Lightning curtails Friday night lights at Belen, Los Lunas & Valencia

The opening night of high school football is usually a cause for celebration, but Friday’s festivities at Belen, Los Lunas and Valencia were all shortened by lightning.

Only the VHS game was declared an official contest, with the Jaguars getting credit for a victory. Bloomfield, Roswell and Kirtland Central all headed home without finishing a full 48-minute game.

According to a statement, in part, from New Mexico Activities Association, “If the game does not reach halftime, it is a no contest, and no results should be posted. The (game) officials do not have a say as to if a game is resumed or not. This is up to the school administration from both teams.”

Belen and Los Lunas could try to find an opponent to fill their schedules during their off week later in the season.

Valencia Jaguars

An earlier-than-usual start time was likely the only reason the Jaguars’ home game against Kirtland Central was able to reach one minute into the third quarter, making the 20-7 VHS victory official.

A few weeks ahead of kickoff, the Broncos requested the start time be moved up one hour to 6 p.m., which helped beat the storm just enough.

Despite the victory, Valencia coach LeDarrius Cage said, “They’re bummed out, obviously,” referring to his players who wanted to finish the game. “I know Kirtland Central is bummed out as well,” especially facing a 220-mile bus ride home.

Cage was pleased with most of what he saw during the 25 minutes of action. A trick play, with receiver Cade Ash throwing to Gauge Holloway, opened the scoring for VHS.

“It’s something we’ve been practicing all week,” said Cage. “Gage has a pretty good arm.”

After the Broncos answered with a touchdown, VHS running back Michael Storms broke free for a score.

“Our quarterback, Aidan Harrington, had a really explosive run, about 50-60 yards for a touchdown on a third and long,” said Cage. “It was really big.”

The teams were able to start the second half, but at the 10:56 mark of the third quarter, a lightning strike caused the game to be stopped for good.

“I’m happy with the guys,” the coach said. “They really fought.”

4A Valencia (1-0) is on home turf again at 7 p.m. Friday, hosting Gadsden (1-0), which defeated Chaparral 31-0 Friday and downed VHS 50-0 last season.

“They’re a really good 5A team,” Cage said. “We’ve got to do a good job game-planning and getting our bodies back in shape.”

Belen Eagles

The coaches for 5A Belen and 4A Bloomfield were determined to finish their game, even if it was played late into evening or early morning hours.

However, consistent lightning and periodic heavy rain combined to put an end to that plan.

“Strike after strike kept pushing that 30-minute window,” said Kevin Peña, BHS coach.

Each time lightning was recorded within 10 miles of the stadium, the clock to resume the game was restarted again for 30 minutes.

Bloomfield coach Mike Kovacs “wasn’t too happy. He wanted to play it no matter what time it was,” said Peña, who added, “I think safety is more important than anything — the safety of people, the safety of personnel, the safety of their team traveling.”

The Eagles (0-0) took the opening kickoff down inside the Bobcats (0-0) 5-yard line, but Belen was unable to punch the ball into the endzone on fourth down.

The game was stopped and eventually called with about four minutes left in the first quarter, shortly after Bloomfield had scored to make it 6-0. However, because the game did not reach halftime, it is listed as no contest.

“Our kids were hitting. They weren’t scared. They played tough,” Peña said. “Our quarterback (Ethan Thomas) made some good reads. We made some nice catches,” with Peña crediting receiver Logan Gonzales. “We didn’t play too bad defensively. We held them a couple times.”

BHS will travel Friday to play Santa Fe High, which defeated Capital 21-0 in the season opener.

Los Lunas Tigers

“Anytime a game is canceled it’s disappointing,” is how Greg Henington, Los Lunas coach sized up the Friday meeting with 5A power Roswell. “It’s just something we don’t have control over.”

The score was 7-7 late in the first quarter when the game was suspended because of persistent lightning. In the short span of actual playing time, Henington was pleased.

“I was proud of our kids,” the coach said. “I thought they were fighting their tails off.”

A Tigers’ miscue on a punt attempt gave Roswell excellent field position, which led to a touchdown pass, giving the Coyotes the early lead.

“We had a couple of mistakes (offensively) that put our defense in a bind,” Henington said. “For the time we had, the defense played outstanding.”

6A LLHS knotted the game up when quarterback Kaiden Reese raced more than 70 yards for a touchdown on an option read.

“He (Reese) pulled it in, and he was gone to the house,” the coach said. “He’s got some wheels. He’s got some speed for sure.”

In less than a quarter of playing time, Henington believes the Tigers showed plenty of potential.

“I think we learned, in a short amount of time, a lot about our guys. They were definitely not intimidated by Roswell. They played with outstanding aggression. They were flying around, getting to the ball.”

Next up Friday is a road game against 6A contender Cleveland Storm, which will not be too happy after losing at home to Centennial 35-28.