Road results mixed as football season kicks off — VHS wins, BHS & LLHS fall

The high school football season started Friday with Belen, Los Lunas and Valencia making long road trips.

Only VHS brought home a victory, while BHS and LLHS struggled against defending state champions.

Valencia Jaguars beat Kirtland Central

A dominant ground game propelled No. 9 Valencia past Kirtland Central 48-6 to open the season in 4A.

Michael Storms III scored four touchdowns and rushed for around 200 yards to begin his senior season with an impressive showing.

“We started off slow like we always do,” said LeDarrius Cage, Jaguars coach of the team. “Our offense picked it up and we got the ball rolling.”

New starting quarterback Santino Mares had a touchdown pass and two on the ground, opening the scoring on a long run.

Playing a key role for VHS was Joey Palacio, who pooched the ball with several high, short kickoffs, that were recovered three times by the Jaguars.

“He was able to place the ball exactly where we needed it,” added to Cage, who said special teams “played a huge role.”

The defense was also solid, forcing four turnovers. Jordan Henry, who missed much of last season with an ACL injury, had an interception right before the half, “immediately making an impact in his first game back as a senior. It was huge.”

Cage looks to get a number of players healthy, especially on the offensive line, for Friday’s road test against Gadsden. Also, several players should return after not playing because of “disciplinary issues” leading up to the game against Kirtland Central.

“We wanted to see how some of our backups were going to respond,” Cage noted. “They did a good job with the preparation and handling business.”

Kickoff is 6 p.m., Friday at Gadsden, the seventh-ranked team in 5A, which handled Chaparral 50-20 to start the season.

Belen Eagles lose to Bloomfield

It was a tall order for the 5A Belen Eagles, traveling to Bloomfield to face the 4A defending champions, top ranked again this year.

With more depth and firepower, the Bobcats posted a 63-12 victory, a game ended by the mercy rule in the third quarter.

“Their kids are very physical, very athletic,” Belen coach Kevin Peña said of Bloomfield. “I thought our kids played well — they fought until the very end.”

However, Peña said the difference in roster size between the Eagles and Bobcats was a factor.

“We’re pretty thin. We don’t have a lot of depth.”

Running back Chalito Cano, junior, scored both of the Belen touchdowns, each coming in the second quarter. The first TD came in unusual fashion.

“It was kind of a botched snap,” according to Peña.

Cano was in motion, caught the ball, and raced 73 yards down the sideline for the score.

“That wasn’t the planned play, but you take anything you can get,” Peña said.

Senior quarterback Logan Gonzalez connected with Cano late in the second quarter on an 80 yard touchdown pass. Bloomfield led 57-12 at the half and closed out the contest 63-12.

Belen now prepares for a 7 p.m., Friday meeting with Santa Fe High at Eagles Stadium. The Demons opened the season with a 32-0 victory over Santa Fe Capital. A priority for BHS is to get healthy before kickoff.

“We got banged around pretty good,” said Peña about last Friday’s game against Bloomfield. “We’ve got to heal up.”

Cleaning up the miscues is also a focal point.

“We made some mistakes that we’re going to have to work on. We have to fix some of our tackling.”

LL Tigers lose in Roswell

It may be the most difficult start of any team in New Mexico high school football, opening the season against two defending state champions.

Los Lunas, 6A, started with a 27-8 setback at Roswell, the reigning title holder in 5A and ranked No. 2 this season.

Despite the loss, LLHS coach Greg Henington saw areas the Tigers can build on.

“The defense played extremely tough,” said Henington, pointing out the effort from senior defensive lineman Alex Casas. “The kids fought the entire game — that’s something we can build on.

“Our defense played pretty darn well,” Henington said despite several big plays.

That unit forced a safety, with Thaniel Padilla “making a great play” from his linebacker position.

The discrepancy in penalties was something that has Henington’s attention, with LLHS penalized about five times more than the Coyotes.

“Quite frankly, penalties got us. We’ve got to be more disciplined,” Henington said, adding that several promising drives were derailed by flags.

The Tigers were unable to get into the end zone, but Henington said, “We’ll be fine,” on offense.

The confidence in place kicker Nathan Martinez has grown after he booted through a pair of field goals.

“Martinez stepped up in some pressure situations and delivered,” the coach said. “That’s encouraging to know as we approach districts.”

Henington also praised quarterback Kaiden Reece, running back Jagger Casillas, slotback Robert Pino and Tayson Gaxiola, “who had a really good game at receiver.”

Next up is Cleveland, a top-ranked 6A juggernaut and defending state champion. The Storm, coming off a 55-42 victory at Centennial, pays a 6 p.m. visit Friday to LLHS.

“We need to improve on penalties and individual technique,” said Henington.