IHS posts 40 first-half points at Trinidad 

Rumor had it that Trinidad’s Marching Miners had finally found a long-lacking sound. 

And under new director Heather Sanchez, wife of former Ignacio Girls’ Soccer head coach Daniel (now THS’ special-education teacher), the band apparently couldn’t wait to perform at halftime of THS’ Homecoming Week football game Friday night, Oct. 11, against – as irony would have it – Ignacio. Which wasn’t about to waste a single tick of a two-minute, nay, 27-second drill prior to the break. 

Thinking the second quarter had ended with IHS junior Gabe Archuleta rushing for ten yards down to Trinidad’s 3-yard line, the musicians quickly strode out onto the gridiron ready to serenade spectators. Only problem was Archuleta’s carry, coming immediately after junior quarterback Zane Pontine’s 37-yard throw to sophomore Cayson Burcham – which had immediately followed junior Aven Bourriague’s interception of THS QB Isaiah Moreno at the 50 – and a subsequent Pontine incompletion, required the chains to be resituated and the clock to be briefly paused, allowing the Bobcats to hurry into formation, while the job was done. 

With a couple seconds remaining, and the band essentially navigating the field of play, Ignacio all but stole the show as Pontine faked throwing to his left, then spun and threw to D.J. Hendren in the right flat for a 3-yard touchdown as time expired. Throwing a shaker of salt into the wound, Pontine connected with Archuleta for a two-point conversion increasing IHS’ advantage to 40-0, en route to a 53-6 road victory. 

“The kids were disciplined, you know?” said head coach Alfonso ‘Ponch’ Garcia. “You practice to do the right things … and they listened to things we told them to do. They went to their spots and didn’t try to over-do things … . The magic word today was ‘discipline.’” 

That being said, even the Bobcats’ skipper had to be impressed with how the fourth and final frame played out within the running-clock ‘mercy’ rules, which took effect when Trinidad kicked off beginning the third quarter. Attempting zero passes after intermission, Ignacio (2-4 overall, 1-1 1A Southern Peaks) began the second half marching 67 yards in seven plays and 6:19, with Hendren carrying a 7-yard TD through the middle of the line. 

Senior Charley Pargin kicked the extra point, making the score 47-0, and after the fast-moving quarter ended with Trinidad (2-3, 1-1 SPC) failing to pull off a second fake-punt run, the ’Cats then reached the 50-point plateau when backup QB William Mendoza-Lechuga led IHS’ second-team offense 15 yards in four plays and 3:00, and capped it off himself with a 15-yard bootleg keeper around right tackle. Reserve running back Brandon Blevins was stopped on the two-point try, but the coaches were able to mostly overlook that shortcoming. 

“We had to re-coach them in the locker room!” Garcia said with a laugh. “We were showing them the plays, where they had to go, and … dive right, dive left, iso left, quarterback keeper – that’s how we did it! And you know, most of that group are freshmen and sophomores so I’m pretty proud of those little ones to go get it.” 

The Miners, however, still had one last opportunity to spark the weekend’s revelry … and capitalized. Pinned back at their own 13 with 6:25 remaining, after Bobcat senior Kendrick Nossaman put a hard solo tackle on kickoff returner Marcus Dasko, THS moved quickly and reached IHS’ 40 via seven run plays. A personal-foul penalty against the ’Cats then promoted Trinidad to the 25, and Moreno somehow found a receiver for 22 yards down to the 3. 

THS head coach Matt Gonzales burned a timeout with 0:49 left in regulation, and after the clock was restarted the Miners at last broke through with Dasko bulling his way in from three yards out and only 39 seconds left. He was denied the two-point conversion, but the positive ending was exactly what the home team needed. 

After all, the game had started with the Miners botching a handoff on the very first play, and Pargin – whose initial kickoff was fielded at the 1-yard line – recovering at the line of scrimmage. That was Trinidad’s 7; two plays and 28 ticks later Ignacio was on the scoreboard thanks to a 1-yard Pontine plunge behind center Pargin. 

THS’ next attempt at a sustained possession went much better and, aided by a 43-yard Moreno-to-Troy Vigil pass, the Miners made their way forward to IHS’ 45 before punting two plays later. And Hendren, following a lead block from fellow returner Burcham, made them pay with a 70-yard return paralleling the Bobcats’ sideline. Pontine’s two-point pass attempt went incomplete, but with a 12-0 lead just five minutes in the ’Cats were cruising. 

Archuleta then recovered Pargin’s onside kick at the Miner 47, but Burcham lost a fumble after an 18-yard reception on second down and Trinidad returned the takeaway to their 40. Sacks of Moreno by Pargin and junior Lincoln deKay, however, began THS’ series and Moreno (unofficially 4-of-9 passing for 82 yards; Vigil ended up 3-60 receiving) then threw incomplete while hounded by senior Tallias Cantsee. 

A ten-yard penalty on the play, however, kept the drive alive long enough for THS’ punter to then fake his second kick and instead carry for eight yards and a first down. A pass-interference infraction against the ’Cats negated a Burcham interception three plays later, but after reaching Ignacio’s 17 Trinidad’s luck ran out as Archuleta smothered a Xavier Garcia fumble one yard deep in the backfield with 1:28 remaining. 

IHS’ resulting drive would endure into the second quarter, and on the eighth true play of the 82-yard surge, Archuleta snared a 20-yard TD from Pontine – who apparently audibled pre-snap to a screen pass and was proven prescient. Hendren added the two-pointer with a carry around left end, putting Ignacio up 20-0 with 10:09 left. 

Hendren then dove and recovered a lengthier Pargin squib kick, positioning the guests at THS’ 36. Seven plays and 3:12 worth of clock later, Pontine again shadowed Pargin into the end zone from a yard out. Pargin, however, missed the PAT but IHS’ 26-0 lead grew to 32-0 when deKay blasted through for a 14-yard TD carry with 3:28 still before halftime. 

Pontine then found Archuleta on the conversion attempt, but Archuleta couldn’t cross the goal line. 

“Now we’ve got a split, 1-1, in conference and that’s okay,” Garcia said, looking ahead to the Bobcats’ own Homecoming 2024 contest at 7 p.m. Friday, October 18, versus Center. “This was big-time for us; these kids, you want them to go in happy and not dwell on what just happened in the past. Hopefully things go well, one at a time – you never know what’ll happen.” 

Ever-pesky CHS (0-6, 0-2 SPC) will arrive at IHS Field wanting to at least score after suffering three consecutive shutouts – including a 58-0 loss on the 11th to Centauri (6-0, 2-0), the same squad which walloped Ignacio 53-13 in a home game delayed by roughly a day and instead played Saturday afternoon, Oct. 5. 

Against Trinidad, Pontine was (unofficially) 9-of-15 passing for 161 yards, with two TDs and zero picks. Archuleta grabbed six throws for 103 yards, Burcham caught two for 55 and Hendren one for three. He also netted 101 yards rushing on only eight carries, while deKay netted 78 on 10 and Pontine 15 on five. Blevins and fellow reserve Jayden Scott each carried once for no gain during the fourth quarter, and Mendoza-Lechuga ended up with 15 yards on two tries. 

And the Marching Miners? Sounded like they got two thumbs up.