Capital struggles in first half, loses 44-21 to Los Lunas
Oct. 1—The Capital Jaguars have shown they are a second-half team.
Unfortunately, it's that pesky first half slump that leaves them in precarious positions.
In what has been a consistent theme to the season, the Jaguars made the necessary halftime adjustments and showed marked improvement. But when the Los Lunas Tigers posted
37 first-half points, winning the second half is not much of a consolation prize.
The Tigers scored 31 unanswered points in the first half to erase a short-lived 7-6 Capital lead in both teams' District 5-6A opener at Jaguar Field on Friday night. It was more than enough to offset the 14-7 advantage the Jaguars held after halftime for a 44-21 win that halted Los Lunas' four-game losing streak.
The tale-of-two-halves woe continue for Capital, which fell behind 24-0 in the second quarter at Albuquerque Atrisco Heritage Academy and lost 44-21 last week. Jaguars head coach Joaquin Garcia said his team has to figure out how to show up for the opening kickoff — not the second-half one.
"If we come out and play the way we're capable of all four quarters, we'd be in a better position," Garcia said. "We dig ourselves that hole, and we're like, 'Oh crap.' But I'm proud of my guys. We proved that we can play — when we want to. But we just can't wait."
By the time the Jaguars (3-4 overall, 0-1 in 5-6A) trudged into the locker room after Tigers placekicker Jaden Bell's 28-yard field goal to end the first half, they faced a 37-7 deficit. Los Lunas (3-4, 1-0) riddled the Capital defense for 393 yards of offense, with 204 coming from the arm Tigers quarterback Paul Cieremans. He completed seven of his first nine passes, with two going for touchdowns of 42 and 60 yards to Fabian Trujillo.
Jaguars linebacker Fransisco Diaz said the team can't seem to find the intensity nor the focus, to start games.
"I don't why it's happening every week," Diaz said. "We're not all on the same page when we start games. We have to talk to each other, and that shouldn't be the case."
Offensively, all the Jaguars could muster was an 80-yard touchdown pass on their first play from scrimmage off a trick play. Quarterback Julian Muñoz fired a lateral to backup Deaven Montaño, who then found a wide-open Andrew Rodriguez to finish the play.
It countered Los Lunas' lightning-fast opening drive, in which the Tigers needed just five plays and 1 minute, 35 seconds to go 65 yards. They capped it with the 42-yard Cieremans-to-Trujillo touchdown.
The play, however, was merely an anomaly. Capital managed just 84 yards of offense the rest of the first half, and Muñoz was just 2-for-8 for
17 yards.
"I think it all comes down to chemistry," Muñoz said. "The extra work you put in after practice and before practice, that's what's gonna help those pass plays."
Meanwhile, the Tigers scored almost at will. They recorded points on six of their first seven possessions, and only a fumble by running back Cash Aragon at the Capital 6-yard line prevented another Los Lunas score.
Now, the second half is a different story.
The Jaguars marched 80 yards to open the third quarter and Muñoz punched it in on a 2-yard bootleg run for a touchdown. That trimmed the margin to 37-14 with 5:54 left.
Los Lunas responded with running back Dustin Lujan putting the finishing touches on a 64-yard drive with a 25-yard scamper.
He left Capital defenders twisting in the wind as the shifty back zig-zagged his way into the end zone for 44-14 at the 3:02 mark.
After that, the Tigers only managed 64 yards the rest of the night and the Jaguars defense came up with an interception.
The Jaguars collected 133 rushing yards in the second half as they continued to demonstrate they can run the ball effectively. But Muñoz was just 3-for-17 for 37 yards.
If Capital is to finish the district season strong, the passing game has to better complement the rushing attack.
"To keep people honest, we got to develop our pass game a little bit more," Garcia said. "Yeah, we're capable of it. But when people are ahead of us by that much, we need to be able to score quickly at times."
The Jaguars have two weeks to prepare for their home finale against Albuquerque High that begins a three-week stretch run to make a case for the district runner-up spot and a postseason berth.
Garcia said the only way that can happen is for the second-half Jaguars to set their clocks back 24 minutes.
"I like the way our kids fight, but they got to believe in themselves," Garcia said. "At halftime, I told them they have to believe. I believe in them, I said, or else I wouldn't be out there. They gotta believe in themselves."
Capital has shown its halfway there, but one half just won't cut it.