Down 39-0 after one quarter and 53-0 at halftime, the Ignacio High School football team didn’t quit in the final game of the season.
The Bobcats would outscore No. 4 Centauri 21-0 in the second half and saw their season end on a high note despite a 53-21 loss to the host Falcons (8-1, 4-0 1A Southern Peaks League) on Friday afternoon in La Jara.
Despite an arm injury, Ignacio’s Colten Jackson scored a pair of touchdowns for Ignacio. He hauled in a 55-yard pass from Gabe Tucson with 9 minutes, 18 seconds to play in the third quarter to give the Bobcats their first score of the game. Early in the fourth quarter, Jackson recovered a fumble and returned it 22 yards for another Ignacio score.
The final Bobcat touchdown of the season would come on a pass from Teagen Roukema to Lawrence Toledo. That 10-yard connection with 1:20 to play in the game gave the Bobcats 21 points against one of the top teams in all of Colorado’s Class 1A.
Toledo was the Bobcats’ leading rusher with 22 yards on seven carries. Tucson finished 4-of-8 passing for 59 yards, while Roukema was 2-of-3 for 13 yards.
Ignacio’s season ended officially with a 2-6 overall record and 2-2 mark in the 1A Southern Peaks League. What doesn’t show up is a season-opening overtime win against Bloomfield’s junior varsity squad, giving IHS a three-win season to match last year’s 3-6 mark.
A tough Bobcats team made it through the end of the regular season, another victory after it forfeited last year’s season finale against Centauri because of a lack of healthy players.
The Bobcats could also be proud of the performance of foreign exchange student Alvaro Ros Ortiz of Spain. He was a big addition for the Ignacio kicking game this season.
Friday, it ultimately was the Falcons who soared past Ignacio with ease in the first half.
Baron Holman returned the opening kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown to give Centauri a 7-0 lead only 13 seconds into the game. Less than four minutes later, Zach Buhr was in the end zone on a 1-yard TD run that made it 14-0.
Mason Claunch would score a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter on runs of 15 and two yards. Centauri added touchdowns on a Taj Cornum 2-yard run and a 40-yard TD pass from Eric Maez to Holman.
In the second quarter, it was a pair of Cornum TD runs of five and 21 yards that put Centauri up enough to start the mercy-rule running clock and allow the Falcons to rest starters ahead of postseason play.
Ignacio was able to block a pair of extra-point attempts by the Falcons, who will earn a first-round home game in the state playoffs next week.
The Bobcats’ roster had only five seniors in Clay Campbell, Stephan Gomez, Randy Herrera, Jackson and Ian Weinreich. The Bobcats will return several skill players at key positions next season and will look to take another step in a positive direction.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
