Football: McCurdy 28, Cuba 16
The Bobcats (3-4) won their second-straight game against a larger-school opponent (three if you count a forfeit win over Navajo Prep) with a win over the Rams (2-4) on Sept. 30.
Casey Nevarez scored two touchdowns, and Jeremaya Roybal and Lucas Martinez both scored.
Coach Robert Nevarez praised the team’s defensive performance, with one of Cuba’s touchdowns coming on an overly aggressive blitz call.
“Other than my bonehead call,” he joked, “our defense worked really well. Really shut everything down.”
The Bobcats left points on the ground, with two drives to the 1-yard line ending without scores.
Robert Nevarez said the Bobcats wanted to establish their running game and lock down their blocking schemes.
McCurdy will face Santa Rosa (5-2), ranked as one of the state’s top teams, as they start district play on Saturday. The game will be at Española Valley High School as the McCurdy field continues renovations.
“They have an incredible run game,” Nevarez said. “If you do not play a very disciplined defense … they’ll make you pay for mistakes. So, we really have to get disciplined on defense this week.”
Robertson 50, Pojoaque 0
The Elks (0-5) continued to struggle as they faced the red-hot Cardinals (4-2) on Sept. 30, with the game ending at the 50-point margin about halfway through the third quarter.
Pojoaque will look to turn things around this week, but face another big road challenge on Friday in Highland (4-1), with the Hornets entering the game as big favorites.
Tularosa 43, Escalante 6
In what looked to be a close matchup ahead of the game, it was the Wildcats (2-4) who dominated the game at home over the Lobos (3-4).
Escalante, now having lost three of their last four games, looks to rebuild momentum entering district play, and is a favorite on Friday at home against Laguna-Acoma (3-4) after defeating them 44-6 last year.
Volleyball: Sandia Prep 3, Española 0
The Sundevils (2-12) continue to gain experience over the year against tough opponents, and are loking for a chance to put everything together.
Last week, the Sundevils took a set on Sept. 27 from Sandia Prep (9-6), and lost in four sets. Two days later, they lost to Santa Fe High (3-8) 25-13, 25-11, 25-10.
Coronado 3, NMSD 0
The Leopards (7-2) lost their district opener to Santa Fe Waldorf (9-2) on Sept. 27 in four sets after winning the first 25-23.
Two days later, they responded with an impressive win over New Mexico School for the Deaf (5-2) with a four-set win, 21-25, 25-23, 25-10, 27-25.
Peñasco Girls Win Home Meet
The Lady Panthers dominated their home course at the Oct. 1 Panther Invite, winning easily over five other schools.
Charnelle Gonzales led the group at 24:24 for the race in first place. Maddisyn Rodriguez was fourth, and Rochelle Lopez was sixth.
Aubrey Cordova from McCurdy was second, 34 seconds behind Gonzales. Marisol Serna placed ninth at 26:31, and the Bobcats were second in the race.
Cimarron was the champion for the boys race, with Maxwell’s Tristan Pierce the champion. Peñasco’s Jude Martinez was second at 20:00, and Jeremiah Martinez was fourth at 22:17, while the Panthers took sixth place.
Adrian Trujillo led McCurdy, who finished fifth, at 23:09. Mossy Gutierrez was the top finisher for Coronado in 42nd place, as the Leopards were seventh.
Volleyball: Dulce (9-6) 3, McCurdy (2-5) 0