Published Oct 16, 2008
A sudden onslaught of marble-sized hail hammered the football field at Pojoaque High School Oct. 11, chasing players, cheerleaders and fans into the gymnasium with 19 seconds left in the first half.
The West Las Vegas Dons were leading the Elks 6-0, but when play resumed it was all Pojoaque. The Elks scored 16 second-half points and held West Las Vegas scoreless for a 16-6 victory. That brought their season record to 3-3, and 1-0 in District 2AAA.
“It was the power to believe,” Pojoaque coach Quevin Redding said. “We got them to believe in themselves and trust each other.”
That confidence showed when Pojoaque ran a starburst on the second-half kickoff. Pojoaque quarterback Mike Garcia took the ball at the 20-yard line, faked several handoffs to teammates who flashed by, then handed to running back Nick Zamora.
When the confused Dons finally chased Zamora down, he had returned the ball into West Las Vegas territory at the 45-yard line.
On the next play, Garcia dropped back and fired a downfield pass to Carlos Vigil along the sideline. Vigil reached back and gathered in the ball with one hand, going out of bounds on the Dons’ 15-yard line.
Two plays later, Redding and Garcia ran a play known only to themselves. Garcia faked a handoff to the left and dashed right on a naked bootleg. The Dons were slow to react and Garcia raced around the corner, dove for the end-zone pylon and scored Pojoaque’s first touchdown.
“That was all between me and Mike,” Redding said.
On their ensuing possession, the Dons fumbled the snap on three straight plays and were forced to punt. But another bad snap missed punter Derek Gold and the ball bounced toward the end zone. Gold fell on it in the end zone for a safety, giving the Elks an 8-6 lead.
The Dons offense continued to slip, slide and fumble in the fourth quarter. The Elks’ Joey Branch recovered a West Las Vegas fumble at the Dons’ 10-yard line, and Zamora swept around left end for a touchdown on the next play.
“That was a great effort on (Zamora’s) part,” Redding said. “It all started with a great block by Justin Sandoval.”
Garcia passed to wide receiver Rob Vigil for the two-point conversion and Pojoaque led 16-6 with 10:37 left in the game.
The frustrated Dons fumbled a total of seven times in the second half, which was played in a steady rain. It was Pojoaque’s fourth consecutive victory over West Las Vegas.
In the locker room after the game, Redding told his 19 players what their victory meant.
“Nobody expected this to happen,” he said. “This is something special.”
Garcia, a junior quarterback on a team without seniors, summed up the team’s feelings.
“We’re a brotherhood,” he said. “We believe in each other because you know the guy next to you is going to go as hard as you.”