Before their third away game in as many weeks kicked off Friday night, Sept. 4, Ignacio head coach Jake Nossaman reminded his Bobcats that in losses to Montezuma-Cortez and Duchesne, Utah, IHS’ rushing yards had been in the negative.
He asked for that to change.
It didn’t. Playing at Peyton, which was both hyped for an early-fall Homecoming and also hungry to atone for a 21-7 loss to Olathe seven days earlier upon the same rain-softened grass, the ’Cats – depleted immediately right from the start when senior co-captain Vaughn Lee sustained a likely concussion on the very first play – managed minus-11 (unofficially) yards on 14 carries before halftime. And didn’t bother trying again after.
Partly because the Panthers had already put up 21 points in the first quarter and 21 more in the second – six first-quarter points and the last eight of the second were end results of short-distance drives set up by fumble recoveries – but also partly because IHS’ passing attack was suddenly producing.
No small achievement, considering senior starter William Mendoza-Lechuga had been lost to an apparent shoulder separation near the end of the first quarter after punting from Ignacio’s 33-yard line, then going down as PHS senior Brayden Nonaka returned the kick 59 yards for a score with 0:20 left. Senior Josiah Zimmerman then carried in the two-point conversion, increasing Peyton’s lead to 21-0 as Bobcat receiver Keyon Alston prepared to go under center.
Neither of the sophomore’s two series managed to get the guests on the scoreboard but helped by a 25-yard completion to freshman Aiden Scott, Alston moved the ’Cats from their 26 to PHS’ 26 on his first drive before sophomore Emmanuel Lucero was dropped for a five-yard loss, effectively short-circuiting the surge on downs.
Later in the second quarter, after PHS’ lead had reached 34-0 with 3:43 left, Nossaman put sophomore Stephen Romero in at quarterback and the Bobcats began to bloom. After hitting Alston for a yard on first down from IHS’ 13, Romero then side-armed a 31-yarder to Scott. Sacked for a large loss on the very next snap by Panther senior Lorenzo Arguello and junior Parker Gauruder, Romero fumbled and Arguello recovered back at IHS’ 21 with 2:07 to go.
Three plays later, Panther QB Mickey Winter, a 6’6” senior, flipped a five-yard touchdown pass to Zimmerman, and Arguello toted in the two-pointer, giving Peyton a 42-0 advantage with 1:05 left on what had become a mercy-rule running clock.
Nevertheless, Ignacio had seen what could be and jumped at the chance to try it all again after receiving the second-half kickoff and returning it to their 34. Romero immediately connected with Alston for 26 yards to the Panther 40 and found junior Jayden Scott for two to the 38. After an incompletion meant for Zackariah Loudenburg, Peyton senior Michael Haynie intercepted Romero well downfield, but was flagged for pass interference – which advanced the football to PHS’ 23.
The ’Cats promptly re-gifted, via a false-start penalty, five of those yards but weren’t about to be stopped. And after nearly ten-and-a-half quarters, finally found the end zone when Romero fired a 28-yard TD to the younger Scott with 6:15 remaining in the third. His two-point throw targeting the elder Scott missed its mark, but the Bobcats’ celebration wasn’t hushed.
“It was kind of overthrown – for a second I thought I was going to miss the catch!” Aiden Scott said. “But when I made the catch, I just ran, scored the touchdown. We were down by a lot, but at least we scored; our team never gave up.”
“We’ve got a lot of young players out here, freshmen and sophomores – a lot of potential there,” said Nossaman. “And Aiden, that’s his first game and he had big catches! Also, Keyon and Stephen stepped in at quarterback and did a great job.”
After a penalty wiped out Panther senior Emanuel Fiocco’s subsequent 86-yard kickoff-return TD, Peyton (2-1 overall, 0-0 Independents) kept the ball on the ground for what ended up being the team’s final possession – a 10-play, 55-yard march consuming the last 2:45 of the third quarter and first 4:41 of the fourth, and capped by freshman reserve Conrad Eckhardt’s one-yard run with 7:19 left in regulation.
Winter’s point-after kick missed low, and the 48-6 margin would remain unchanged – though the ’Cats, whose last drive would begin at their 33 with 4:38 to go, certainly tried making a last-second alteration. Romero found Alston for 17 yards and Aiden Scott (4 rec., 106 yds.) for 22 within the possession’s first five plays, and Nossaman called timeout with 0:04 remaining.
With the ball at the Panthers’ 28, everyone knew Romero (7 comp., 127 yds.) would again go aerial. To whom was the question. The answer was Alston (4 rec., 47 yds.), but with a defender sufficiently shadowing him he was unable to collect – though he very nearly did; while lying on his back but the ball having not yet touched the ground – Romero’s pressured throw as time expired.
At last able to enjoy a ‘bye’ week, Ignacio (0-3, 0-0 1A Southern) will next begin conference play with their opponent – and their first at home – none other than Monte Vista. Kickoff time at IHS Field on the 18th is presently set for 1 p.m.
“I think we’ve got one of the toughest schedules this season,” Nossaman said bluntly. “We’ll be kind of glad to get a home game in, but we just have to continue to be positive, keep learning.”