Tularosa’s starting quarterback unofficially tied a state record for passing touchdowns in a game.
Senior Dillon Salazar threw for nine touchdowns while wide receiver Kani Mathis dominated in a big win, after traveling 300 miles for the game.
“Just trusting my receivers to catch the ball wherever I throw it, trusting my line to pick up some blocks for me to have time to throw the ball,” Salazar said. “Means a lot. Wish I could have broke (the record).”
The Wildcats (4-2) were too much for the Escalante Lobos (2-5) to handle in the passing game, as they won in Tierra Amarilla 68-19 on Escalante’s homecoming night on Sept. 29. Escalante’s offense struggled to get going for much of the second half, while Tularosa’s short passes led to easy scores on their side of the ball. Four turnovers hurt the Lobos’ momentum.
“Little disappointed; I feel like we came into the game strong, fighting,” said senior Jeremiah Martinez. “To finish it, we didn’t fight. Where we wanted to be, we kind of shot ourselves in the foot.”
Escalante senior Trey Archuleta was successful on his early pass attempts, finishing the day 7-for-12 for 86 yards with two interceptions. He also ran 29 times for 135 yards and a touchdown.
Martinez, who moved from the offensive line to running back partway through the season, ran 20 times for 101 yards and a touchdown.
“Being a lineman my whole life, it’s my first few games as a running back,” Martinez said. “I’ve been trying to improve at that and running the ball hard. I feel like I’ve helped the team out.”
Tularosa scored in less than a minute on their first drive, which included a screen pass on their first play that went for 23 yards. Escalante responded with a long touchdown run by Archuleta, and they took the lead with an extra point by Greysen Horan.
The Wildcats scored again. And on Escalante’s second drive, they made it to the 5-yard line but failed to convert on fourth-and-goal. The Wildcats drove the length of the field and scored to open the second quarter.
“We knew they would come out throwing,” Escalante coach Rico DeYapp said. “The thing that sucks about film, you don’t get to see that game speed. I don’t think we were prepared for that kind of team speed.”
Escalante again answered with Martinez’s long touchdown run, keeping the game close, but it was as close as they would get. Tularosa scored again, the Lobos turned the ball over on downs, and the Wildcats then went up 34-13.
“We just wasn’t really focused,” said senior Tayshaun Toya. “Other teams don’t throw as much passes. This is the first team that threw a lot.”
A strip sack by Marcelo Baeza gave Escalante the ball in the red zone late in the half. But for the second time, the Lobos threw an interception on the goal line, and went into the locker room down 21.
Escalante’s first drive of the second half made it down to the 10-yard line, but they lost a fumble. Tularosa continued to increase their lead, scoring on almost every possession. The lone bright spot came after falling down 52-13 when Toya returned a kick for a touchdown.
“When I touch the rock, that’s my goal, is make a touchdown,” Toya said.
But all told, Tularosa outscored Escalante 34-6 in the second half.
Escalante starts district play on the bubble of the state tournament, needing a strong showing over the next few weeks. Their first match comes on the road at Laguna-Acoma (2-4). While Escalante is, on paper, a big favorite for the game. But last year, the Hawks played tough in a 22-14 loss, and the team expects a similar fight this year.
“Just more of what we’ve had all year, everyone giving us their best shot,” DeYapp said. “I really think (Laguna) is going to give us all we want. McCurdy, that’s the game that everyone circles. And, to me, Santa Rosa is a top two, top three team in the state. We’re going to have our hands full all three games. We have to play our best football.”