Española Valley High School sophomore Victor Parra teamed up reflecting on his bond with senior quarterback Nate Chacon, and the impact he is having on his teammate’s senior season.
About his two touchdown catches in a great game, he said, “I wanted those to go for Nate, to remember those.”
“We’ve just fought so hard together, and we’ve been through so much together,” Chacon said. “Me and Victor, everyone on the team. And me and Victor have always bonded great together, and we’ll have this love for each other that will never end, for a lifetime.”
The Sundevils (5-4, 0-2 in district) lost 62-28 in Moriarty (7-2, 2-0) on Oct. 21. It was not the result Española necessarily wanted, but a much stronger fight than they have put up in the recent past against the Pintos, who a year ago (after beating Española 59-6) made the state semifinals, and could be on track for a repeat. They scored the second-most points Moriarty has allowed all season, and most by a 4A-division team.
In fact, it was the closest meeting between the two teams since they were placed in the same district. As a result, Moriarty’s coaching staff told Española’s that they would plan to vote the Sundevils into the 12-team playoff bracket, unveiled Oct. 30, which the Sundevils have a real chance to make for just the third time in school history.
Española currently sits at No. 13 in the MaxPreps rankings, but are just behind 1-8 St. Pius X. The New Mexico Activities Association rankings process remains vague and confusing, but it is hard to imagine an eight-loss team getting in over viable contenders. Regardless, a win on Friday in Pojoaque seems like a must to finish with a winning record and have a chance at a berth.
“All we want to do is get into playoffs, compete, and show everyone what we have,” Chacon said. He also wants to match his brother, Louie Chacon, who made the playoffs as a linebacker in 2015.
At first, it looked like the Sundevils could pull off an upset. Four great defensive plays led to an immediate turnover on downs. The first two plays on offense were a 26-yard run by Alex Chavez followed by a 32-yard touchdown pass to Parra.
“These boys came out ready for a fight,” said Chacon. “And these boys fought with all they had. We played a really good team, and it showed. And we just came out here and fought.”
“We came out like dogs,” Parra said. “We feasted.”
But from there, Española did not record a stop on defense, and Moriarty scored on all nine of their next drives until a kneeldown to end the game, though the Sundevil defense did force many long, drawn-out drives. Española’s remaining drives went: turnover on downs, fumble, punt, touchdown, end of half, turnover on downs, touchdown, interception, touchdown, fumble.
Española coach Tylon Wilder praised the Moriarty offense, which was able to keep pushing against Española, and always had a first down to pick up, usually with simple run plays.
“I’m really proud of their effort,” he said of the Española defense. “Because they never gave up. And we were still battling to the end.”
The Sundevils had their share of bad breaks, too. Adrick DeLeon’s kick return touchdown, that would have given them momentum headed into halftime, was called back for holding. A string of dropped passes on open receivers took away multiple touchdowns.
Chacon threw for 188 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 12-of-25 passing. Española had success on the ground, before they were eventually forced to abandon the run, gaining a total of 150 yards on 25 attempts, with Chavez rushing for 66 yards. Parra caught four passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
“Everything worked on offense,” Wilder said. “There wasn’t one thing that didn’t work. Honestly, what we shot ourselves in the foot with the most, is we dropped probably six balls in a row that were touchdowns.”
Española finishes their regular season on the road Friday against reeling Pojoaque (0-8), who has lost every game they have played this season by 42 or more points.
“We’re going to start, immediately tonight, gameplanning for Pojoaque,” Wilder said.