No. 3 La Cueva punishes 5th-ranked Las Cruces
Williams, Smith lead Bears’ attack
The heavyweight bout at Wilson Stadium on Friday night ended in a first-round knockout.
La Cueva’s third-ranked football team landed all the big blows and sent the fans home early after a 45-3 romp over visiting Las Cruces. The Bears’ defense limited the Bulldawgs to 130 total yards, and La Cueva’s one-two punch of running back De’Andre Williams and quarterback Austin Smith turned the contest into a surprising rout.
Williams rushed for 93 yards and three touchdowns, and he caught two passes for 106 yards and another score. Smith, starting in place of injured senior Dylan Summer (shoulder), went 10-of-16 passing for 254 yards and two TDs and also ran for a score.
La Cueva’s defense wasted no time setting the tone Friday. On the third play from scrimmage, linebacker Noah Woisin picked off a pass from Las Cruces quarterback Marcos Lopez on the Bulldawgs’ 32.
Smith hit Connor O’Toole with a touchdown pass down the left sideline on the very next play.
The Bears’ defense quickly forced another Las Cruces threeand-out, and a poor punt gave La Cueva possession at the Bulldawgs’ 26. Williams capped a short drive with a 9-yard TD run to make it 14-0.
La Cueva’s third possession started on Las Cruces’ 42 and ended with a Dominic Camacho field goal. The Bears did not run a play in their own territory in the opening quarter.
“That’s one thing La Cueva teams have always done well, play defense,” La Cueva coach Brandon Back said. “We’ve got some new guys who are still learning on that side of the ball, but they stood tall and did their jobs tonight.”
Las Cruces, ranked fifth, got on the board with Jorge Figueroa’s 49-yard field goal early in the second quarter, but 17-3 was as close as the ’Dawgs would get. Williams took a short Smith pass 83 yards for a score, then added a late 8-yard TD run late in the half to give La Cueva a 31-3 cushion.
ALSO FRIDAY: Artesia avoided its first 0-3 start in 35 years with a 28-14 victory over visiting Belen (2-1). … Santa Fe ended a 35-game losing streak, kicking a late field goal to edge Española Valley 23-22. … Piedra Vista pulled away from a 6-6 halftime tie with two thirdquarter touchdowns as the Panthers downed visiting Valley 26-6. … Cibola crushed Highland 54-0 as the Cougars improved to 3-0. … Rio Rancho won its first game of the season, 20-13 at Clovis. … At the Field of Dreams, Mayfield came from behind to defeat West Mesa 17-7. … In a game that had a lengthy delay, Los Lunas (3-0) beat visiting Sandia 26-10, outscoring the Matadors 13-0 after halftime.