Hawks stun Monarchs, 29-20
Las Cruces shakes off slump, beats Rio Rancho
It was about 30 seconds of football that Blaine Grant won’t soon forget.
The Volcano Vista senior receiver/ cornerback returned a kickoff and an interception for touchdowns in the waning moments to propel the Hawks (3-1) to an improbable 29-20 victory over Manzano at Wilson Stadium on Friday night, ruining the Monarchs’ homecoming.
“I don’t even know what I was thinking,” Grant said. “I just wanted to win the game and try to help my team out. I’m doing it for them, not for myself.”
It was a particularly heartbreaking defeat for the defending state champion Monarchs (1-3), who had taken a 20-16 lead with 37 seconds remaining after senior Xavier Ivey-Saud’s scoring run. Ivey-Saud shouldered the load for Manzano, rushing with 197 yards on 35 carries to help his team rally from an early 13-0 deficit.
On the ensuing kickoff, Grant faked a reverse and kept the ball. Thanks to some fine blocking, Grant had a relatively clear path down the left sideline for an 81-yard score with 25 seconds left.
“We just tried to play it out, got everyone to do their blocks and do their job,” Grant said. “I just saw a wide open hole, made one move and I was gone.”
Manzano still had some life, at least momentarily. Quarterback Dakota Powell found Jack Blankenship for a 22-yard gain on the sideline to get the Monarchs to their own 34 and set up one last-ditch effort. Powell attempted to throw an out route to the other side of the field, but there was Grant, stepping in front of the pass and sprinting down the left sideline — again — for a 40-yard pick-six.
“I knew they would probably go (there),” Grant said. “I just had to play my coverage and make the play.”
The Hawks took a 13-0 lead behind junior Nathan Sanchez after starting quarterback Jake Deatherage was pulled in the first quarter. While Volcano Vista was unable to get much of anything going on the ground, Sanchez finished 21-for-29 passing for 222 yards and touchdown.
Manzano would pull to within 13-7 on a 1-yard run by Ivey-Saud in the second quarter and then tied the score when
Powell hit Blankenship on a 1-yard fade route late in the third. A 29-yard field gold by Jacob Gelhausen put the Hawks up 16-13 with 3:30 remaining. — Tristen Critchfield
LAS CRUCES 44, RIO RANCHO 33: In Rio Rancho, senior Ivan Molina scored three touchdowns and tailback Chase Chaloupek crossed the goal line twice to lead Las Cruces (2-2) as the Bulldawgs snapped an ugly two-game skid.
Molina scored his team’s first touchdown on a 72-yard run out of the Wildcat formation, and after a 32-yard field goal by Jorge Figueroa had given Las Cruces a 10-7 lead early in the second period, the Rams (1-3) took what was to be their final lead of the game on Isaiah Chavez’s second of five TD passes.
Chaloupek capped a 12-play, 65-yard drive — kept alive when a Ram jumped offside on a key fourth-down play — as the ’Dawgs led, 17-14 at halftime.
Molina took the second–half kickoff 63 yards to the Rio Rancho 25, and four plays scored on a 10-yard run. Three Ram plays later, Kennedy Aleman picked off a Chavez pass, and Chaloupek went in from the 12 on the next play, breaking several tackles along the way for a 31-14 edge.
Unofficially, Molina had 125 rushing
yards on 10 carries, plus eight receptions for another 73 yards; Chaloupek gained 101 yards on 25 carries. — Gary Herron ELDORADO 49, ATRISCO HERITAGE
13: At Nusenda Community Stadium, fullback Ben West rushed for three touchdowns for the Eagles (3-1) in their rout of the Jaguars (0-4).
Elijah Goree rushed for 142 yards and a TD in the victory for Eldorado.
CENTENNIAL 43, SANDIA 7: At the Field of Dreams, the fourth-ranked Hawks (4-0) got out quickly with a short TD run by quarterback Lance Frost, and then recovered a blocked punt in the end zone.
Leading 16-7 at halftime, Centennial pulled away in the third quarter with TD runs from Frost and Gabe Acosta in a span of 82 seconds for a 29-7 bulge.
Leshawn Joseph had the lone score for Sandia (1-3), a 26-yard run.
ALSO FRIDAY: Bernalillo has its first 4-0 start in program history after a 53-0 rout of visiting Shiprock. … In Las Vegas, Robertson outscored Ruidoso 13-0 in the fourth quarter to force overtime, then beat the Warriors 40-34 in OT. … Belen (3-1) hammered Highland (1-3) 41-0 at Milne Stadium. … Valencia (3-1) cruised past visiting Moriarty 48-6.