Football:Española Valley 54, Kirtland Central 30
The Sundevils (4-3) recorded one of their most important wins in years, going on the road to Kirtland Central (2-4) and winning 54-30.
“Now we know, and the boys know, that they can compete with really good teams,” said Española coach Tylon Wilder. “Confidence in the program is in an all-time high”
Wilder said Española had momentum from the beginning, and they scored multiple times in a long first quarter.
Adrick DeLeon dominated the game with 22 carries for 272 yards and five touchdowns.
Quarterback Irvin Primero had the biggest passing day of his career, completing 11 of 16 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Kevin Coffeen caught four passes for 105 yards and two scores. Wilder said the passing game included some longer routes for this game.
“He’s getting confidence, he’s getting better and better,” Wilder said of Primero.
The key defensively was slowing down the passing game, which Wilder said the Sundevils did by taking away their most common big throws, and forcing them to work for short passes underneath. He credited the defense with tackling well.
The Sundevils enter a bye week now, which Wilder said they will use to mentally rest and physically rest after a busy seven weeks. Then, they headed into district play, which will likely determine whether they can make the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
“We don’t want to be a bottom-tier district team this year,” Wilder said. “It’s going to come down to who wants it more.”
Robertson 45, Pojoaque 0
The Elks have had a schedule mixed with opponents above their level, and ones below. They are hoping that next week finally brings them one close to their same level.
Pojoaque Valley (3-3) lost 45-0 when facing another one of the hottest teams in the state in Robertson (5-1) at home on Sept. 29.
Missing multiple starters due to injury, Pojoaque had a good first quarter defensively, trailing just 7-0, but they fell behind further as they struggled to move the ball on offense.
“The game kind of got away from us in the second half,” said coach Zeke Villegas.
The Elks are refreshed to not have to face a top-ranked team next week. They match up with the Highland Hornets (3-3) at home on Friday. Villegas expects the teams to be evenly matched, the their results so far this season seem to agree. That should end the “yo-yo effect”, as Villegas called it, of their schedule this season.
Mesa Vista Wins Cross Country Meet
The Mesa Vista Trojans won first place at the Meadow City Invitational cross country meet on Sept. 28, held at the New Mexico Highlands course in Las Vegas.
Freshman Ezequiel Nevarez led the team finishing in second place at 18 minutes, 9 seconds. Fellow freshman Andres Valdez took fourth place at 18:20. Kenneth Gallegos finished seventh at 19:05. Eighth-grader Anthony Crim and senior Marcos Martinez also ran well, at 12th and 13th place.
Mesa Vista will next run at the John Grimley Invitational at Santa Fe Indian School on Saturday.
Pojoaque Volleyball Defeats District Opponents at Portales Tournament
Before starting their district schedule, the Elkettes (6-9) got a sneak peek at some of their upcoming opponents.
Pojoaque Valley fell into the consolation bracket of the Peyton Chavez Tournament in Portales after pool play. There, they defeated Taos in four sets to reach the bracket finals, and they beat Moriarty in four sets.
The Elkettes have a week off before starting district play at Taos (6-4) on Oct. 10.