Chris Martinez did not even realize that he had reached the end zone and scored his first career touchdown.
In the second quarter, he had caught a medium-depth pass, shedded a tackle about 20 yards past the line of scrimmage, and had nothing but green grass in front of him.
“I didn’t realize what happened,” Martinez said. “I just kept running. I was back there by the trees before I realized I had made a touchdown.”
McCurdy battled against Hope Christian in a 42-20 home loss, when they had to fight against the heat. Four turnovers, two in the fourth quarter, hurt the Bobcats in their loss. They were playing their first game in two years at their home field, as they played at Española Valley High School in the 2022 season due to problems with the McCurdy bleachers.
Temperatures pushed into the 90s as the game went on after the 11 a.m. kickoff. By the fourth quarter, referees called for an official timeout for a water break for both teams. Nearly everyone on the McCurdy sideline was struggling with cramps.
“Today, we were battling two different teams,” McCurdy coach Robert Nevarez said. “We were battling Hope, and we were battling the heat. Once the cramps started kicking in, we were keeping both the offense and defense together with duct tape and baling wire.”
Senior Lucas Martinez led the offense with 115 rushing yards on 19 carries (six yards per attempt), two touchdowns, and 47 receiving yards. Quarterback Jeremaya Roybal was 4-for-12 passing for 106 yards and a touchdown (a 50-yarder to Chris Martinez), and he ran 15 times for 68 yards. The rushing game succeeded on runs to the outside.
“They had a strong D-line,” Roybal said. “So, we had to hit the outside a lot.”
Hope Christian used 10 plays on their first drive to travel 53 yards and into the end zone from two yards out. McCurdy went three-and-out to start, and punted away, giving up a long return. That led to an easy Huskies touchdown and a quick 14-0 lead.
But once the Bobcats got the ball for the second time, they showed what the offense could do. Lucas Martinez and Roybal alternated long runs, and Martinez punched it in from a yard out. They converted a two-point attempt and were down just six points when they recovered an onside kick. But an incomplete pass resulted in a turnover on downs.
McCurdy’s defense continued to hold strong, and they stopped the Huskies at the one-yard line to open the second quarter. But then the heat exhaustion and cramps began, with Lucas Martinez heading to the sideline and not returning until the second half.
Hope Christian scored shortly before halftime on a one-yard run. But McCurdy answered when Roybal hit Chris Martinez for a 50-yard touchdown. McCurdy was down just one score, and they recovered an onside kick for a chance to take a lead before halftime.
Instead, they threw an interception. And the Huskies quickly took over and used their 43 seconds before halftime to drive 70 yards into the end zone.
The second half started with a great kickoff return, but a fumble at the end of it, giving hope the ball to start the half. The teams traded possessions, but into the fourth quarter the heat took its toll on the Bobcats.
Hope Christian, from a higher division, with more than 40 players listed on their roster, could rotate players in and out and between offense and defense so none became too exhausted. McCurdy had several players playing basically every snap on both offense and defense, unable to rest.
The Huskies scored to take a 35-14 lead, McCurdy lost a fumble, and the Huskies scored again minutes later to make it 42-14. McCurdy scored again late in the fourth quarter, but Hope Christian found two first downs and then kneeled out the final seconds.
Hope Christian entered the day hoping to score 50 points and to quickly end the game.
They essentially had last year, going up 35-0 by halftime and going through the entire second half with a running clock. But this time, their task was much more difficult as they struggled to take a big lead. McCurdy kept their bigger opponents frustrated the whole game.
“We came in more confident, came out with more fire in our bellies,” Chris Martinez said.
“We are miles ahead of where we were last year,” Nevarez said.
McCurdy next plays against Hozho Academy on Saturday, facing a Gallup-based team that won its first-ever game last week 14-8 over Legacy Academy junior varsity.
“We’re going to see more tough teams like this later in the season,” Roybal said. “It’s good getting that first game. Get it out right away.”