The Pojoaque Elks wanted to send a message to the Hot Springs Tigers and the rest of New Mexico Activities Association Class 3A high school football teams in the state.
“The players didn’t want to just win,” Elks’ coach Zeke Villegas said after Pojoaque pounded the host Tigers, 48-6, in a game Aug. 30 that was originally scheduled to be hosted at Pojoaque Valley High School. “The players wanted to make a statement and we are stepping up to the challenge.”
The Elks (2-0) have outscored their pair of opponents 101-6 in 2024.
Hot Springs (0-2) opened the second half with a scoring drive, culminating in a Tristan Polanco touchdown pass, to cut the Elks’ lead to 21-6, but Pojoaque wasted no time in responding as junior D’Marcus Rodriguez returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a score and after a 10-yard touchdown run from sophomore Jonah Villegas, Rodriguez mirrored his own long kickoff return with a 95-yard interception return putting the contest safely out of reach.
Junior Josh Gonzales closed out the night’s scoring with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Martinez. Martinez also picked off a pass.
In displaying a high-powered offense (including rushing for 329 yards in Truth or Consequences), the Elks have not turned the ball over yet this season.
“We’ve been playing mistake-free football,” Zeke Villegas said. “And we kept (Hot Springs) under 100 yards of total offense. All of the hard work and work in the weight room is starting to pay off (in Zeke Villegas’ second season as Pojoaque’s head coach) and you can see that we’re showing football smarts.”
Jonah Villegas led the Pojoaque attack with 140 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown, while Rodriguez added 86 yards on 11 carries to go with his pair of return touchdowns. The third prong in the Elks’ high-flying attack, Corey Gonzales, rushed nine times for 78 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior quarterback Josh Gonzales completed two of five passes, both completions to Martinez and ran for a 2-point conversion.
Next up for Pojoaque will be its toughest test of this young season, hosting a grouchy Los Alamos team, Friday. The Hilltoppers lost, 35-20, at Taos after dropping their season-opener to Española Valley, 21-18.
“We know they are not an 0-2 team,” Zeke Villegas said. “It will be our biggest test and we have not beaten Los Alamos in 13 years.”
The Friday night contest will feature two of the area’s shiftiest running backs, Jonah Villegas and Los Alamos’ Akim Leija.
“We have, at least, four guys on offense that you have to prepare for,” Zeke Villegas said “and we like to spread the ball around. If you game plan just to shut down one player (against the Elks), we can adjust.”