McCurdy gave away an opportunity Nov. 7 to reach the semifinals of the Class A football playoffs for the second consecutive season.
Six Bobcat turnovers led to four touchdowns for the Jal Panthers in their 53-19 beating of host McCurdy.
On a picture perfect day that featured a light breeze, falling leaves and a large, supportive crowd the Bobcats came out looking like they would rather be at a picnic than a football game.
“We just came out flat,” McCurdy’s sophomore quarterback Louie Martinez said.
Jal controlled almost the entire first half and jumped out to a 27-0 lead by late in the second quarter.
Running back Trevor Thompson got the Panthers’ offense rolling on the third play from scrimmage when he bolted left, then up the middle and was barely touched on his way to a 50-yard touchdown run.
Mistakes hurt McCurdy in the early-going. A long run by Martinez on McCurdy’s first play from scrimmage was brought back after a penalty. Seven plays later, after driving the ball into Jal territory, Martinez threw his first interception of the game.
The Bobcats’ star quarterback was mostly contained by the hard-hitting Panthers. His three touchdown passes were offset by two interceptions and a fumble.
Jal coach Jimmy Samaniego said his team did a great job of wrapping up Martinez.
“Louie is a tough Q.B.,” Samaniego said.
Two plays after the interception, Jal quarterback Saxxon Atalejo rumbled into the end zone from 29 yards out to give his team a 14-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
Down 27 points late in the first half, McCurdy tried to turn around the game with a surge that carried over briefly into the third quarter.
With just 31 seconds left in the second quarter, Martinez threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Carlos Herrera to put McCurdy on the board for the first time. Then Herrera opened the second half by running the kickoff all the way to Jal’s 24-yard line. Two plays later, Martinez found Herrera open again to give the Bobcats their second touchdown in less than a minute of play. A missed extra point left the score at 27-13.
Jal responded with a drive that ended with Thompson rushing for his second touchdown of the game. Senior Lucas Akes’ was stripped of the ball on the ensuing kickoff, and Jal went on to score another touchdown to make the score 41-13 and effectively end the game.
McCurdy lost its composure on the field on the ensuing kickoff when Jedediah Cordova was ejected for punching a Jal player at the end of the play. He will be suspended for the first game of next season.
The only highlight for McCurdy the rest of the way was recorded by senior Ryan Bustos who hauled in a touchdown pass in the waning moments of his final game in a Bobcat uniform.
The victory helped Jal avenge a 49-36 loss to McCurdy in last year’s quarterfinal game. McCurdy went on to lose 60-0 in the semifinals to Fort Sumner, the eventual state champion.
“We made some plays last year that we didn’t make this year,” McCurdy coach Eric Vigil said.
While disappointed for the seniors, Vigil was proud his team got a fourth seed for the state playoffs, beat rival Escalante and finished second in district play.
“We did a lot of good things (this season) we can be proud of,” Vigil said.
The fifth-seeded Panthers will face Clayton, McCurdy’s District 1A rival and the top-ranked team in the state, this upcoming weekend in the semifinals.
Jal has won 11 state titles, but none since 1999.
Next season, the Bobcats will be looking for their first state title since 1976 and a rematch against Jal.
“We’ll have revenge on them next year,” Martinez said.