COMEBACK KIDS
Storm, Rams stay tied in 1-6A soccer
In local sports, Rio Rancho football storms back against Volcano Vista, Bosque girls soccer tops Sandia Prep
Rio Rancho on Thursday night scored the final 20 points of the game as the Rams outlasted Volcano Vista 34-18 at Nusenda Community Stadium.
Rio Rancho (6-2, 1-1 in District 1-6A) got a pair of touchdown receptions by Austin Hise in the victory.
The Rams held the Hawks (5-2, 0-1) scoreless after halftime, while getting scores from Cailon Bailon (TDs of 1 and 13 yards) and a 42-yard scoring run from Zion Lopez.
Also Thursday, Los Lunas outscored St. Pius 54-33 at Wilson Stadium in District 5-5A action.
Sophomore quarterback Diego Pavia threw for 296 yards and four touchdowns in the loss. He also had a rushing TD for St. Pius (4-3, 0-1).
Ryan McGaha and Trevor Garcia both caught a pair of TD passes in the game for the Sartans.
THIS WEEK: Late Friday, Cibola was at Cleveland, West Mesa faced Atrisco Heritage, Valley played Albuquerque High and Bernalillo welcomed West Las Vegas. See today’s main Journal sports section for game stories on Cibola-Cleveland and West Mesa-Atrisco.
LAST WEEK: Cleveland held off Rio Rancho 35-32 in a District 1-6A showdown, as the road team continues to dominate in this series.
Angelo Trujillo threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns in the first half for the Storm. The Cleveland running game carried the load after halftime, with 125 yards.
Justin Ainsworth caught eight passes for Cleveland for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
Logan Bruere threw for 287 yards in the loss for the Rams. David Patterson caught four balls for 144 yards and two TDs.
Both teams had a pick-six in the game — Jared Silva for Cleveland, Blaine Gallegos for Rio Rancho.
Also Friday, Piedra Vista handed Cibola a 28-14 loss in District 1-6A; and Bernalillo routed Pojoaque 37-6 as the Spartans won for just the second time this season.
On Saturday, Valley suffered a crushing 32-26 overtime loss to Atrisco Heritage, a severe blow to the Vikings’ postseason hopes. St. Pius and Volcano Vista were idle.
NEXT WEEK: Bernalillo is the only Rio West school playing Thursday, at Santa Fe Indian School. Every area school is in action except Rio Rancho, which reaches its bye week.
Soccer
Victories Thursday by Cleveland and Rio Rancho — Gabriel Legendre had a goal and assist, and Nathan Otero had two helpers as the Storm beat Cibola 3-1; the Rams blanked Volcano Vista 2-0 — kept the city rivals tied for first place in District 1-6A with 4-1-1 records.
Cleveland (10-4-4 overall) went 1-0-1 in two head-to-head league games against Rio Rancho. The Storm finishes against Piedra Vista today and Volcano Vista a week from today. Rio Rancho (12-4-2) closes next week against Cibola and Piedra Vista.
The Hawks (10-4-1, 3-2) play host to Cibola (5-9-2, 2-4) this morning.
Valley’s boys lost a tough 2-1 decision to league-leading Albuquerque High in District 4-6A on Tuesday night, dropping the Vikings to 6-9 overall and 2-5 in league play. West Mesa (5-8-2) is in fifth place. Late Friday, Valley was facing Rio Grande, while the Mustangs don’t play again until Tuesday when they face the Vikings.
St. Pius clinched the District 5-5A championship on Thursday after shutting out Los Lunas 3-0. The Sartans (10-3-4 overall, 7-0 in 5-5A) have three games next week — Belen on Tuesday, Hope Christian on Wednesday and Albuquerque Academy a week from today, which is the last day of the 2017 regular season.
Bosque School closed its regular season on Thursday with a scoreless draw against rival Sandia Prep. The Bobcats (6-11-3, 3-2-1 in District 5-1A/4A) will be off at least for next two weeks, until the state tournament begins. Bernalillo’s boys are 10-8-1 overall but are in last place in this league, with a 2-4 record. The Spartans have no more district games and will have to hope they earn an atlarge spot in the playoffs.
