Members of the Escalante High School Football team experienced an entirely new feeling, Oct. 27, after their match-up against Fort Sumner High School. For the first time this season, the Lobos ended a game with a loss.
The Fort Sumner Foxes came to Escalante, holding the number one ranking in class 2A. Before the game, both teams were experiencing undefeated seasons, and this game looked to be a precursor for an eventual 2A state championship.
This time, Fort Sumner came out on top, knocking off the Lobos, 35-8.
“That Fort Sumner game, it was a tough one on us,” Escalante head coach Dusty Giles said. “But, that is what happened — we will make some corrections and hopefully have a chance to redeem ourselves.”
Escalante running back Anthony Ulibarri believes if the Lobos pass their first-round playoff game against Jal High School, an eventual faceoff against Fort Sumner will be a “whole different game.”
In this game, the Lobos were outmatched. They went down early, 14-0, after the Foxes started the second quarter with a quick touchdown pass. After a couple of drives went nowhere for both teams, the Lobos picked up steam mid-way through the second quarter.
Some solid running work from quarterback Cody Russom and Ulibarri marched Escalante down the field, leading to a quarterback sneak for a touchdown. Ulibarri made the two-point conversion. The touchdown drive came about from Russom and Ulibarri’s complementary work in the speed option.
Fort Sumner ended the first half with one more touchdown, sending the Lobos to the locker room with a two-score deficit.
At the beginning of the second half, before Fort Sumner scored again, chances of an Escalante win looked slim, as Russom went down with a knee injury.
Russom was filling in for starting quarterback Esteban Archuleta, who has been injured for four weeks. The injury to Russom forced the Lobos to run with their third-string quarterback, freshman Brendon Giles.
Brendon Giles had difficulty moving the ball on offense, the struggle exacerbated by the fact that he was in against the toughest defense the Lobos have played all year.
Fort Sumner steadily ran away with the game, scoring twice more before the game ended, and letting the clock run out in the red zone.
The Foxes capitalized on a number of big throws, which landed them in easy scoring position on both of their last two touchdowns.
The loss gave Escalante a second seed in the 2A state tournament and Fort Sumner has the top seed. Escalante will play Jal on Saturday, and Fort Sumner will get an easier opponent in Lordsburg High School. The winner of each game will move on to the state championship.
For Ulibarri, this regular season game against Fort Sumner did not matter. His sights are set on the state championship game, which he promises will feature an entirely rejuvenated Escalante team.