IHS Football readies for ’26 opener away

Just as rough and tough as most of the opponents they’ll face in what will be a difficult 2026 season, the Ignacio Bobcats’ own youth and development will put the team to the test.

And minus several sidelined players, out of pads while having not yet met the required number of practices, that youth saw its first action this fall during a scrimmage Friday night, August 14, in and against 4A Aztec, N.M.

Following a handful of practice kickoffs for each squad, head coach Jake Nossaman’s ’Cats went on offense first, as both IHS and AHS would attempt to mount drives from each other’s 40-yard line, though only half of Fred Cook Stadium’s field was actually used. And though areas of improvement weren’t long in being identified, Ignacio did show promise.

The heir apparent to graduated three-year starting quarterback Zane Pontine, former backup and now-senior William Mendoza-Lechuga completed an early possession with a perfectly-thrown 29-yard touchdown, over a Tiger cornerback, along the visitors’ sideline to in-stride junior Evan Maez.

Aztec, however, intercepted Mendoza-Lechuga’s next attempted end-zone pass from 19 yards out, but not long after, Ignacio senior Brandon Blevins, a lead candidate to replace graduated Lincoln deKay as IHS’ No. 1 ballcarrier and a primary defender, picked off an AHS pass on the home team’s second play.

Senior two-way trenchman Tyce Nossaman then barged through the Tigers’ offensive line to sack the quarterback and also strip the ball loose as whistles tried deadening the play, but Aztec then fired back with a long scoring pass – very similar to Ignacio’s and paralleling the same sideline – over Mendoza-Lechuga on their fourth snap.

The Tigers’ first unit then reeled off three more (two pass, one run) scores, two achieved in as many plays, before proceedings were paused and the teams’ second groups, as many as were available, were given their shot.

AHS’ pressure continued, and the Tigers managed a one-yard QB keeper for one score (no point-after kicks or two-point conversions were attempted by either crew), plus an 18-yard TD toss to a slot receiver before IHS sophomore Keyon Alston – like Maez and inactive, on-the-mend Shaun Sanderson, an option to replace graduated No. 1 receiver Gabe Archuleta – returned a goal-line pick 40 yards along Aztec’s sideline.

Unfortunately, the Bobcats couldn’t again find the end zone despite the efforts of a unit including Alston at quarterback and junior Max Mendoza at running back, before the night ended not long after young Nick Blevins, who’d smothered a Mendoza-Lechuga onside kick muffed by a Tiger during the action’s earliest goings, was helped off the gridiron with attention duly paid to his left knee and lower leg.

And following rather pleasant post-scrimmage handshakes ending the pleasant, yet windy, but well-attended event, the Bobcats had no other alternative but begin looking ahead to a final week of practices culminating with an August 21 season-opener at Montezuma-Cortez (5-4 overall, 3-2 2A Intermountain in ’25). Kickoff at Panther Stadium is set for 7 p.m.

Now part of the realigned Class 1A Southern Conference, Ignacio’s schedule promises to be even more brutal than seasons past. After visiting M-CHS, the ’Cats will then journey on the 28th to Duchesne, Utah, for a 7 p.m. start against an Eagles flock which won the UHSAA 1A-North title last season by going 4-0, and which ended up 9-3 overall after losing in the 9-team UHSAA State Playoffs’ semifinals.

IHS will then head out to Colorado’s Eastern Plains on September 4, for a clash with reclassified ‘Independent’ Peyton. After going 0-4 in 1A Tri-Peaks play in ’25, and 3-6 overall after dropping their last four contests, PHS’ slate this year includes Denver schools Sheridan and Abraham Lincoln, as well as Edwards Battle Mountain, Aurora Hinkley and Colorado Springs Mitchell, and the Panthers will have also played both Manitou Springs and Olathe prior to Ignacio.

After another ‘bye’ week, the Bobcats’ home opener is set for September 18, when Monte Vista arrives at IHS Field for a 7 p.m. start. Like the ’Cats a former 1A South Central a.k.a. Southern Peaks member, the Pirates went 4-1 in conference and 7-4 overall last season (Ignacio went 2-3, and 2-7 respectively). But after invading and upsetting seventh-seeded Colorado Springs Christian in the CHSAA 1A Playoffs’ opening Round-of-16, No. 10 MVHS fell hard in the quarterfinals – upon their own Harvey Sullivan Field – to vaunted Limon.

IHS’ campaign will certainly hinge upon the following two games, the first being a 1 p.m. kickoff on the 26th at Buena Vista. Top-seeded in the postseason, boss Matt Flavin’s Demons went 4-0 in the aforementioned Tri-Peaks and finished a sterling 12-1 overall after losing 14-10 to LHS in the 2025 CHSAA Class 1A State Championship.

Conference work continues for the Bobcats with an October 9 venture out to Rye. RHS qualified for the Playoffs as the No. 11 seed, but lost 56-13 at No. 6 Wray in the Round-of-16. Third in the Tri-Peaks with a 2-2 mark, the Thunderbolts still finished 6-4 overall – a great improvement over the program’s 2-7 record in ’24.

Regular-season play for the ’Cats will then conclude with conference games at home versus SCC holdovers Trinidad (10/16) and Centauri (10/30), plus an October 22 away clash with (reclassified from 2A) Bayfield wedged between.