Penalties and a tough Centauri defensive line kept the Ignacio Bobcats off the scoreboard Saturday.
In a crucial 1A Southern Peaks League high school football game, Ignacio couldn’t get going in a 20-0 home loss.
The first drive of the game was promising for the Bobcats (3-4, 1-2 SPL), but penalties helped the drive stall on the Falcons’ 25-yard line. Centauri (4-3, 2-1 SPL) capitalized immediately and scored on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Nate Anderson to Dustin Sowards, who also made the extra point for a 7-0 Falcons lead with 8 minutes, 13 seconds to go in the first quarter.
IHS had more red-zone opportunities than the Falcons, but the mistakes mounted once the Bobcats got there.
“The mental part of the game is so funny and weird,” IHS head coach Ponch Garcia said. “The kids played their hearts out, so the silly mistakes were just frustrating.
“But to hold this team to only 13 points for most of the game, that’s a pretty good accomplishment for our boys.”
Centauri made it 13-0 late in the first quarter on a six-yard TD run by Brandon Buhr.
The IHS defense buckled down and shut Centauri out in the second and third quarters, but the damage had already been done. The Falcons delivered their final blow with 4:23 to play in the fourth quarter, as Anderson bolted down the field for a 62-yard TD run. Sowards added the PAT.
Centauri played a smart special-teams game, refusing to kick off deep to Ignacio’s speedy return men Lawrence Valdez and Kruz Pardo. The defensive line of the Falcons dominated the game and brought down Ignacio quarterbacks Zach Weinreich and Isaiah Jacket repeatedly. Weinreich recorded negative 49 rushing yards, including sacks.
That defensive line effort was spearheaded by Casey Fringer, a 6-foot-1, 265-pound wrecking machine.
“They manhandled us on the inside,” Garcia said. “They just outsized us.”
Weinreich was held to 172 passing yards on 16-of-29 passing. Jacket went 4-of-7 for 87 yards and an interception. IHS also lost the ball once on a fumble.
Valdez finished with 50 yards on seven catches. Timmy Plehinger had 83 receiving yards on four catches, and Pardo finished with 59 yards on two receptions. Marcus Chapman added another 45 receiving yards on three catches.
The loss was a dagger to the league championship hopes of the rising Bobcats, who are now two games behind Center and one behind Centauri and Monte Vista. Center is 3-0 in league but lost its starting quarterback to a broken collar bone, opening the door for Centauri. IHS will host Center the final game of the regular season.
Next for the Bobcats is a contest at 7 p.m. Friday against John Mall of Walsenburg.
“They have a new coaching staff and system than last year,” Garcia said of John Mall. “We can match with them. We will go back to the drawing board and get ready.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