The one game Cleveland (16-1) lost this year was avenged on Thursday, as the Storm (5-0 in 1-6A) blasted Cibola 4-0. Kailey Peña had a goal and an assist, Corey Kizer had a goal and two assists, and Madyson Barela had two goals in the victory. Last Saturday, the Storm also edged Rio Rancho, 1-0.
Second-place Volcano Vista (11-4, 4-1) plays Cibola this morning at the APS Complex. The Cougars (12-4, 4-2) have dropped to third place in district, followed by Rio Rancho (6-9-2, 1-5).
In 4-6A, West Mesa and Valley are tied for third, both with 4-4 records in their league. The two meet on Tuesday.
St. Pius, despite a 3-3 draw with second-place Los Lunas on Thursday, has clinched the District 5-5A championship. The Sartans (9-3-1, 6-0-1) went 1-0-1 against the Tigers (11-6-1, 4-1-1) in league play and have the goal differential in their favor. On Thursday, Miranda Hart had a goal and two assists for St. Pius.
Earlier this week, Hart had a five-goal game for St. Pius in a 10-0 whitewash of Valencia. Emma Donlin had a hat trick in the same game.
St. Pius is finishing the regular season next week by facing two powers — Hope Christian on Thursday, Albuquerque Academy a week from today — outside its district.
Bosque School’s 2-1 victory Thursday over Sandia Prep — Genevieve Gray had the gamewinner in the 76th minute — put the Bobcats (13-4-2 overall, 6-1 in District 5-1A/4A) into first place in that league. The Sundevils fell to 11-7, 5-1. Results of league games next week — the last week of the regular season — will determine who finishes in first place.
Volleyball
It was a solid week for District 1-6A-leading Cleveland (12-5, 5-0 in district), which took victories over Rio Rancho and secondplace Volcano Vista (8-6, 3-1). The Storm has won nine consecutive matches since it has had a healthy lineup, including a sweep of the Hawks on Thursday. Rio Rancho and Cibola reside in fourth and fifth place, respectively, in that district.
At 4-2 in district, West Mesa remains in the hunt to take second place in 4-6A, with Atrisco Heritage clearly out in front of the field.
From District 5-5A, leagueleading St. Pius (5-0) has a crucial road match with secondplace Los Lunas next Thursday. The Sartans this week stepped out of district to earn an impressive sweep of Volcano Vista on Tuesday.
Bosque School is in third place in District 5-4A. The Bobcats are chasing first-place Sandia Prep, and the two meet late next week. Late Friday night, Bosque was taking on Bernalillo.
Cross country
Volcano Vista’s Jericho Cleveland and Cleveland’s Amanda Mayoral were the individual champions last Saturday at the Albuquerque Metro Championships at Nusenda Community Stadium.
Mayoral, after a brief threeweek break from competition, returned in fine form, finishing the 2.99-mile course in 18 minutes, 14.17 seconds. St. Pius’ Jacque Piñon was the runnerup. Nicole Lawrence of Cibola was fifth, with Reina Paredes and Andi Almodovar of Rio Rancho finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.
Rio Rancho’s girls were the top team from Rio West, finishing second behind Albuquerque Academy.
Cleveland was fourth, Volcano Vista fifth, Cibola eighth and St. Pius ninth.
Cleveland won easily in the boys’ race, finishing 24 seconds in front of Cleveland’s David Apodaca. Cleveland’s winning time was 15:38.99.
Also in the top 10: Cibola’s Ryan Harlow in fifth, Rio Rancho’s Chase Hawkins in ninth, and the Rams’ Daniel Beam in 10th.
Cleveland High won the boys team race. Volcano Vista placed third, Cibola fourth, Rio Rancho seventh and St. Pius 10th.
Today, Rio Rancho High is hosting its annual Jamboree, the largest regular-season event in the state.
Cleveland, Cibola, Volcano Vista, Valley and West Mesa all are scheduled to run.
The championship varsity boys race is at 9 a.m. The championship varsity girls begin at 10:30 a.m.