleachers.

"We're off the schneid," it went. "Now we can start our winning streak."

That sentiment, maybe overly optimistic, was bound to be expressed by someone on Friday, night as two teams with long losing streaks met up.

On Friday, it was Cottonwood's chance to see spirits uplifted — if only for awhile — thanks to a 33-13 victory.

"It feels great. I think pulling off our first win, I think it was just all mental," said Cottonwood defensive end Teni Pututau. "I don't think we were playing more as a team before, but now we're doing a lot better."

Copper Hills, meanwhile, will have to wait. The Grizzlies now have lost 21 straight games, dating back to 2014.

Cottonwood (1-5, 1-3) hadn't won a game since last October, but snapped a seven-game slide by repeatedly hitting the Grizzlies with its running game. Senior Damien Sio was the go-to back at the beginning of the game and finished with 122 yards rushing.

By the end, it was Colts senior Omar Mberwa who was galloping through the Copper Hills defense. Despite having three long runs called back due to holding penalties, Mberwa eventually tallied 148 yards on the ground.

Another back, sophomore Ammon Sofele, added 55 yards.

"We've got three of some of the best running backs in the state. We know it, we're just starting to figure out how to use them," Cottonwood coach Mike Tidwell said. "They all have different characteristics. I was just happy to see them compete."

Sio's long runs propelled the Colts on their initial 81-yard touchdown drive, which was finished off with a 12-yard pass from Gabe Hagerman to Pututau.

In a game where the participants actually didn't have much to lose, Cottonwood then successful recovered an onside kick and drove downfield for another TD — a one-yard run by Sofele — for a 13-0 lead.

Then the Colts tried the same onside kick and again recovered. Both teams combined for five onside kicks during the game — with Cottonwood attempting four.

"We actually have trouble kicking it to the end zone, so we'll try it if they're going to leave a hole right there in the special teams," Tidwell said. "We're going to either make them fair-catch it of make them make a play - and none of them wanted it."

Copper Hills (0-5, 0-2) went to halftime only down by a touchdown after the Grizzlies connected on a 45-yard pass from Brandon Checketts to receiver Jumarius Earls.

But Cottonwood recovered a fumble by the Grizz on the opening kickoff of the second half and traversed 20 yards in only four plays, finishing with a nine-yard run by Sio for a 19-7 lead.

After Sio's 7-yard touchdown midway through the fourth, it largely became the Mberwa show. Although one of Mberwa's long runs that were called back was a TD, he ended up finding paydirt in the last minutes on jaunts of 32 and 54 yards.

"Super-tired," Mberwa said when asked how he felt. "It felt good to jump in the end zone, but seeing those flags wasn't a good feeling." —

Storylines

R Host Cottonwood snaps a seven-game losing streak by pulling away from Copper Hills in the second half of the Region 3 contest.

• The visiting Grizzlies have now lost 21 straight games.

• Omar Mberwa rushes for 148 yards for the Colts, while teammate Damien Sio adds 122 yards on the ground.