Demons win in ugly fashion
Bernalillo.
When Bernalillo’s Gutierrez blocked Tilman Conway’s punt and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown with 6:33 left in the third quarter, that marked the only time a Spartan touched the ball in the quarter. The score was 11-8.
Bernalillo (4-1) had possession of the ball for just 3:51 of the game when the offense ran out onto the field in the fourth quarter, but more than doubled that total with a 10-play, 67-yard drive that ate up 4:15 of the clock. When Reyes Ludi-Herrera ran a reverse into the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown with 5:58 left, the Spartans were within 17-15.
That was when the Demons turned to its two best players — senior running back Sammy Martinez and freshman quarterback Luc Jaramillo.
Martinez had 32 carries for 130 yards and a touchdown. Jaramillo scored Santa Fe High’s first touchdown on a 4-yard strike to tight end Trent Jones for a 9-0 lead in the second quarter.
“I’m feeling very comfortable with my offense,” Martinez said. “We all know what we’re supposed to do. When we do our job, special things happen.”
Both players are in their first year playing varsity football, but they were seasoned enough to help the Demons salt away all but 42 seconds of the clock with a 10-play drive.
“The game is slowing down for me,” Jaramillo said, who played his first complete game at quarterback. “It’s just adjusting to the speed [of the game] is difficult at first. I’m getting used to it, and I am learning how to take care of myself.”
Martinez had 28 rushing yards on the 48-yard drive, while Jaramillo chipped in with 10 of his 45 yards. It appeared that the Demons put the game away with a 14-yard run by Martinez to the Bernalillo 8-yard line with slightly more than a minute left, but a holding penalty pushed them back to the 34. That was the first of five penalties called in that final span, which prolonged the drama.
Another penalty forced Santa Fe High to punt, but Conway’s kick hit the back of a Demons lineman’s head and gave Bernalillo great field possession at its own 43. Conway then was called for roughing the passer on Gutierrez, the Spartans quarterback, and that put the ball at the Santa Fe High 43. Then, it was Bernalillo’s turn to shoot itself in the foot when Gutierrez was called for a pair of false starts that stalled the drive at the Demons’ 46.
Forced to try a field goal with 2 seconds left, Gutierrez did not have enough leg and the kick fell about 15 yards short and to the right.