VHS, LLHS remain in the district title chase Belen Eagles prepare for Senior Night

With only two games left in the regular season, Valencia and Los Lunas are in solid position for the post season after victories last week, while Belen hopes to finish strong following a tough road loss.

Valencia Jaguars

Both Valencia and Manzano were able to cope with high winds, rain and a lightning delay on Friday, but the visiting Monarchs (5-3, 2-2) couldn’t weather Storms. Valencia (6-2, 3-1) running back Michael Storms III, that is.

Storms rushed for 220 yards on 35 carries, including two touchdowns, to help the Jaguars beat Manzano, 22-19, keeping Valencia one game behind District 2-4A leader St. Pius heading into Friday’s showdown.

“The weather was interesting,” said LeDarrius Cage, VHS coach. “We ended up doing a pretty good job of playing through it.”

Because of the conditions and the style of play both teams prefer, there were few passes. Storms scored from the 7-yard line, giving Valencia a 7-0 lead.

The Jaguars added to their advantage in the second quarter, turning a Diego Baeza fumble recovering into a touchdown run by Dalton Muzzy, who also added the two-point conversation.

The score was 15-0 at the half when a 30-minute lightning delay was called.

When the game resumed, Manzano took advantage of a favorable wind on a 30-yard touchdown pass, making the score 15-7 with just seconds left in the third quarter.

Valencia was in position to put the game away midway through the fourth quarter, but a fumble stopped the drive and Manzano quickly pulled to within 15-13 on a long TD pass. However, the two-point try to tie the game was stopped by Muzzy.

Storms gave VHS breathing room when he sprinted for a 70-yard touchdown, pulling away from defenders as he went.

“I’m pretty fast,” Storms said, stating the obvious.

It was a play Storms pleaded with coaches to call.

“It’s Zebra; my favorite play,” Storms said in a postgame interview. “I get to go in the open field and try to do something.”

Cage said coaches were waiting for the right moment to call the play.

“We were trying to set it up. ‘Give us a little bit of time,’” Cage told Storms. “It was a good job executing by the offense and a good job finishing.”

Manzano pulled to within 22-19, but a gutsy fourth-down and long pass play from VHS quarterback Aiden Harrington to Cade Ash allowed the Jaguars to run out the clock during a downpour.

“The blocking was good, and the route was good, and the catch was even better,” Cage said. “We just rolled the dice, and the players responded.”

Storms agreed. “We responded, especially after they scored.”

Friday’s game, at 7 p.m., against St. Pius (6-2, 4-0) is at Wilson Stadium in Albuquerque.

Los Lunas Tigers

Starting fast was a point of emphasis for Los Lunas leading to Friday’s District 2-6A meeting at Santa Fe, and the Tigers didn’t disappoint.

LLHS scored 15, first-quarter points and went on to a 46-0 victory.

“We felt the previous week (a 63-31 loss to La Cueva) we played extremely hard and physical,” said Greg Henington, LLHS head coach. “We wanted to make sure we carried on with that. I felt our kids responded very well.”

Windy conditions limited the passing attack, although the Tigers scored on two screen plays. Los Lunas relied on the ground game, rushing for more than 300 yards, with Kaiden Reese and Jordan Howard each reaching the century mark.

“Most importantly, our offensive line was knocking them off the ball, a complete continuation from last week,” the coach explained.

After leading 25-0 at the half, Los Lunas rounded out the scoring with 21 unanswered points in the third quarter.

“Santa Fe has a really athletic quarterback,” said Henington “I thought our guys did a good job defending him. The defense played really well,” giving up just one long run and posting the shutout.

Next up for the Tigers, 11 a.m., Saturday, is a district meeting against Atrisco Heritage Academy (2-6, 1-4) at Community Stadium in Albuquerque.

Belen Eagles

Two long touchdown runs last Thursday by Amiri Mumba, including a “killer” to end the first half, propelled Highland (4-4, 3-2) to an 18-7 victory in District 1-5A over Belen (2-3, 2-5) at Milne Stadium in Albuquerque.

With only 8 seconds to go in the half, Mumba took a direct snap, cut up the left sidelines and raced 67 yards for the touchdown as time expired.

“It was a killer because our momentum went down,” said Kevin Peña, BHS coach. “The guys in the locker room (at halftime) were down. We’ve got to learn to let that go.”

The game started under chilly and blustery conditions, with the wind hindering the passing attack and the kicking game for both teams.

Mumba, who rushed for nearly 300 yards, opened the scoring in the second quarter with the first of his three touchdowns.

“He was a hard hitter,” said Brady Aragon, who plays both offense and defense for BHS. “We’d go low, and he would bounce off.”

Belen took the lead when Aragon, a senior, grabbed a pitch, headed left and outran the defense 14 yards into the end zone.

“It was definitely one of my proudest moments,” Aragon said.

The extra point by Nehemiah Sanchez gave the Eagles a 7-6 lead, which stood until the touchdown by Mumba to end the half.

Santiago Cordova blocked a punt for BHS late in the half, but the Eagles were unable to take advantage.

After a scoreless third quarter, Mumba scored on a 54-yard run that was eerily similar to his touchdown sprint to end the first half.

Highland lead 18-7, and that’s how the game ended.

Friday, Belen hosts winless Rio Grande (0-7, 0-5) on Senior Night.

“These seniors have given a lot to this program and hopefully we can send them out that night with a win,” Peña said.

“I can’t wait,” Aragon added. “Looking forward to it.”