Sandia makes a stand and statement vs. Valley, 33-14
The Sandia Matadors took advantage of multiple miscues en route to a 33-14 prep football victory over the Valley Vikings on Friday night at Wilson Stadium.
Sandia (2-0) recovered four fumbles while benefiting from an impressive goalline stand to stifle Valley (0-2).
“I was proud of the way our defense responded,” Matadors coach Kevin Barker said. “We made a point of forcing turnovers this year.”
Sandia rushed for 222 yards, led by senior Kydae Jones, who racked up 143 yards on 15 carries and scored two secondhalf touchdowns that sealed the game.
“We made some adjustments at halftime on what they were doing and just blew it up on the blocks,” Barker said.
Back in the first quarter, the Matadors let a punt trickle down to their 1. On second down, they fumbled and the Vikings recovered. Valley punched it in on a 2-yard run by Antonio Beltran.
Sandia tied it in the second quarter on a 76-yard touchdown pass from Junior Silva to DeAnte Bernard.
After Valley failed to move the ball, another punt ended up being downed on the 1. Again, the Matadors fumbled, giving the Vikings the ball on the 3. This time, though, Sandia held, snuffing out the scoring attempt with a fourth-down interception.
“That type of goal-line stand, all I had to do was say it at halftime and it blew the roof off,” Barker said. “Anytime you have one of those you have to be proud.”
The Matadors were then able to drive and get a 27-yard field goal to take the lead. After the Vikings failed to do anything again on offense, Sandia scored with 34.3 seconds left before halftime on a 30-yard pass from Silva to Bernard. The extra point was blocked, but it was still 16-7. — Chris Jackson BELEN 55, HIGHLAND 0: In Belen, the Eagles (2-0) scored on seven of their eight possessions in their home opener and held the Hornets to 54 total yards.
Seniors Zach Halterman and Tim Bunker, and junior running back Diego Casillas all scored a pair of touchdowns in the victory. Halterman, who finished with 209 yards of total offense, ran for one score in the first half and threw a 25-yard scoring pass to Bunker, who also had a 22-yard touchdown run in the first half. Casillas finished with 87 yards on seven carries and touchdown runs of 6 and 4 yards.
Highland (0-2) had just one play that gained more than 15 yards all night. The Hornets’ deepest penetration was midway through the second quarter, when the Belen fumbled the ball at its 21. But Highland turned it over on downs at the 8. — Kenn Rodriguez RIO RANCHO 42, EL PASO AMERICAS
10: In El Paso, the Rams were forced to adjust — with just a day’s notice — to a 4 p.m. kickoff, but that hardly mattered as Rio Rancho (2-0) extended its overall winning streak to 15 games.
Until Wednesday night, Rio Rancho thought the game was a 7 p.m. kickoff. The change didn’t impact the Rams whatsoever.
“They didn’t say a whole lot. They just kind of took it in stride,” Rams coach David Howes said. “I was the only one that was truly put out.”
Howes said the El Paso school apologized for the mix-up.
Rio Rancho quarterback Logan Bruere’s numbers Friday were almost identical to last week. He had 331 yards and six TDs in the opener against Mayfield; he threw for 330 yards and five scores Friday.
Derrick Reyes caught 13 balls for 103 yards and a pair of TDs for the Rams. Austin Hise caught only four passes, but two went for TDs, including a 76-yarder. Reyes and Hise have combined to catch nine touchdowns already this season.
ATRISCO HERITAGE 49, OÑATE 7: At the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces, Jaguars running back Angel Ramirez followed up one 200-yard effort last week with an even bigger performance Friday night.
He rushed for 231 yards on 25 carries and scored a TD as Atrisco Heritage (1-1) rolled the Knights (0-2).
Quarterback Michael Alvidrez added 94 rushing yards and threw a TD pass to Luis Arenas. ELSEWHERE: Hobbs had one of the most impressive wins Friday, going on the road at Bulldog Bowl and beating Artesia 56-49. … Albuquerque High (1-1) won on the road, 28-14 at Valencia. … Moriarty (2-0) won its second straight road game, 46-0 at Los Alamos. … Bernalillo (1-1) won its first game of the season, 21-6 over visiting Navajo Prep. … Farmington routed Del Norte 42-7 at Milne Stadium. … Los Lunas destroyed visiting Alamogordo 54-0.