Escalante’s pair of leading rushers had strong words for each other after their win.
Junior Jeremiah Martinez said of senior Trey Archuleta, “A very good ballplayer. He carries the ball very well, he runs with his heart. And he just puts his all into it.”
And Archuleta returned the favor, saying, “He’s a beast. He’s a physical runner. He runs over everyone and he runs hard … He’s irreplaceable. There’s no one like him.”
Escalante’s duo of tough-as-nails quarterback Archuleta and lineman-turned-running-back Martinez were nearly unstoppable as they ran their hearts out against the McCurdy Bobcats (5-3, 0-2 in district) in a 46-18 win by the Lobos (4-5, 2-0) at McCurdy on Oct. 14. It was easily the closest game the two teams have played since 2012.
“Happy. For now,” Archuleta said. “It’s not over. We’ve still got a season to play.”
With the win, Escalante rose to No. 8 in 2A in MaxPreps rankings, and were in that spot in the coaches’ poll last week. That likely puts them into the final position in the state tournament, where they were last year (barring an upset next week moving them up further). McCurdy, meanwhile, most likely is out of the running, needing a win to hold serve in the 8-man field.
“If things work out the way I think they will, we kind of punched our ticket this week,” said Escalante Coach Rico DeYapp.
But the Bobcats were unhappy with the result, especially the way the fourth quarter went.
“Probably out of all the games this year, this is the one I’m most disappointed in,” said McCurdy Coach Robert Nevarez. “We just gave up. This was uncharacteristic of our team. They came out here and out-muscled and out-hustled us.”
Perhaps the game could have gone differently. McCurdy turned the ball over six times. And their star running back, Lucas Martinez, was battling an ankle injury. After he was unstoppable the first half of the season, he did not have his usual burst at the line of scrimmage in his first game back. But by the second half, it seemed clear that — not to disrespect McCurdy — Escalante was stronger, more physical, and simply better this week.
Archuleta ran for 296 carries and five touchdowns, and passed for 59 yards. Jeremiah Martinez ran for 117 yards and a score. Greysen Horan caught two passes for 53 yards.
Quarterback Jeremaya Roybal led McCurdy’s effort with 155 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and threw for 69 yards and another score. Mari Sanchez finished with 81 total yards, not counting kick returns, and a receiving touchdown. DeYapp praised Sanchez for his fight throughout the game until the very end.
Both teams were held scoreless in the first quarter as the defenses held strong. But a late hit after a punt gave Escalante great field position, and good runs by Archuleta put them ahead 6-0. McCurdy threw an interception on their next drive (their second of five on the day), and Escalante answered with a massive run by Jeremiah Martinez with multiple emphatic broken tackles.
McCurdy answered on the next play after the kickoff, with Roybal breaking free on a 52-yard run for a touchdown. But Escalante scored again after a 28-yard pass led to an Archuleta 3-yard run to gup 22-6. Roybal scored again on a 42-yard run. And McCurdy’s defense held strong in their own territory in the final minute to keep the score at 22-12 at halftime.
To start the second half, down by 10, McCurdy just missed the opportunity to recover an onside kick when Escalante came away from the pile with the ball. They scored in two plays, setting the tone for a second half they would win 24-6. That remained the only score in the third quarter, but Escalante scored again early in the fourth, and frustration grew for the Bobcats as they accumulated late hit penalties.
“We just started playing our brand of football,” DeYapp said. “Being a little bit more physical than what we were in the first half.”
Forced to be one-dimensional with the big deficit, McCurdy struggled in the second half as Escalante was able to key in on the passing game.
“You could just see, they were deflated, they gave up,” Nevarez said. “That is something psychological that as a coaching staff we’re going to have to figure out. We’ve got to get that cleaned up, for the success of the program going forward.”
McCurdy achieved its second-half score in quick response on a tipped pass from Roybal when Sanchez held concentration and came down with the ball. That glimmer of hope stayed alive when JJ Ortiz recovered an onside kick, but ended when the next play was an interception nearly returned for a touchdown. McCurdy got the ball back once again after a fumble, but threw another interception, and Escalante went down and scored their final points.
The Bobcats will look to finish their season strong at home on Saturday against Laguna-Acoma, who consistently plays them tough. But finishing with a 6-3 season, their best since 2012, would be an accomplishment on its own.
“Winning is a process, you have to learn the process,” Nevarez said. “You take your ups and your downs.”
Escalante finishes their regular season seeking a home upset against Santa Rosa, currently the No. 3 ranked team in 2A with a chance to become No. 1. Holding strong against the Lions’ rushing attack will be important; Escalante lost this matchup 50-0 last year, the first that they were in the same district.
“We have to really push ourselves these next two weeks to make it somewhere big this year,” Jeremiah Martinez said.
In future years, McCurdy hopes to grow the McCurdy-Escalante rivalry back to what it used to be. Between 2013 and 2022, Escalante won all eight matchups by 40 points or more, seven via mercy rule, with an average score of 55 to 2. This year’s game, while not super close on the scoreboard, is a step in the right direction.
Archuleta was among players torn in how much to take away from the rivalry.
“We take pride in it, but at the end of the day, it’s just another game,” he said. “We love to win. But. We love to win here especially.”