There's one thing Ignacio now knows about Zero Week foe Ellicott: the Thunderhawks are legit.
EHS slipped badly in recent losses to Bennett and Peyton before blowing out Dolores Huerta Prep 50-zip last Friday at Pueblo. Their 36-31 road win earlier this season at Monte Vista-two weeks after routing the Bobcats 52-15-could have indicated what type of resistance IHS would face last Friday in Monte Vista.
And for every step forward the Bobcats were able to take, it seemed they then took three back.
Humbled and incensed by a 45-9 loss to 1A Western Slope power Meeker a week earlier, Monte Vista cruised out to a 21-0 lead through one quarter and upped it to 35-0 through two en route to dominating the teams' 1A Southern Peaks Conference opener 42-0.
Flagged for 15 penalties and 89 yards, Ignacio made goings all the more easier for MVHS, which tried only three passes (all incomplete) but rushed for a reported 284 yards on 38 carries (a potent 7.5 per-carry average) with five touchdowns. Senior Keshaun Duran led Monte (2-3, 1-0 SPC) with two scores and gained 75 yards on eight totes, while sophomore Tyler Vigil was 5-94-the closest Pirate to a 100-yard game-with a TD.
Defensively, Duran and senior Diondre Sanchez each had an interception to halt a pair of IHS advances, and the 'Cats (2-3, 0-1) also surrendered a punt-return TD to senior Jose Flores-Lauro.
"Monte Vista is a really well-coached and good team, so we can't ignore the growth we've had here with our squad," Ignacio's second-year head coach Alfonso 'Ponch' Garcia told the Durango Herald.
"These kids are working so hard and the results are showing for the most part. The players and coaches need to be more prepared next week, and the kids are going to be fired up for Homecoming."
And if for no other reason than the week brings nemesis Dolores to IHS Field for the 7 p.m. kickoff on Friday.
Dolores is 3-2, 0-1 SPC with a 19-0 loss last Saturday to Walsenburg John Mall.
