After a vicious road loss last Friday in La Jara, the Bobcat football players would definitely have savored the shot to avenge themselves with a strong showing at Ignacio High School Field this Saturday, Oct. 21.
Tuesday afternoon, however, Ignacio Athletic Director Rocky Cundiff e-mailed members of the media that John Mall High School has elected to forfeit the scheduled 1 p.m. contest.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances, the remainder of our football season has been cancelled," read a posting by JMHS Secretary Faith Espinoza, dated Oct. 17 to the school website.
"It is with much disappointment we will have to forfeit the remainder of our football season," JMHS A.D. Joshua Vialpando then said the next morning via email.
"We are unable to safely field a team at this time and do not believe we will recover for the duration."
Going on the books as a win for Ignacio, it may or may not finalize the Bobcats' 2017 record at 3-5 overall, 2-2 in the 1A Southern Peaks Conference.
"We're trying to get one more game for next weekend," IHS coach Alfonso 'Ponch' Garcia said Wednesday morning, mentioning Pueblo's Dolores Huerta Prep as a possible opponent, with the site being either at Ignacio or even in Alamosa, "and have that be our Senior Day.
"We'll see what happens in the next couple days."
The Walsenburg-based Panthers, this fall under new head coach Robinson Payne, had forfeited last Friday versus Monte Vista and will finish 0-8, 0-4 after also forfeiting their Oct. 27 finale at Centauri.
Which certainly would have been a brutal contest even in the best of times; Ignacio High found that out last week.
Able to go toe-to-toe with the undefeated Falcons in a scoreless first quarter, the 'Cats began wearing down.
Taking a handoff from senior quarterback Nate Anderson, senior Brandon Buhr raced around left end about 35 yards for a touchdown just seconds into the second quarter, and the home team would go into halftime up 29-0.
Sophomore Taj Cornum continued the unchecked onslaught with a four-yard rushing touchdown barely two minutes after halftime, with senior Sam Anderson tacking on the extra point, and the third quarter would end with the Falcons in complete control, 43-0.
Late in the final frame, Centauri sophomore Alec Holman stepped in front of an IHS pass and returned it a reported 24 yards for the game's last TD, and the Falcons then ran in a two-point conversion to cap a 51-0 conquest.
Ranked #3 in the CHSAANow.com Class 1A poll going in, Centauri boosted their record to 7-0 (2-0 SPC), and will next visit Dolores (4-3, 1-1) this Friday, Oct. 20, with a bye next weekend prior to postseason play.
