Belen Eagles, Valencia Jags hit bump on the road

Short winning streaks ended Friday for Belen and Valencia, with losses on the road in district action. Los Lunas enjoyed a bye week.

All three county teams return home Friday, with Los Lunas and Valencia hosting homecoming games.

Belen Eagles

“It got away from us early,” said Kevin Peña, Belen coach, about the Eagles (2-3, 2-1) struggles in the first half in Gallup against Miyamura (3-3, 2-1) that contributed to the 35-21 loss.

“They beat us deep on a couple of pass plays. We had a few turnovers in the red zone that killed us.”

The Eagles, who had won two games in a row, were also hurt when they were stopped short of the goal line on fourth down.

A long run by Elijah Schaffino set up the only score of the first half for BHS, a sneak from Ethan Thomas. Belen trailed 20-7 at the break.

The second half didn’t start any better for Belen, losing a fumble on the first play of the third quarter which led to a Patriots touchdown. A blocked punt set up another score, as the Miyamura lead grew to 35-7.

The Eagles turned it around in the fourth quarter, producing two touchdowns while shutting out the Patriots the rest of the way. Gonzalo “Chalito” Cano threw two long scoring strikes, first to Logan Gonzales, then to Jasode Harris.

The rally came too late for BHS.

“If we played a full game and cut our mistakes down, I think we could have beaten them,” Peña said.

Los Alamos (3-3, 3-0) travels Friday to Belen, in an important showdown if the Eagles are to stay close in the District 1-5A race.

“Los Alamos is pretty tough,” Peña said. “Their quarterback (Kyle Evenhus) is good. They have some good receivers.”

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Valencia Jaguars

In Portales, the fourth quarter turned out to be the difference, with the Rams (3-3, 1-1) outscoring Valencia (4-2, 1-1) 20-7 to break open a tie game. The 34-21 Portales victory ends the VHS winning streak at three games.

“I thought our defense played well enough for us to win,” said LeDarrius Cage, VHS head coach.

With the offense misfiring in the third quarter, “The defense was on the field more than they had to be. That’s kind of why the game started to get out of hand a little bit.”

The score was tied 14-14 at the half, with the Jaguars scoring on runs by Michael Storms and Aiden Harrington. After a scoreless third quarter, Portales exploded with three unanswered touchdowns to take control.

Another TD run by Storms during an impressive drive came too late for the Jaguars.

Cage was impressed with Portales quarterback Tommy Lopez, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for another.

“He had a really good game,” Cage said. “We had trouble containing him at times.”

Next up is homecoming Friday against Chaparral (2-4, 1-1), which Cage calls a “must win” game in District 2-4A.

“They’ve got some athletes. Their program is doing pretty well right now,” Cage said. “Hopefully, we can put a complete game together.”

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Los Lunas Tigers

Following a bye week, Los Lunas (3-1, 2-0) Friday returns to the gridiron for homecoming against Albuquerque High (4-1, 2-0). Both teams are unbeaten in District 2-6A.

The Bulldogs have won four straight and are coming of a 14-12 victory over Atrisco Heritage Academy. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.