The Escalante Lobos nearly upset Fort Sumner, the four-time defending Class A football champion, Nov. 7 in the state quarterfinals before falling to the Foxes 30-23 in Fort Sumner.
The Lobos trailed 14-0 at halftime but battled back to cut the lead to five points late in the third quarter.
“I’m really proud of them,” Escalante coach Diego Brusuelas said. “The boys could have folded being down at halftime at Fort Sumner.”
The Foxes scored at the end of the first quarter on a pass from Koter West to Dax Moyer to take a 6-0 lead after they had returned an interception to Escalante’s 6-yard line. Fort Sumner’s defense stifled the Lobos’ running game in the first half, holding running back Isaiah Maldonado to just eight yards on nine carries. Maldonado had run for over 200 yards the week before against McCurdy.
Fort Sumner increased its lead to 14-0 on a 50-yard run by West and a successful two-point conversion run by Skylar McMath in the second quarter.
“They’re really quick on defense, and they stopped our running attack,” Brusuelas said. “In the second half, we went with the spread and scored on our first possession.”
Escalante got on the board at 9:39 of the third quarter on a 13-yard pass from quarterback Justin Atencio to Eric Belser. Atencio ran for the two-point conversion, cutting the Foxes’ lead to six points.
Fort Sumner answered with a 25-yard touchdown run by West, who finished the game with 97 yards rushing. The Foxes led 20-8 after they missed the point after touchdown kick.
The spread offense was still clicking for Escalante, and Atencio was able to find running room in the against the Foxes. He finished the game with 57 yards rushing.
“We forced them into one-on-one coverage,” Brusuelas said.
Escalante scored with 2:01 left in the third quarter on a 32-yard pass from Atencio to Maldonado. Carlos Casados’ extra point made the score 20-15 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fort Sumner scored on the first play of the fourth quarter using a play that caught the Lobos by surprise.
“It was third down, and they ran a halfback pass,” Brusuelas said. “We’d scouted them and hadn’t seen that all year.”
McMath hit Moyer with a 32-yard touchdown pass and Miguel Guevara’s kick made the score 27-15. Guevara added a 23-yard field goal to make the score 30-15 in favor of the Foxes.
The Lobos scored the game’s final touchdown with 59 seconds left on a 20-yard pass from Atencio to Jacob Leyba. Atencio passed to Enrique Ulibarri for the two-point conversion to make the score 30-23. The Lobos last gasp came when the Foxes recovered the ensuing onside kick by the Lobos.
“We almost recovered that kick,” Brusuelas said.
Fort Sumner advanced to the Class A semifinals where the Foxes will face Hagerman Friday. Escalante finished the season 7-4 in Brusuelas’ first year as coach.