Pintos hold off Huskies; West Mesa blanks AHS
Running game and defense. These are elements of the game the Moriarty Pintos do well.
“That’s exactly it,” Moriarty coach Joe Anaya said. “And take care of the football.”
Saturday night’s 35-18 victory over Hope Christian at Milne Stadium was Moriarty following that reliable blueprint. The Pintos ran for 308 yards and their defense forced three turnovers in a District 4-4A contest.
Senior backup QB Jose Cano scored three touchdowns, and Moriarty (7-1, 2-0 in 4-4A) put up 21 points in the fourth quarter.
Cano, subbing for starter Dylan Tapia — whom Anaya expects to have back Friday for No. 1-ranked Portales — scored on runs of 1, 22 and 2 yards. Before Saturday, he had one career varsity TD.
“Three is a big jump,” Cano said, wearing a huge smile. “I like that a lot.”
Moriarty led 14-3 at halftime on two TD runs from Cano. The Huskies (3-6, 0-3) scored on their opening drive of the third quarter, with Jared Knowles capping the march with a 12-yard TD run. With a 2-point conversion pass, Moriarty was clinging to a 14-11 lead when the fourth quarter began.
John Paul Carmona’s 13-yard TD run on the first play of the final quarter put Moriarty in front 21-11, but Nick Henry threw 15 yards for a score to Josh Tarantino for Hope barely 90 seconds later to trail 21-18.
Then, Moriarty’s Xavier Romero scored on a 4-yard run for a 27-18 edge with 6:39 to go, and following a Carmona interception, Cano sealed it with a 2-yard TD run with 1:51 to go.
WEST MESA 38, ALBUQUERQUE HIGH 0: At Nusenda Community Stadium, running back Mark Garcia scored four touchdowns as the Mustangs (5-3, 2-1 in District 4-6A) beat the Bulldogs (3-5, 1-2).
West Mesa starting quarterback Gabe Ramirez played sparingly, as he nurses a hand injury, but Mustangs coach Ron McMath said he expects Ramirez to be at full strength when they play Valley on Friday.
DEL NORTE 43, ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY 7: At Milne Stadium, quarterback Christian Mejia ran for a pair of scores and threw a TD pass as the Knights (3-6, 2-1 in 2-5A) routed the Chargers (2-7, 1-2).
There was also a moving moment at the end of this game. After Del Norte’s final TD, the Knights — in an arrangement with Academy coach Kevin Carroll — handed the ball to special education student Tyler Maes, a junior who ran in a 2-point conversion. This was much to the delight of Maes and his teammates.