Good timing for BHS, LLHS and VHS; all three win key district football games

With the regular season winding down, Valencia, Los Lunas and Belen all made a strong case last week that they are deserving of postseason bids.

VHS won in dramatic fashion, BHS used a dramatic play to turn the tide, while LLHS made sure there was no drama in their contest.

Valencia returns to the win column

Quarterback Santino Mares found a crease Saturday and plunged into the end zone from short yardage with 23 seconds left to give Valencia (4-4, 2-2) a 22-14 victory over Manzano (4-4, 1-3) at Wilson Stadium in Albuquerque.

That ended a two-game losing streak for the Jaguars.

“We definitely needed this one,” said LeDarrius Cage, VHS head coach, of the District 2-4A showdown. “I thought we played well on both sides of the ball.”

It was Mares who opened the scoring on the Jaguars first drive, but Manzano took the lead at halftime without the benefit of an offensive touchdown. First, the Monarchs returned a missed VHS field goal nearly 100 yards to tie the game, and then Mares was hit while trying to pass out of his own end zone. The fumble was recovered by the Monarchs for a touchdown, giving Manzano a 14-7 lead.

An oddity of the third quarter came with each team having just one possession. Valencia took advantage of theirs when running back Michael Storms III scored from inches away to tie the game.

Manzano used its third-quarter possession, which bled over into the fourth quarter, to drive deep into VHS territory. An interception by Christian Gonzalez ended the threat.

“I knew they were going my way, especially since I saw the quarterback looking at me from the start,” said Gonzalez, who also had a key pass breakup later. “I was just ready.”

A tough catch by tight end Eric Rodriguez put Valencia in position to score the winning touchdown as the clock wound down.

“I told the line, ‘We’ve got to get a push,’” Mares told the team in the huddle before the final touchdown.

“We do really well under pressure,” he noted.

Manzano’s final deep pass fell incomplete, and the Jaguars celebrated the victory.

“This is definitely going to help us get into the post season and give us a decent spot,” Cage said.

District 2-4A leader St. Pius (6-1, 3-1) is at Valencia Friday. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Big plays boost Belen

A 13-yard scoring strike from Chalito Cano to Logan Chavez with 19-seconds left in the second quarter gave Belen a 7-2 halftime lead, carrying the Eagles (4-4, 3-2) to a 21-8 victory over Highland (5-3, 3-2).

There was suspense before the officials delayed ruling that Chavez caught the ball inbounds.

“He was in by probably an inch,” BHS head coach Kevin Peña said of the reception. “It was just a great play and that kind of gave us a little momentum.”

BHS needed an offensive jolt. Highland got on the board when Cano was tackled in the end zone for a safety. However, Cano couldn’t be contained after halftime, rushing for a total of 187 yards.

The junior quarterback scrambled often to avoid HHS defenders, an effort that included a 62-yard touchdown.

Even Peña was impressed.

“He did what Chalito usually does. He makes some plays where you go, ‘Why would he do that?’ It was just one of those plays where you just shake your head and say, ‘Yeah, he did it again,’” Peña exclaimed.

A 22-yard touchdown run by Logan Gonzalez ended the scoring, while the BHS defense was dominant.

“I thought our defense really came out to play,” Peña said. “They were really shutting them down.”

The victory should put Belen ahead of Highland in the pecking order for postseason positioning.

“They’re starting to believe in themselves at the right time,” Peña said of his players. “It was another one of those games where it was good to be an Eagle.”

Next up is a 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 23, meeting against winless Rio Grande (0-8, 0-5) at Milne Stadium in Albuquerque.

Tigers back on track

The 38-0 victory Friday at home by Los Lunas (5-3, 4-1) over Santa Fe (4-4, 2-3) in District 2-6A was actually more dominating then the final score indicated. Despite three first-half turnovers, two fumbles and a muffed punt, LLHS still led 28-0 at the half.

“We can’t afford all those penalties,” said Robert Pino, who scored one of the touchdowns for the Tigers. “We just have to keep the ball going on drives.”

For the most part, that’s just what LLHS did, staying almost exclusively on the ground. Running backs Pino, Anthony Scott and Jagger Casillas each scored a touchdown, while Martin Cordova added two scores.

The return to the lineup by Casillas, who missed two games with injury, was especially welcome.

“It felt so good to be back, showing out,” said Casillas, who found pay dirt on the first play of the second quarter.

“We were moving the ball at will. Our (offensive) line did a heck of a job,” said Greg Henington, LLHS head coach.

Perhaps the real star of the night was the Los Lunas defense, which didn’t allow the Demons into the red zone, holding SFHS to less than 175 total yards.

The game had chippy moments from both sides. It appeared at one point officials ejected a Santa Fe coach and player. So many penalties were called on one play that officials had to resort to tossing their caps after using their yellow flags to mark unsportsmanlike behavior.

The LLHS victory helped put the results of the previous game, a 54-35 loss to La Cueva, behind them.

“Coming off a tough loss, I thought the kids responded really well physically,” Henington said.

As the Tigers prepare for Senior Night Friday against Atrisco Heritage Academy, (1-7, 0-5), cleaning up the mistakes is a priority.

“It will not happen again. I promise you that,” said Casillas about the fumbles.