Prep football roundup: Valley wins thriller; Academy tops St. Pius

Oct. 2—All things considered, Ricky Henderson's evaluation of the preceding 48 minutes sounded accurate.

"It was just like in the movies," he said. "That type of game."

Henderson scored a pair of touchdowns for Valley in the final 5 1/2 minutes Saturday afternoon, and the Vikings held off visiting Portales 48-47 in a wildly entertaining game at Milne Stadium.

The Rams scored with 1:35 remaining, a 25-yard touchdown pass to Andru Ontiveros, to get within a point. With several members of his banged-up defense out of the game, Portales coach Jaime Ramirez didn't want to risk an overtime period and opted to go for 2 points and the lead.

Quarterback Paxton Culpepper appeared to slip to the ground on the try at around the 5-yard line. Valley (4-2) recovered an ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.

"The football gods saw it was Valley's homecoming, and they gave us a good one," Vikings first-year head coach Billy Cobos said.

The loss by Portales (6-1), Class 4A's second-ranked team, leaves just six undefeated 11-man teams: Cibola and Hobbs in 6A, Bloomfield in 4A, Socorro and St. Michael's in 3A, and Class 2A's Jal.

There were five lead changes as Portales and Valley sustained a fever pitch from the start.

Portales had the first score, but Valley, with three touchdowns in excess of 50 yards in a span of 9 minutes — two of them TD passes from QB Julian Butkivich — rallied to lead 21-6.

In a stunning sequence, Portales registered TDs on offense, special teams (blocked punt) and defense (pick-6) — all within a span of 2 minutes, 37 seconds — to go in front 28-21. Valley forced a turnover and scored late in the second quarter to tie the game 28-all at halftime.

Early in the second half, Butkivich threw a 22-yard TD pass to Marquelle Jackson for a 36-28 lead. Portales scored the next 13 points and led 41-36 with 9:09 remaining.

Henderson's 9-yard TD run with 5:23 to go put the Vikings ahead 42-41, and he added a 20-yard score barely two minutes later.

"We just got into our favorite run formation and put it to them," Cobos said. "And I think they got gassed there at the end."

VALLEY 48, PORTALES 47

Portales 6 22 6 13 — 47

Valley 14 14 8 12 — 48

Scoring: P, Emmanuel Diahn 4 run (kick blocked); V, Ezekiel Ramos 64 pass from Julian Butkivich (kick blocked); V, Charles Lopez-Burton 56 pass from Butkivich (Caeden Jojola run); V, Jojola 53 run (Gabriel Gangwere kick); P, Diahn 2 run (Paxton Culpepper pass to Tommy Lopez); P, Layton Faust recovered blocked punt in end zone (Everardo Dominguez kick); P, Zane Mayberry 65 interception return (Dominguez kick); V, Marquelle Jackson 28 pass from Butkivich (Gangwere kick); V, Jackson 22 pass from Butkivich (Jojola run); P, Kaidyn Cordova 5 run (pass failed); P, Andru Ontiveros 14 pass from Devin Diaz (Dominguez kick); V, Ricky Henderson 9 run (run failed); V, Henderson 20 run (kick failed); P, Ontiveros 25 pass from Culpepper (run failed). Records: V 4-2; P 6-1.

First downs: P 17; V 19. Rushes-yards: P 31-125; V 43-191. Passing: P 13-24-1—203; V 15-29-1—249. Total offense: P 328; V 440. Punts-avg.: P 3-33.7; V 2-36.5. Fumbles-lost: P 2-1; V 5-1. Penalties-yards: P 6-52; V 9-112.

ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY 24, ST. PIUS 13: At the Academy, the Chargers (5-2) spotted the Sartans (1-5) the first 13 points as St. Pius QB Alejandro Sapien threw a pair of first-half TD passes, but rallied in the second half for a win.

In the fourth quarter, trailing 13-10, Academy QB A.J. Rivera threw a 3-yard TD pass to Aidan Burdge with 9:02 remaining, and the Chargers added the clincher with 1:12 to go as Landen Martinez scored on a 5-yard run.

HOPE CHRISTIAN 29, N.M. MILITARY INSTITUTE 28 (OT): At Nusenda Community Stadium, Cade Johnston scored on the Huskies' first play of overtime, and Brent Miller added the walkoff 2-point run as Hope Christian (3-3-1) came from behind to beat the Colts (4-3) in a District 4-3A opener. NMMI had scored first in the OT and kicked the PAT.

HIGHLAND 22, MANZANO 6: At Wilson Stadium, the Hornets scored 16 points in the fourth quarter to break a 6-6 tie and defeat the Monarchs (0-6). Alex Lopez threw a 56-yard TD pass to Jakarri Edwards for the Hornets (4-1) to take the lead, and Highland's other QB, Isai Herrera, added a 21-yard scoring toss to Eliab Lopez.