Football: Dulce 52, Legacy Academy JV 6
The Hawks (4-4) got back in the win column on Oct. 12 with a home win against the Legacy Academy Junior Varsity team.
For the previous four weeks, the Hawks had played some of the state’s strongest teams, and lost in a mercy rule in all four weeks, which also included road trips of six-plus hours. That came after a 3-0 start.
Now, Dulce is at four wins on the season for the first time in 12 years.
“It’s a good win for us,” said Dulce Coach Lawry Johnson. “We’ve been playing some of the best team in the state. It was good for the boys to get a little enthusiasm going before our last game.”
A strong passing game led the Hawks to a good performance on their senior night. Quarterback Issak Reval threw for four touchdowns, two to Jaren Johnson and one each to Michael Tecube and Hunter Vicenti. Reval ran for another touchdown, and Aljae Dixon also had a rushing touchdown.
While the Hawks are ineligible for the postseason as they are not in a district, they finish the season with another long road trip to Clayton (4-5) on Friday. A win would prove that the Hawks are ready to start competing with strong teams. For next year, Dulce will decide whether they move back to 11-man or join an 8-man district.
“Just to get this far is a good start to hopefully a good legacy for Dulce football,” Johnson said.
Local Volleyball Teams on the Rise
As district play started, a few of the Rio Arriba-area volleyball teams who had a slow start to the season found their stride and had strong weeks to help their seasons.
The Pojoaque Elkettes (8-9), after playing in tough tournaments and battling injuries early in the season, hit a groove to start district play and are now on a four-match win streak. Last week, they defeated Taos (8-8) in straight sets on Oct. 10 on the road, then did the same two days later to Moriarty (4-12). In all six of those sets, they allowed between 18 and 19 points. Pojoaque next plays Española Valley (4-12) on Thursday.
Escalante (8-7) scored a pair of big wins to open district play. On Oct. 10, they won in four sets on the road against Questa (8-4), the top-ranked team in the district, dropping the first set 25-12 then coming back to win 25-18 in each of the next three. They had a tough battle with Mesa Vista (1-10) two days later, but came away with a straight sets win. Their next match was after press deadline Tuesday against Peñasco (7-6).
McCurdy’s team (7-4) is on an impressive win streak for a team that had not won more than four matches in any of their last four seasons. After finishing non-district play with wins over Coronado (2-12) and Pecos (4-11), they started districts with a four-set victory at Peñasco, keeping an outside shot at making the 12-team state tournament. They next face Mora (3-9) after press deadline Tuesday, then play a makeup game with Mesa Vista (1-10) Wednesday.
Finally, Dulce (6-9) also defeated Peñasco in straight sets back on Oct. 6. They start their district play on Thursday against Navajo Pine (2-14). Laguna-Acoma (11-4) is yet again the favorite in their district.