It was a win, but it was also an embarrassment.
That’s what Pojoaque Valley High School head coach Pat Mares had to say to his team after the Elks (2-3) held on for a 33-24 victory over McCurdy Charter School Sept. 20 at Pojoaque.
Not only did the Elks nearly surrender a 26-0 second-half lead, but the Pojoaque players participated in their fair share of after-the-whistle mayhem on a night filled with penalty flags and unsportsmanlike conduct activity.
“I kept hearing from my players, ‘They’re playing dirty, they’re playing dirty,’” Mares said. “We complained to the refs multiple times then injuries happened and players went down. The result was they were doing stuff that was extracurricular and we stepped into that.”
The feisty Bobcats (0-5) trailed 13-0 at halftime, then fell behind 26-6 entering the fourth quarter. That’s when they turned to running back/wide receiver Ernesto Martinez, who scored four touchdowns in the second half, including a 74-yard bomb from quarterback Santiago Samora to bring McCurdy within 26-24 with six minutes left in the ball game.
Then, there was the two-point conversation attempt; one that ran five plays long because of McCurdy’s continuous lack of organization.
The Bobcats committed five consecutive penalties on the most crucial play of the game, backing the line of scrimmage all the way back to the 45-yard line before they failed to convert the try on the fifth attempt.
Mares said what he saw was a first from his team, in this “new regime” in regard to his coaching style and unwillingness to accept unsportsmanlike play and loss of composure.
“I’ve yet to see that with this team and I never want to see it again,” he said. “When it gets bad, that’s how bad it can get and I hope it never gets that bad again. We’ve had unsportsmanlike, we’ve had late hits out of bounds but not three, four, five in a row. That’s out of control. Some of that could have been the refs, but I’m not gonna put that on them, we have to better disciplined and a better-composed team.”
What worked well for the Elks was the all-around play from Devonn Leyba-Holmes, who accounted for four total touchdowns, including a 35-yard pick-six to stretch Pojoaque’s lead to 26-0 with 4:38 left in the third quarter.
However, his biggest contribution came on McCurdy’s last-ditch effort to come back with 1:56 left. Samora threw up a desperate pass to Jacob Martinez in double coverage, but Leyba-Holmes waited on the under-thrown ball and caught his second interception to help seal the Elks’ second victory of the season.
“Oh, that was a close one there I got to say,” Leyba-Holmes said about the interception. “I saw it coming and was afraid I might not catch it, but I caught it and was able to help keep us going.”
Anthony Maloy-Chavez scored a rushing touchdown from six yards out with 1:44 left and the successful PAT pushed the lead to nine points, all but ending any hope for the Bobcats to complete their comeback.
Despite his team’s failure to stay disciplined in the second half, Mares couldn’t deny the positive aspects he saw.
“Oh heck, we moved the hell out of the ball right away and we scored right away and I’m so pumped about that,” he said. “Offensive line did their job our skill guys found the open holes once they got the ball, receiving or rushing and I couldn’t ask for more.”
Leyba-Holmes scored two rushing touchdowns in the first half, but those drives were set up by long pass plays to the likes of Brandon Herrera-Martinez, D’sean Martinez and Bryan Martinez.
“We saw that they weren’t playing with much of a safety,” Leyba-Holmes said. “So we realized we needed to play deep and throw deep against those one-on-ones (matchups).”
The game featured three ejections, including Pojoaque assistant coach Juan Martinez, McCurdy player Mathew Martinez and head coach Ron Gallegos, who was tossed with just 36 seconds left after an altercation with the officials.