Credit is infinitely divisible.
So when Pojoaque head football coach Zeke Villegas was asked to assess the Elks’ season-opening 53-0 shutout of Crownpoint, there was plenty of credit to go around.
“I liked that we had five different players score touchdowns,” Villegas said of Pojoaque touchdown scorers D’Marcus Rodriguez (a Los Alamos transfer), Jonah Villegas, Joaquin Baca (each with two) and Corey Gonzales and quarterback Josh Gonzales, who each reached the end zone once. “We have a lot more weapons. (Opponents) can’t just concentrate on one or two players.”
With more than 300 yards rushing, Zeke Villegas seemed even more encouraged by the swarming Elks’ defense against the Eagles.
“We were really gang-tackling,” he said. “We were putting a lot of hats on the ball. We are so far ahead of where we last year. We didn’t always have so many guys running downhill (to the point of attack). (Against Crownpoint) we had three, four and five guys getting in on tackles.”
In addition to the rugged tackling, Pojoaque engaged in some ball-hawking too. Junior cornerback Baca returned one interception for a score, in addition to catching a 30-yard touchdown pass from Josh Gonzales. Linebacker Matthew Romero captured two interceptions. He and fellow linebacker freshman Clyde Vigil stood out in leading the Elks’ defensive charge.
Villegas’ son, sophomore Jonah, scampered 50-yard for a touchdown on Pojoaque’s first play from scrimmage, while Rodriguez and Corey Gonzales rounded out the first-quarter scoring with rushing touchdowns.
Pojoaque added three more second-quarter touchdowns, by Josh Gonzales, Baca and Jonah Villegas, as the half ended with the Elks leading 40-0.
Josh Gonzales’ only completion, a 30-yard touchdown pass to Baca, closed out the scoring and the game, late in the third quarter.
“Our offensive line played really well for us to rush for over 300 yards in three quarters,” Zeke Villegas said. “That was really the shining part of the night.”
Jonah Villegas finished with 124 yards on the ground on only five carries for a gaudy 24.8 yards-per-carry average, while the junior Rodriguez was not to be outdone, gaining 101 yards on four totes, for a 25.3 yard average. Corey Gonzales, Josh Gonzales and Romero chipped in with 29, 29 and 25 yards rushing, respectively.
With the game finishing early, Pojoaque coaches were able to watch Sept. 6 opponent Los Alamos on the National Federation of State High School Associations’ livestream against Española Valley Friday. But first up is a trip to Truth or Consequences on Friday to take on Hot Springs.
“We’ve already watched film on (Hot Springs),” Zeke Villegas said of the Tigers (1-0) who rallied to defeat Tularosa, 20-18, Aug. 22. “We know that they are tougher than they were last year and we’ll have to play mistake-free football.’