LLHS stays atop district; while BHS, VHS fall on the road

All three Valencia County football teams ventured away from home last week, some farther than others.

It was not a thing of beauty, but Los Lunas managed to stay perfect in district play against Albuquerque High. Belen gave third-ranked and unbeaten Los Alamos a scare, while a big play right before halftime switched momentum against Valencia at Chaparral.

Tigers handle wind, Bulldogs

On a blustery morning last Saturday, District 2-6A Los Lunas (4-2, 3-0) took advantage of several wind blown mistakes in the second half by Albuquerque High (3-3, 1-2) to post a 38-23 victory at Milne Stadium in Albuquerque.

“They tend to be sloppy,” Greg Henington, LLHS head coach, said about games that start with kickoff at 11 a.m.

Play was certainly sloppy for the Tigers to start, with a string of penalties in a scoreless first quarter.

After AHS opened the scoring with a fourth-down plunge, Martin Cordova responded by hitting pay dirt from 13 yards out. The extra point tied the game at 7-7.

LLHS rallied again late in the second quarter. An outstanding catch by Tegan Gallegos was followed by a Kaiden Reese touchdown pass with 43 seconds left in the half to Robert Pino to tie the score 14-14.

“It was kind of hard to judge,” Pino said about the ball shifting in the wind. “I saw the green grass and got in there.”

With the gale blowing across the field during the nearly three-hour game, neither team had a distinct advantage. However, two wind-aided miscues by the Bulldogs may have decided the outcome, with Los Lunas scoring 24 straight points.

Following a TD run by Reese that put LLHS in front 21-17, AHS was set to punt near its own endzone. On the snap, the ball seemed to flutter in the stiff breeze. The punter couldn’t control the ball, and it dropped at the goal line. The Tigers’ Maleek Minor pounced on it for the touchdown.

“I saw it go over his head,” Minor said. “I had to run for it,” turning the touchdown into a 28-17 lead with just seconds left in the third quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, a pooch kick was misplayed by the Bulldogs, with Andres Cordova recovering it for Los Lunas. That led to a 42-yard field goal by Nathan Martinez, who was masterful booting under the tough conditions.

Reese later found Angel Aguilar for a scoring strike to put the game out of reach. AHS scored on the last play of the game to make the final 38-23.

“It was pretty crazy with all the penalties and stuff, all the setbacks,” said Pino, but “We found a way to persevere with all of that and found a win.”

Henington credited a solid effort by the defense, as well as a balanced offensive attack in trying conditions. “We ran the ball on them well all day. We threw the ball quite a bit, for us.”

The bottom line, according to Henington, “We got a victory in district,” which sets up a crucial meeting at 7 p.m., Friday at home against La Cueva (4-2, 3-0) for the District 2-6A lead.

Eagles upset bid falls short

Belen took unbeaten Los Alamos, one of the top teams in 5A, to the limit before falling on the road 43-36 in District 1-5A action.

A wild, high-scoring first quarter saw the Eagles (2-4, 1-2) rally from a 15-0 deficit to tie the contest at 29 -29 after 12 minutes.

“A little nerve-wracking,” is how BHS coach Kevin Peña described the start.

Belen’s first score came on a fumble return of about 35 yards by defensive end Haydn Bullington.

“That’s what kind of sparked us,” Peña said.

An exchange of touchdowns included the first of two TD passes from Chalito Cano to Logan Gonzalez. With just seconds left in the half, Cano found Josiah Valerio for the score, and when Cano ran in the two-point conversion, the score was tied entering the second half.

“There’s something about our kids this year. They don’t give up,” Peña said.

The offensive fireworks slowed in the second half, with BHS shutout in the third quarter, as the Hilltoppers built a 43-29 lead. The Eagles final touchdown, a Gonzalez reception, came with two minutes left. LAHS (7-0, 4-0) recovered the following onside kick to close out the 43-36 victory.

“It was a good showing for us,” against a very good team, said Peña. “I don’t like the loss, but I’ll take the effort that was given any day.”

The schedule appears favorable for the Eagles, with three of the four remaining games at home. That includes Miyamura (3-3, 2-1), which visits 7 p.m., Friday in a contest that was postponed Sept. 26 because of a power outage on the BHS campus.

Deja vu for Valencia

Unfortunately, Valencia had seen this before. At Chaparral Friday, the Jaguars (3-4, 1-2) tied the score in the second quarter on a Santino Mares pass to Eric Rodriguez.

However, the tide turned when the Lobos threw a 52 yard touchdown pass with one second left in the first half for a 14-7 lead in the District 2-4A matchup.

“Last year when we played them, the exact same thing happened,” noted VHS head coach LeDarrius Cage. “That gave them a lot of momentum going into half.”

The second half was controlled by CHS, with the only Valencia touchdown coming on a 21-yard run by Michael Storms III to pull the Jags within 26-14 with eight minutes left in the game. From there, Chaparral (6-1, 3-0) added two more touchdowns to bring the final score to 40-14.

“I think the story of the night was poor tackling for us,” Cage said.

“We moved the ball fairly well,” including on a touchdown run by Mares that was called back because of holding. “We’ve had a different starting offensive line every single game” because of injury.

“We don’t have that continuity on the line,” he said.

The Jaguars have scored 14 points in each of the past three games.

After a bye week, the Jaguars play at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 18, against Manzano at Wilson Stadium in Albuquerque. The break should help the team heal and regroup.

“Right now we’re inconsistent,” Cage said. “We’ll have to figure out who we are as a team.”