Though four touchdowns were negated by penalties, three drives died on downs and a fourth was halted by halftime, the Ignacio Bobcats had little trouble walloping Montezuma Creek, Utah, Whitehorse on Friday.
The Bobcats prevailed 42-12 in its season opener at home.
For all practical purposes, it took only 19 seconds to see how the Bobcats would fare.
IHS senior John Riepel recovered junior Wade Dunbar’s initial onside kick at the visitors’ 36 yard line, then rushed for a touchdown on first down. The first score was foiled by a flag, but Riepel still gained 8 yards. He then went aerial and found junior Devante Montoya downfield for a touchdown with 11:41 remaining in the first.
Freshman Lincoln deKay lugged in the two-point conversion to put IHS up 8-0.
By the time the Raiders – playing in Utah’s eight-man classification but with the option of 11-man ball – got on the scoreboard, CHSAA’s mercy running-clock rules had been enacted. Riepel returned the second-half kickoff 99 yards to paydirt, putting IHS up 42-0 with 11:36 left in the third.
WHS (1-2) avoided being blanked when senior quarterback D’Wayne Nakai’s 33-yard lob into the end zone was caught by Cameron Nakai with about 2:00 left.
Montoya also came down with the throw, but was denied an interception after the official cited a CHSAA rule stating that in such a situation the offensive player is awarded possession.
WHS’ Jose Gutierrez later picked up a fumble and returned it 32 yards for a TD, produced by a blindside sack of IHS backup quarterback Zane Pontine with 2:50 left in the final frame. The final score came after an unnecessary-roughness call against blocker Cruz Martinez erased a 50-yard Hendren touchdown run.
Montoya, who returned a punt 44 yards for a score with 11:08 left in the second quarter, had an interception-return TD in the first quarter wiped out by an infraction during the runback. Rylan Maez also intercepted a throw that Pontine deflected for Ignacio.
DeKay, who scored on 6-yard TD carry with 9:15 left in the second, also had a 14-yarder taken away in the first quarter.
Ignacio’s other legitimate scores came via a 52-yard Riepel-to-Rylan Maez connection with 6:38 left in the first quarter, with Riepel running in the conversion from roughly 20 yards out after penalties, and a 14-yard Riepel carry with 3:57 to go in the second, plus senior Anthony Toledo’s conversion carry.
IHS led 16-0 after the first, 36-0 at halftime and 42-6 through three.
Unofficially, Riepel finished 4-of-11 passing for 124 yards and two TDs.
Cameron Nakai made two catches for 47 yards, and freshman Elam Etsitty caught one ball for six. Montoya, meanwhile, made two grabs for 39 yards, Rylan Maez ended up with his 52-yarder, and Marcus Maez had one reception for 33.
On the ground, Toledo broke off a 46-yard run early in the second quarter and finished with 74 yards on five carries, unofficially. Riepel gained 53 on nine, and Hendren 36 on 10. The Raiders unofficially totaled minus-36 yards on 16 carries, with a long of four yards.
Ignacio will next play Navajo Prep (0-3) on Friday in Farmington.
The Durango High School football team ran for 273 yards while holding Aztec to just 10 rushing yards on Friday. The Demons also recovered four fumbles, blocked a punt and scored eight touchdowns to leave New Mexico with a dominant, 55-0, win over the Tigers.
Zach Haber ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Jeric Baruch rushed for two touchdowns, picking up 83 yards on 12 runs. Quarterback Tyler Harms rushed for one touchdown and threw one to tight end AJ Folk. Julius Arredondo rushed for one score, and Jaxon Fancher picked up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown.
On defense, Julian Rodriguez made six tackles to lead DHS. Miguel Garcia Rodriguez and Folk both made four tackles while Baruch and Grady Hill each made three.
The Demons, now 2-1 overall, will next take on 4A Grand Junction Central (2-1) in a nonleague contest at 7 p.m. Friday in Grand Junction.
In Bayfield, the Wolverines welcomed Moffat County to town on Saturday. Quarterback Deegan Barnes scored on Bayfield’s first possession to put BHS up 7-0.
Moffat scored the next two touchdowns and led 12-7 at halftime.
The Wolverines, however, marched 74 yards down the field to start the second half. Donovan Candelaria picked up a couple of first downs, including one on a 20-yard run. Barnes then completed a 33-yard pass to Granite Truby that gave Bayfield a first-and-goal at the 10. On the next play, Barnes rushed into the end zone. Keaton Pickering then caught the two-point try in the end zone and Bayfield surged ahead 15-12.
Later in the third, Moffat answered with a 10-yard rushing touchdown to go ahead 18-15, and the score stayed there. Bayfield’s final possession started with 4:30 left. Barnes busted free for 25 yards on first down. On third down and three from the 50, however, a false start backed the Wolverines up. Bayfield then passed twice, but both fell incomplete and Moffat County took over on downs.
“We played so tough, we just have a couple of key injuries,” said BHS head coach Glenn Wallace. “Our depth is running thin.”
The coach said about 15 Wolverines played the whole game for Bayfield. “We’re playing ironman football,” Wallace said. Ernesto Galvin and Caelin Ramos, however, were two freshmen the coach said stepped up and had good games on Saturday. The coach also said the team’s linebackers “played a gritty, tough game.”
Offensively, however, Wallace said, “I have to continue to grow as a play caller; we need to figure out how to run the ball.”
Moffat County improved to 2-1 with the win.
Bayfield, now 0-3, has a bye this week and will next play at Centauri (1-2) at 7 p.m. on Sept. 23.
