The Ignacio High School football team had a promising start to its season opener against Ellicott last week before eventually falling 34-16. This week, the Bobcats could break into the win column when they host Crownpoint, New Mexico.
Ignacio (0-1) will host the Eagles (1-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at Bobcat Stadium.
The Bobcats had some bright moments in the opener and held an 8-7 lead at halftime. But in the second half they slowed down.
“Our main focus this week has been getting into better shape,” said IHS head coach Alfonso “Ponch” Garcia. “We played a great first half last week, but in the second half we ran out of juice. Everyone is playing both ways and it can be tough. Our main focus this week was that we need to get into football shape, and hopefully that helps us a little more.”
Ignacio and Crownpoint squared off last season with the Bobcats dominating in a 42-0 victory.
However, the two teams are much different than when they were on the field a year ago, and the Eagles made a big jump after the loss and finished the season 6-5, winning their district and making the state playoffs.
“We took care of them last year, but it’s a new group,” Garcia said. “Last year, they had a pretty good record for a New Mexico school. Obviously they improved a lot themselves. Hopefully our kids are up to the challenge.”
The Eagles, a Class 3A program in New Mexico, won their opener last week with a 24-12 victory against 4A Wingate, New Mexico.
While the Eagles didn’t fill up the stat sheet with a lot of yards – they gained 232 yards in the win – they were efficient. Quarterback Justin Yazzie completed 10 of his 13 pass attempts for 125 yards and two scores, and the team ran for 107 yards on 20 carries.
Outside of the little information he could get from last week, Garcia said he doesn’t know much about what Crownpoint has this year, and the Bobcats are game planning based on last year’s meeting.
“We don’t know much about them. We don’t have film on them, so we’re going off of what we have from last year,” Garcia said. “Hopefully what we have is good. If they run the same things, I think the kids will be a little more comfortable.”
kschneider@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who: Crownpoint (NM) at Ignacio
What: High school football
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Bobcat Stadium, Ignacio
Listen Live: KSUT 91.3 FM
