The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Ignacio High School football team.
Off to an 0-2 start with losses to Class 1A playoff teams from last year, the Bobcats will punch above their weight for their homecoming game.
Class 1A IHS will host Class 2A Pagosa Springs at 7 p.m. Friday at IHS.
“I think it’s a positive thing for us. They’ve been upbeat,” IHS head coach Lupe Huerta said of how his team has handled the tough start. “They know it’s not going to get any easier.”
Pagosa Springs (0-2) has lost its first two games at home against Centauri and Delta but still boasts size along both lines and at running back.
The Pirates’ senior running back JC Parsons and senior quarterback Marcos Quezada both have 81 yards rushing this season.
Quezada also has thrown for 303 yards, completing 42.9 percent of his passes.
“From the film we watched, they had two or three quarterbacks that played. I’m assuming the starting quarterback got hurt,” Huerta said. “We’re expecting him to play, and it seems like he throws a pretty good ball – runs well. We’ve got to work on our contain.”
The Bobcats won’t just have to deal with the Pirates, though.
It’s homecoming week for IHS, which always will bring plenty of distractions, but Huerta said the seniors on the team have done their best to keep the team on track.
“Last week was the distraction of the new field, this week we have the lack of focus sometimes because of all of the things they do during the week leading up to the game,” Huerta said. “It’s a constant battle to keep them focused. We have some good senior leadership that can get a little intense.”
IHS also could have to deal with the absence of senior lineman Josh Gallegos and senior running back Blaine Mickey.
Gallegos missed the previous game against Paonia.
“He’s probable. I’m gonna wait until (Friday) to decide,” Huerta said of Gallegos. “If I do use him, he’s going to be limited. The other one is Blaine. He’s only 90 percent; I’m most likely not going to play him. The important games are the league games.”
Injuries and Pagosa Springs aside, Huerta wants his team more focused on cleaning up their own execution.
The team hasn’t run the ball well in its first two games, and, while Huerta doesn’t expect the Bobcats to run for 200 yards, the coach at least wants to keep the opposing defense honest.
“If we ran for 100 yards, I’d be ecstatic,” Huerta said. “We have to focus on catching the ball. That’s consistently one of our biggest ailments. We’re out in the open, and we drop those catchable balls.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
If You Go
Who: Pagosa Springs at Ignacio
What: high school football
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Ignacio High School
