Six games in three seasons and 12 games in four years. A special group of Ignacio Bobcats haven’t lost often.
The Ignacio High School boys basketball team is prepared for its third consecutive trip to the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 2A State Tournament in Pueblo this weekend. For six seniors, it will be the end of another brilliant generation of Bobcats.
Four of those seniors, Wyatt Hayes, Nicholas Herrera, Anthony Manzanares and Tucker Ward have spent four years on the varsity roster, posting an overall record of 88 wins and 12 losses while going 36-2 in San Juan Basin League games and 30-0 in league the last three seasons.
There are only two things left for this group to accomplish: beat Sanford and win a state championship. Both are monumental hurdles.
“We want it more than ever,” said Hayes, son of Cindy and Tim Hayes. “It’s our last chance. We’ve lost to Sanford the last two years in the semifinals, and this is our last chance.”
First comes a matchup with No. 4 Holyoke (21-3) in the state quarterfinals at 8:30 p.m. Thursday inside Massari Arena on the campus of Colorado State University-Pueblo. Holyoke defeated Ignacio in the 2010 state championship game when Herrera’s older brother, Alex, was the leader of the Bobcats.
If No. 5 Ignacio (21-2) can get past the Dragons on Thursday, a third consecutive semifinal showdown with the two-time defending state champion Sanford Indians, winners of 70 consecutive games, would await Friday.
“It’s a rivalry,” said Herrera, son of Chris and Kathy Herrera. “We want to go as hard as we can to beat them.”
Ignacio finished third in each of the last two state tournaments and has established a decade of dominance, reaching the Elite 8 of the state tournament in six of the last eight seasons.
Head coach Chris Valdez said his job is made easier by having strong leaders, including this year’s bunch who have collectively replaced last year’s senior captain, Adison Jones.
“They’re a quiet group. Even when Adison was here, he was a leader more by example,” Valdez said. “That’s who these guys are. They don’t talk a lot, but they go out there and prove it with their aggressive play.”
The Bobcats feature some of the best guards in the state behind Hayes, Manzanares and Ward. Hayes is one of the state’s top talents, with the ability to score, dish out assists, collect rebounds and swipe the ball away from opponents. Manzanares plays fearless, and Ward can score in bunches from all over the floor.
Herrera has come on strong and averaged 10.5 points and 11 rebounds when the team claimed the CHSAA Class 2A Region 1 tournament championship last weekend in Alamosa.
Herrera and fellow senior Austin McCaw are the team’s big men down low.
The Bobcats weren’t playing their best basketball early in the season and dropped a pair of games to regional rivals Durango and Bayfield. The loss to Bayfield was especially crushing but helped the Bobcats rally for the stretch run.
“We blew a 20-point lead. It was bad,” Hayes said.
“We had a little bit of drama in the locker room after, but we learned how to stay together and persevered.”
The biggest difference has been a deeper focus in practice, Hayes said.
The support of the Ignacio fans also helped the team push through adversity, and the Bobcats know they’ll have the support of La Plata County’s best basketball fans again this weekend in Pueblo.
“The fans are great; we sure couldn’t have done this the last four years without them,” said Manzanares, son of Carlos and Georgia Leon. “They’re tremendous, and it is quite fun having them there to support us.”
Regardless of this weekend’s outcome, the six seniors are going to cherish every second they have left on the court together.
“These are my brothers. To go out with them, one more time, it’s going to be real special,” Manzanares said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
