Rarely-seen Utah opponent overwhelms Ignacio
There’s growing pains, and then there’s what Ignacio suffered Friday night, August 28.
Pressured ruthlessly right from the very outset, able to cross the 50-yard line only three times, and harassed into surrendering three defensive and four special-teams touchdowns, the young Bobcats left with many more questions – and injurie – than answers in a ghastly 73-0 away loss to Duchesne, Utah.
Well-rested from thrashing 4A Salt Lake City Cottonwood 69-0 upon the same ground the previous week, tradition-rich DHS improved to 2-1 overall (0-0 UHSAA 1A North) while IHS dipped to 0-2 (0-0 CHSAA 1A Southern) after arriving minus junior receivers Max Mendoza (right clavicle) and Evan Maez (right elbow) and then losing starting senior running back Brandon Blevins to a right-shoulder injury on the very first play from scrimmage.
Two snaps later, Eagle senior Jackson Stansfield recovered Ignacio senior quarterback William Mendoza-Lechuga’s fumbled option pitch (meant for not-yet-benched Blevins; his night officially ended after the turnover) in the guests’ backfield, and senior QB Brex Robinson then put Duchesne on the scoreboard first with a five-yard keeper. Sophomore Kyson Despain carried in the two-point conversion, and with 10:55 left in the opening quarter the Eagles had an advantage which would only grow.
Ignacio then went three-and-out after starting from their own 23, and DHS struck again with senior Eli Lefler charging through IHS’ line to not only block Mendoza-Lechuga’s punt but easily scoop it up and return it about four yards for a score. Junior Alec Thomas then converted the first of his nine consecutive point-after kicks in the game, making the score 15-0 with 8:18 left.
Senior Ryker Jenkins then recovered a Bobcat fumble on the ensuing kickoff, giving the Eagles possession deep in IHS territory, and despite Bobcat sophomore Keyon Alston breaking up a Robinson pass into the end zone, DHS would go up 22-0 after Robinson carried in from a yard out with 5:56 to go and Thomas tacked on the PAT.
101 ticks later, Robinson returned a Mendoza-Lechuga punt 35 yards for another score and Thomas’ extra point inflated the lead to 29-0. Helped by an unsportsmanlike-conduct (verbal) penalty against Duchesne at the conclusion of Alston’s kickoff return to IHS’ 18, the ’Cats at last breached midfield when Alston caught an 8-yard Mendoza-Lechuga pass. But Ignacio turned the ball over on downs two snaps later, and the Eagles went back to work at their own 45 with 3:03 still remaining.
Robinson would complete a resulting 3-play, 55-yard counteroffensive with 1:51 left, via an 11-yard pass to freshman Kache Reilly, and DHS – a UHSAA 1A State Playoffs semifinalist in ’25—finished the quarter in complete control, 50-0, after in-stride interception-return TDs by Robinson (33 yards, 1:42 left) and Reilly (34 yards, 1:09).
The Eagles’ second-quarter scoring came via sophomore Ruger Hughes’ 42-yard punt return with 11:41 remaining, senior Jesus Martinez’s 7-yard punt block/return with 9:06 to go, and a safety only 13 seconds later when Mendoza-Lechuga couldn’t pull down a high snap from the Bobcats’ 11 and had to smother the football in the end zone.
Likely more and more aware that the game would end, due to Utah High School Activities Association rules, after the third quarter, Ignacio still sought out anything positive to take home. And after Duchesne returned Mendoza-Lechuga’s free kick to IHS’ 37 with 8:45 left until halftime, junior Evan Ray recovered Eagle freshman reserve QB Ridge Hanberg’s fumble at the 8.
Mendoza-Lechuga linked up with Alston moments later for a 30-yard gain on second down, but what ended up being the Bobcats’ most sustained series ended seven plays later when, operating at the Eagles’ 40, Hanberg picked off Mendoza-Lechuga’s attempted deep throw intended for Alston at DHS’ 15.
Two Hanberg kneel-downs then lost Duchesne 11 yards, but killed off the last 1:26 before a needed, merciful intermission. Ignacio still wasn’t done pushing the issue, however; Alston rocked DHS sophomore Romeo Anderson on the second-half kickoff, and senior Dillon Witt recovered the surprised returner’s fumble at Duchesne’s 29 with 11:52 left in the third.
Unfortunately, the Eagles let the ’Cats get no closer to spoiling their shutout; Mendoza-Lechuga was hit while throwing on first down, and DHS freshman Cruz Kielbasa intercepted the wobbler downfield and returned it 33 yards to DHS’ 45 with 11:20 to go. Duchesne, however, would relinquish the ball on downs at Ignacio’s 16 with about 5:20 left in the running-clock quarter, but Anderson promptly picked off Mendoza-Lechuga’s first-down attempt and returned it 20 yards for the event’s final score.
With 4:24 remaining, Thomas’ last PAT was true, and IHS closed out the contest gaining 13 yards in six hurried plays after Thomas’ touchback kickoff set the Bobcats up at their own 20.
Looking ahead, Ignacio will next travel to Peyton (1-1 overall) for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday, September 4. Playing as a CHSAA ‘Independent’ this fall, the Panthers – who went 3-6 overall in ’25, but 0-4 in the 1A Tri-Peaks – lost 21-7 at home on the 28th to Olathe (1-0, 0-0 1A Western Slope).