The swinging-gate offense had the state champions confused, for one quarter, any way.
Ignacio High School played the two-time defending Class 1A state champion Friday night in Paonia. Ignacio moved the ball well on offense to start the game, using a swinging-gate offense in which the entire line and all the receivers split out wide, leaving only the center and quarterback between the hashes.
Ignacio (0-2) drove as far as the Paonia 16-yard line with one drive before turning it over on downs. The Bobcats never threatened the Eagles (2-0) again, keeping Paonia’s winning streak alive at 25 games dating back to Sept. 14, 2013.
Paonia senior quarterback Taylor Walters, 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns on five carries. He also passed for 49 yards and two scores on a 4-of-5 performance.
Ignacio quarterback Zach Weinreich was 13-of-32 passing for 72 yards and two interceptions. He found receiver Austin McCaw six times for 34 yards. Lorenzo Peña had two receptions for 22 yards. He also had a fumble recovery in the game.
Ignacio was in the game until the Eagles scored on the first play of the second quarter. On the Bobcats’ first offensive play after that score, they were intercepted, and the Eagles returned it for another score, giving them two touchdowns in 15 seconds.
Ignacio will travel next Friday to play at Pagosa Springs.
Meanwhile, Paonia will make a trip to La Plata County in two weeks to play at Bayfield. First, the Eagles will host Centauri next week.
