Hawks grab big lead, coast past Coogs

Talk about proof that box scores can be misleading.

If one only glanced at Friday night’s box from the Volcano Vista-Cibola football matchup at Nusenda Community Stadium, it might be easy to think it was a down-to-the-wire affair. Such was not the case. Despite being outgained and registering fewer first downs, the Hawks were in control of their 35-21 victory over the rival Cougars almost from the opening kickoff.

Jake Deatherage passed for 233 yards and four touchdowns as Volcano Vista raced to a 35-6 lead and coasted to the finish. The Hawks (8-2 overall, 4-1 in District 1-6A) did nothing but strengthen their case for a top-four playoff seed and a first-round bye. Seedings are set to be announced tonight.

“We had a lot to play for,” Deatherage said. “It’s obviously a rivalry game but we were playing for that first-round bye and a chance to get healthy for the playoffs, too. We wanted to come out and set the tone right away.”

The Hawks did just that, using their speed and big-play offense to put the Cougars (5-5, 2-3) on their heels. Deatherage completed TD passes of 41, 44 and 63 yards along with a 5-yarder.

Cibola, meanwhile, moved the ball effectively but had to settle for a dink-and-dunk approach. Quarterback Marcus Steele attempted a remarkable 61 passes, finishing 40-for-61 for 369 yards and two touchdowns, but his two scoring passes came with the outcome effectively determined.

“Starting fast was the plan,” Hawks coach Chad Wallin said, “and playing with controlled aggression. Last year we felt like we let (the Cougars) off the hook with mistakes and penalties in a game we were dominating. Tonight we finished the job.”

Volcano Vista scored on its first two possessions, getting a 41-yard TD pass from Deatherage to Ivan Rodriguez and a 5-yard strike to Jacob Werner to grab a 13-0 lead.

After a long Cibola drive produced a Preston Dennard field goal late in the second quarter, Deatherage quickly answered with a 44-yard touchdown strike to Blaine Grant. The Hawks led 20-3 at halftime and never looked back.

“Jake does a great job running our offense,” Wallin said, “and we’ve been able to spread the ball around all year. We’ve got a lot of weapons.”

Rodriguez added a 63-yard TD catch in the third and Jimmy Gallegos had a short TD run to put the Hawks up 35-6. Was the convincing win enough to earn VV a top-four seed?

“I think so,” Wallin said. “We’ve kind of played murderers’ row the last three weeks with Cleveland, Rio Rancho and Cibola and we came out 2-1. I think we’ve earned top-four.”