In recent years, Española football has been tormented by the Taos Tigers.
“The seniors, they always tell us during practice, that they never beat Taos,” said sophomore quarterback Irvin Primero. “This was their night.”
In their last four meetings, Taos won by 56 in 2018, 48 in 2019, 50 in 2021 and 55 a year ago. For everyone on the team, entering their matchup, blowout losses was all they knew.
“We just all wanted it,” said Adrick DeLeon. “This is a completely different team. I saw, this whole thing was different compared to last years. Practices felt great from Monday to now. And it all worked out in our favor.”
But on Thursday, on the road, they finally got their revenge. Española Valley (5-3) defeated Taos (2-6) 38-25, behind an incredible rushing performance by DeLeon, the senior running back. It is the Sundevils’ first win against Taos since 2015, when they went 9-2, and their first road win there since 2007. This sets them up in playoff position with two home games to play, and with a chance to win a district championship.
“They deserve it because they worked hard,” said Española coach Tylon Wilder. “They’re finally turning the corner. It came down to a nailbiter at the end. Instead of giving up at the end, they fought hard, harder than I’ve ever seen them fight. And it paid off.”
With Taos driving down the field down by six in the final minutes, Española’s defense sealed the game. Victor Parra picked off a pass in the end zone with two minutes left. The Sundevils scored a touchdown two plays later.
“It was the moment,” Parra said. “It was just on me. I had to make the play. There was no exception for anything besides just to stop them.”
Adrick DeLeon was the star of the day. He ran for a whopping 324 yards on 22 attempts and five touchdowns (he was one yard short of making it six). He also added 32 receiving yards and 46 pass yards on trick plays, one of which was nearly another touchdown had he not stumbled on the final play before halftime. But he passed off the credit for his success.
“I have the best O-line in the state,” DeLeon said. “None of this is possible without them. This is all just a team effort, and all this shows what we’ve been working all summer long, and this proves it.”
Primero added, “Just know, he’s Him.”
Jack Purdy added on another 58 yards and the game’s final score. Primero completed two of seven passes for 25 yards while letting the running game do much of the work.
The win sets up a game next week with Moriarty, on paper the favorite in the district. If the Sundevils win one of their next two games, including the season-finale at Pojoaque, they should be in the playoffs for the first time since 2015. If they win both, they could be in position to host the first round.
Defensively, the Sundevils succeeded by focusing on stopping the run. When Taos tried to pass, their athletic quarterback often had to extend plays, either by scrambling for a short gain, or running around the backfield before targeting the third or fourth option.
The Sundevils were excited to start the game with the ball, and advanced down the field on their first drive with 13 plays, including a fourth-down fake punt play where Ezekial Cuevas picked up a first down, and DeLeon scored his first touchdown from 21 yards out.
“They couldn’t stop us,” DeLeon said. “Our line is just crazy. They start everything. I just follow my holes.”
On the next kickoff, the Sundevils attempted an onside kick, and recovered a perfect attempt. Wilder said they wanted to have more possessions, and worried (rightfully) about Taos’ kickoff returns.
But a false start set them back on the drive. And with temperatures dropping into the low-40s, a 49-yard field goal attempt fell short of the goalpost. Taos slowly drove down the field, aided by two Española personal fouls, and scored on a run to go up 7-6.
Penalties were the biggest negative on the day for the Sundevils, consistently causing issues on both offense and defense while Taos committed no penalties the entire game.
But the Sundevils responded with another good drive after Anthony Mendoza’s kickoff return. Facing a 2nd-and-25, Primero found Kevin Coffeen for 18 yards, and on the next play, DeLeon ran 35 yards for his second touchdown.
Taos took back the lead, but Española responded quickly with a trick play where DeLeon threw back to Primero, who ran 45 yards and nearly scored a touchdown. Instead, it was DeLeon who scored again. Right before the half, Taos drove deep into Española territory, but DeLeon deflected a third-down pass, holding the Tigers to a field goal and taking a 19-17 lead into halftime.
Taos took the ball to start the second half, but Española’s defense was ready. Adam Garcia and Nick Sandoval combined for a huge third-down sack to force a three-and-out. And with good starting field position, it took just two DeLeon runs for the Sundevils to go ahead 25-17.
Taos turned the ball over on downs with a missed fourth-down pass from Española’s six-yard line. DeLeon ran for a 58-yard gain at the end of the third quarter, and early in the fourth he finished his drive from the 1-yard line, making it 31-17. But missed extra-point attempts, with two-point runs coming up short three times, let the Tigers stay close. After that score, they ran back the kickoff, and added a smart two-point conversion to have a chance to win.
And the Tigers made their stop in the red zone, with the Sundevils set back by false start penalties. Española attempted a 36-yard field goal but the snap and hold were bad, and the kick was blocked back into Sundevil territory, giving Taos a chance with under five minutes left.
A couple good plays by the Tigers’ quarterback set up a first down at the Española 22-yard line with just over two minutes remaining. But on first down, they threw a jump ball to the right corner of the end zone, and Parra came down with the ball. Teammates erupted in celebration. On the next play (after an excessive celebration set Española back 10 yards), DeLeon broke free, only to be chased down at the 1-yard line when his body finally gave out after over 969 feet of running (but nothing serious). Purdy scored, instead, sealing off the victory.
“It means a lot, I can’t even, I have no words for it,” Wilder said. “I wish I could talk about it. I’m just super emotional right now.”
Against Moriarty, the Sundevils’ run defense will again need to step up big, facing another team where they have lost mercy-rule games in recent years (though last year was a strong fight in a 62-28 loss). But Española has confidence, and wants a district championship.
But before that, after the late Thursday victory, leaving Taos past 10 p.m., the players had to wake up early again. The next day is Friday, and they have to go to school.