St. Michael's football avoids stumble on tough trip to Aztec
Sep. 25—AZTEC — Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.
While some might say Saturday night's 32-19 road win against Aztec wasn't exactly pretty, the St. Michael's football team will gladly take a three-hour bus ride home attached to a nondistrict win that keeps it undefeated.
A late-game fight caused a delay of several minutes. It included the ejection of three players and six offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct flags between the teams.
It marred what was otherwise a stiff road test for the Horsemen (5-0), the No. 2-ranked team in the latest Class 3A poll.
"They've dealt with some adversity all year long, but, when they're in a situation like this, it seems like we've had two close games where, fourth quarter, they decided to play," Horsemen coach Joey Fernandez said. "What it says about this team is they can play when they want to, but it also says we're waiting a little too long."
The game featured four lead changes, the last coming with five minutes left in the fourth quarter when St. Michael's marched 67 yards in nine plays to erase what had been a 19-18 Tigers lead. Taven Lozada scored on a 1-yard touchdown run — his only carry of the night — to put the Horsemen ahead for good.
On the ensuing Aztec possession, he and Gage Bass had sacks on consecutive snaps to stall the Tigers' comeback. The sack by Bass came on fourth down and gave the Horsemen the ball at the Aztec 10-yard line.
"Our [defensive] ends hadn't been coming off those blocks all night so it was just an adjustment we made to get their hands free and get some contact on their quarterback," Fernandez said.
Jacob Katko punched it in on the very next play, scoring on a 10-yard run up the middle to effectively end it.
Or so it seemed.
Running its efficient no-huddle hurry-up offense, Aztec drove to midfield when a number of players engaged in a pushing and shoving match that drew immediate flags. Coaches from both teams ran onto the field and the game was halted for a few minutes as the referees tried to sort things out.
When the dust settled, two Aztec players were thrown out, along with Horsemen defensive lineman Mathias Duran. In the moments before he got the word about his early exit, Duran had a moment of levity when he knelt down on the turf of Fred Cook Stadium and scooped up a bug. He carried if off the field and sat it down on the sidewalk by the St. Michael's cheering section.
"I just saved a life," he said.
Lifelines aside, per the rules of the New Mexico Activities Association, he will be forced to sit out next week's game, the District 2-3A opener at West Las Vegas.
As chippy as things got, it couldn't dilute what was otherwise a solid night from a number of Horsemen. That includes junior Reyes Baros. He scored his first varsity touchdown on a 4-yard reception in the third quarter to put his team in front, 18-10. He also had his second career interception, a pick that stopped Aztec's first drive of the game.
"We've been playing games like this all season, teams in 4A, 5A, 6A," Baros said. "It shows we can hang with anybody they put us against. It gets us ready going into district."
It was another productive outing for Horsemen running back Marcus Leyba. The senior finished with 94 yards and a touchdown, not to mention a crunching hit on an Aztec receiver that caused a brief injury timeout in the second half.
The biggest offensive breakthrough of the game, however, came from the offensive line and St. Michael's quarterback Zack Martinez. With the Tigers' defense double-teaming Lozada and receiver Creed Chavez and shadowing Leyba with a linebacker, Fernandez called a series of designed plays to have Martinez fake a handoff to Leyba, then follow his pulling linemen through the right side.
It produced critical yardage during a drive the Horsemen absolutely had to have after falling behind 19-18 in the second half. Martinez had runs of 12, 20 and 6 yards on the drive to spark a run of 13 unanswered points to close out the game.
The Horsemen outscored Aztec 24-6 from in the last quarter and a half.
NOTES
The Horsemen were without the services of captain Andy Dang. Fernandez said Dang unexpectedly left the team during its bye week but didn't elaborate on why, except to say it was not a disciplinary move on the school's part or an issue the coaches had with Dang or his performance. Dang, considered by many to be the emotional leader of the locker room, was coming off a shoulder injury that made him miss all of last season. He also has a finger injury from this season. ... Aztec QB Marcquis Henry was 21-for-32 for 240 yards and three touchdowns. At one point he had completed 16 of his first 21 throws. He was, however, intercepted four times and sacked four times, all in the second half. ... Lozada had one of those interceptions, but during his return he was hit and fumbled the ball right back.
