Demons rush past Capital
Santa Fe High’s Mora scores 5 touchdowns as team sweeps city rivals for first time in 13 years
Alex Mora felt no sympathy for the Capital Jaguars.
He might be the little brother of Santa Fe High senior Martell Mora, but Alex, a Demons sophomore, wasn’t about to let the Jaguars or the world know what it’s like to feel dominated by a bigger, stronger sibling.
“It’s good because I’m happy for him,” Alex said. “He knows what he’s doing, and he gets it done, whether it’s against one guy or three.”
Martell Mora won the majority of those battles, whether it was against one Jaguars defender or three, on Friday night. His 18-carry, 261-yard, five-touchdown performance carried the Demons to their first city championship in 13 years in a 48-28 win at Jaguar Field.
Santa Fe High improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1985 and turns its attention to the District 2/5-6A opening game against Albuquerque Eldorado on Sept. 18.Martell Mora said the Demons are ready for the challenge — and they might bring a big chip on their shoulder.
“We’re ready for it,” Martell Mora said. “We’ve been doubted this whole time, but I know what this team is capable of. Everyone knows what this team is capable of.”
Against the Jaguars, the Demons showed they could bring a physicality that hasn’t been seen in the program for years, if not decades.
While Martell Mora got a chance to shine, Demons head coach Andrew Martinez said it wasn’t possible without the offensive line. The unit paved the way for 309 rushing yards and more than 430 yards of total offense.
“Martell is a great back, but that offensive line, they make some huge holes,” Martinez said. “And they set the tone early.”
That was clear on the opening drive as Martell Mora gained nine yards on a second-and-7 play from the Santa Fe High 27-yard line. He gained the last 41 yards of the drive on the ground, with the last 34 coming on a run. He ran over one would-be Capital tackler and around the rest of the defense for the opening touchdown with 8:49 left in the quarter.
Martell Mora followed that with touchdown runs of 20, 47, 7 and 43 yards, with the last one making it 48-21 to end the third quarter.
While Martinez was happy with the offensive
productivity, the mistakes were the glaring blemishes with which he struggled to reconcile.
The Demons fumbled the ball twice and quarterback Luc Jaramillo threw a pick-six that Andrew Rodriguez returned 30 yards for a a touchdown to turn a 28-7 halftime advantage to a 28-14 margin just 2:41 into the third quarter.
Martinez said the Demons are committing fewer mistakes, but that won’t cut it during the district season.
“There is no way we can make those types of mistakes, even for one series,” Martinez said. “And it seems we make those mistakes early in the third quarter, and that’s such a crucial part of the game.
“Those first four or five minutes of the third quarter, we don’t want to be giving up that kind of momentum,” he added.
Santa Fe High gave Capital (2-2) much needed confidence with those miscues, and the Jaguars outscored Santa Fe High 21-20 in the second half. Julian Muñoz threw for two touchdowns, including a 77-yard strike to Javier Martinez that made it 42-21 with 2:17 left in the third quarter.
Capital head coach Joaquin Garcia said the Jaguars have to learn how to start games stronger and not fall behind early, which they have done in every game this season. Doing that against veteran teams like Santa Fe High doomed the Jaguars to defeat.
“They got experience and they’ve been running [Martinez’s] system for five years,” Garcia said.
“That’s what I told our guys at halftime — we can’t do this [fall behind]. I challenged them that we’ve come back before, so let’s do it again. And we competed, for the most part.”
Martinez hopes the 4-0 start sets Santa Fe High up for success in district play. It won’t be an easy road as Eldorado and Albuquerque La Cueva are top 10 teams in 6A and Clovis has been a top 10 program for the last several years.
Earning the city championship is a sign the Demons might be up for the task, Martinez said.
“It’s a tough get to be a city champ in football because St. Mike’s is so dang good and Capital has been so good over the years,” Martinez said.
“It’s huge for our program. There’s some excitement now, and we just got to keep building on it. We don’t want to be onehit wonders. We have to sustain this,” he added.
After all, little brothers do grow up, too.
Martell is a great back, but that offensive line, they make some huge holes. And they set the tone early.” Demons head coach Andrew Martinez