RIO GRANDE COUNTY – Held to only four yards rushing on four carries during the first half, Lincoln deKay nevertheless managed to not only score Ignacio’s only touchdown Friday night, but logged the first points scored by a Monte Vista opponent in 1A South Central action this fall.
deKay’s score wasn’t close enough to make the contest close. Monte Vista dominated throughout and won 55-6 over the Bobcats. Monte Vista led 29-0 after the first quarter and led 48-0 at the half. Monte Vista improved to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the 1A South Central League; Ignacio dropped to 2-6 overall and 2-2 in the 1A South Central League.
Working against a running clock ever since the midway mark of the second quarter, when the hosting Pirates’ lead ballooned to 41-0, the Bobcats went out on offense at their own 37-yard line with 5:31 left in the third, after MVHS’ advantage reached 55-0 via sophomore quarterback Manny Jiron’s 53-yard TD pass to junior John Jake Naranjo.
Taking a handoff from senior quarterback Zane Pontine, deKay rumbled for 24 yards on first down, advancing IHS into enemy territory. Carries by junior Brandon Blevins, junior William Mendoza-Lechuga and Pontine moved the football ahead to Monte Vista’s 20, and Pontine then threw to deKay for 15 more yards.
Looking at first-and-goal, Pontine attempted to hit freshman Keyon Alston in the end zone, but was bailed out by a pass-interference call against the Pirates. With the line of scrimmage moved ahead to the 3, Pontine then gained a yard on the ground before the quarter expired.
Given a minute to recharge, there was little guessing which ’Cat would muscle in from the remaining, ungained yard, and deKay did so with 11:51 left in regulation. The Pirates, however, didn’t make the same mistake twice and swarmed him as he tried toting in the two-point conversion.
deKay ended up totaling 30 yards on seven carries, and also caught four passes for 31. Senior Aven Bourriague grabbed five throws for 54 yards and Pontine ended up with 110 yards passing on 12 completions.
Including a tone-setting 60-yard TD blast through a Blevins tackle on the game’s second play from scrimmage, Monte Vista running back Judah Howe ended up with 97 yards rushing on only five carries, including later scores covering three (with 50.9 seconds left in the first quarter) and 24 (with 6:00 left in the second) yards.
Senior Kelby Mondragon scored the night’s second touchdown via a 12-yard carry with 7:09 left in the first quarter, totaled 50 yards on six carries, and also returned two interceptions of Pontine for scores of 66 (with 3:09 left in the first) and 31 (1:55 left in the second quarter) yards.
Jiron burned the Bobcats for 144 yards on 4-of-4 accuracy, with senior Azariah Hurtado (5-7 PAT) catching two passes for 74 yards, one a 39-yard TD on the second quarter’s first snap.
Ignacio’s season is scheduled to conclude Friday night at Del Norte. The troubled Tigers will go into the Halloween clash standing 1-4 overall and 1-3 in conference, after hosting struggling Center on Saturday and slamming the Vikings (0-8, 0-4) 40-8. Kickoff at DNHS is scheduled for 7 p.m.
