Cardinals snuff out Dons’ state title dreams
LAS VEGAS, N.M. — This was the stuff dreams are made of, a moment of childhood fancy that suddenly materializes into possibility for just one brief moment.
John and David Balizan had played out the scenario of the brothers teaming together for the winning touchdown that would stamp their names into the lore of Las Vegas football. In the fading sun of Cardinal Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the moment was theirs for the taking.
The West Las Vegas duo had a chance to upset crosstown rival Las Vegas Robertson in the Class 4A quarterfinals, so long as John Balizan’s 23-yard pass into the back of the end zone for the winning touchdown found David with the clock ticking under 10 seconds left in the game. The pass was high, where no other player but David could possibly catch it. Unfortunately, it continued to drift over
David’s outstretched arms and out of the end zone.
David Balizan looked toward the referee, seeking a reprieve in the form of a pass interference call. None was coming, and the Cardinals defense raced off the field and into the locker room to celebrate a 14-13 win. Thirdseeded Robertson advances to the 4A semifinals to play host No. 2 Portales next weekend.
Meanwhile, the No. 6 Dons finished the season with a 7-5 mark and a missed opportunity for the Balizans. It will remain that way, as David Balizan, a senior, saw his prep football career come to a bitter end. The reality of it was almost too much for him to bear, as he knelt forlornly and stared at the grass as the two long-time intracity rivals took part in postgame handshakes.
John Balizan, the sophomore quarterback who battled through a shoulder injury to complete 16 of 28 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns, was equally as despondent in the aftermath, with the tears welling up in his eyes while hugging teammates.
“We’ve always talked about it when we were kids, just wanting to do that,” John Balizan said. “Even last year, my mother [Darice Balizan, associate superintendent in the West Las Vegas School District] wanted to see a brother-to-brother connection. She almost got it, but that’s what we were trying to do.”
Even though West Las Vegas was at the Las Vegas Robertson 23-yard line, Dons head coach Adrian Gonzales never gave a second thought to setting up for a field goal to win the game. He pointed to his line’s poor specialteams blocking, which allowed a block on an Isaiah Deane pointafter kick with the score 14-13 in the third quarter, as a reason for West Las Vegas’ all-or-nothing approach on its final offensive play.
“We’ve been iffy on PATs all year long,” Gonzales said. “We’re not 100 percent comfortable kicking field goals and stuff, and at that distance [a 40-yard attempt], it’s pretty far.”
The loss hits a little bit harder because the Dons and the Cardinals are not just foes — they are an integral fabric to the city. The rivalry crosses family lines — be it blood or football ties — all over the town. It was never more apparent than with the coaching staffs of both teams.
Many on West Las Vegas head coach Adrian Gonzales’ staff were once coaching brothers with Robertson’s Leroy Gonzalez and his staff before Gonzales took the job on the west side of town in 2014. It was inevitable that the two sides would meet with the stakes as high as they were, and it didn’t make the outcome any easier.
“We shared rooms, we shared a lot of stuff together,” Gonzalez said. “We don’t talk a lot anymore. I know it hurts for those guys, but I’m happy for them and what they’ve done.”
The Dons put a scare into Robertson, which won the District 2-4A game between the two 51-21 on Oct. 28. It appeared the Cardinals were about to put the game away in the opening moments of the third quarter, as they went 59 yards in just three plays before Antonio Padilla scored on a 1-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 lead with 9 minutes left in the quarter.
However, West Las Vegas gamely battled back on the next drive behind John Balizan’s arm (3-for-3 for 41 yards) to cut the margin to 14-7 when he hit Anthony Tapia with a 6-yard touchdown pass with 7:21 left in the third.
Later in the third, junior running back Antonio Bustamante stepped into the forefront, running for 64 of his game-high 249 yards to highlight am 87-yard march against a tiring Robertson defense. The drive ended with another John Balizan-to-Tapia connection, this one for 13 yards as Tapia slipped through a Padilla tackle and skipped into the end zone for 14-13 with 2:31 left in the quarter. But the pointafter block loomed large for the rest of the day.
“We were just kinda holding on there at the end,” Gonzalez said, pointing out that he had to rely on some untested defensive backs to finish the game.
Those untested players grew up quickly in the fourth. Santiago Gonzales came up with an interception for the Cardinals in the end zone when the Balizan brothers tried to connect on a deep pass down the right sideline from the Cardinals 35 with 10:54 in the fourth quarter. It was Emiliano Berged who stepped in between the brothers in the end zone again as he picked off a post pass in the end zone with 8:20 left in the game.
“Those are 50-50 balls, and those bounced our way,” Gonzalez said.
Robertson needed those breaks because the Dons defense did not allow a first down after the initial scoring drive in the third quarter until the Cardinals’ final drive. Cardinals quarterback Arjay Ortiz was bottled up for much of the second half, as he failed to throw for a single yards after a 5-for-8-for-112 start. He also managed just 47 rushing yards on 19 carries.
“They had those gaps filled,” Ortiz said. “Their coaches made some really good adjustments of keeping me out of the game. That’s when everyone else stepped up.”
While one dream was denied, another childhood dream lived for another week — that of the Cardinals winning a state title.