Football: McCurdy 44, Santa Fe Indian 15
McCurdy’s game was punctuated by the longest play from scrimmage possible. Jeremaya Roybal tossed a pass to Lucas Martinez, who ran all the way to the end zone for a 99-yard touchdown.
McCurdy coach Robert Nevarez said that nobody on the Braves was able to match Martinez’s speed the whole game, as their offense “continues to click.”
The Bobcats (3-1) turned in their third-straight victory with a 29-point win over the Braves (1-4), winning over a bigger school 44-15 on the road on Sept. 15.
“I don’t’ think that fight is indicative of the kind of fight (Santa Fe Indian) put up,” Nevarez said.
With a strong game from Roybal, who made success out of broken plays, McCurdy reached three games on a win streak for the first time since 2016 (not counting a forfeit win a year ago).
The Bobcats’ defense held strong in the red zone, but Nevarez said they are looking to improve “between the 20s” after the way that the Braves’ offense was able to run.
McCurdy will look to make it four straight — which would be their longest since 2012 — on Friday on the road at Navajo Prep (2-3). Nevarez said the defense will need to step up against a big offensive line.
Los Alamos 45, Pojoaque 7
The Elks (2-2) held tight with the undefeated Hilltoppers (5-0) with the game tied through one quarter. But the Hilltoppers rolled from there with 38 straight points to win 45-7 in Pojoaque on Sept. 15.
Pojoaque scored its lone touchdown on a seven-yard run by quarterback Ethan Meloy.
Penalties throughout the game hurt Pojoaque’s offense and kept them out of rhythm.
A scary moment occurred in the fourth quarter when Jonah Villegas, after a big game, went down with an injury and entered an ambulance. He then left the ambulance and returned to the sidelines though did not play the rest of the game.
Pojoaque next plays on the road at Cloudcroft (0-3) on Saturday, looking to come away with another big win.
Ben Sandoval contributed reporting
Raton 33, Escalante 8
While a year ago, the Tigers (3-2) had a dominant run game led by the state’s all-time leading rusher, this time it was the passing game that led them to a big victory over the Lobos (1-4) in Raton on Sept. 15.
Raton’s quarterback Jacob Mattorano completed 12 of 20 passes for an efficient 244 yards and two touchdowns. Raton’s rushers combined for 114 yards on 26 attempts and three ground scores. Escalante’s statistics were not available by press deadline.
Escalante has a chance to get back in the win column at home on Saturday as they face Mescalero Apache (2-2).
Volleyball: Tournament of Champions
The Pojoaque Elkettes and Española Sundevils faced off in pool play at the Santa Fe Tournament of Champions.
Pojoaque placed second in Pool B behind Farmington, putting them in the gold bracket. They lost matches to Hope Christian, Robertson and Piedra Vista, and finished in eighth place. Host Santa Fe High won the title.
Española Valley entered the silver bracket after pool play. Their weekend included a loss to Santa Fe Indian and a win over Wingate.
The Sundevils, now at 3-5, have already collected more wins than they did in the entire 2022 season, when they finished 2-20.
The Elkettes faced Santa Fe Indian (6-1) after press deadline on Tuesday. The Sundevils next play on Sept. 25 at Capital.