deKay rushing TDs bookend 50-22 loss 

Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in… 

It was almost as though the repeated line of The 5th Dimension’s 1969 No. 1 song was being subconsciously belted out by all Bobcat backers in attendance Friday evening, Aug. 29, as Brandon Blevins slid into a developing scrum, seeking to regain Ignacio one last possession late in the team’s first road game of 2025. 

Just a couple seconds earlier, senior Gabe Archuleta had tackled CHS running back Landen Taylor in the backfield from behind and stripped the ball out of the sophomore’s right hand. And after Bobcat freshmen Zackariah Loudenburg and Phillip Velasquez couldn’t come up with the fumble, Blevins – nicknamed ‘Sunshine’ (stemming from a past resemblance to the player portrayed on-screen in ‘Remember the Titans’) – beat CHS freshman RB Tony Scartezina to the bottom of the fast-forming dogpile. 

“Oh, it was really cool to me,” Blevins said. “I mean, that was the first time I was ever able to do that, and it just brought joy and motivation back.” 

Proper celebration of the takeaway, however, would have to wait until afterwards; working against a running clock, the ’Cats – or at least those not already on the field as part of IHS’ defensive unit – hurried into offensive mode after being set up at the hosting Bruins’ 30-yard line with 3:06 remaining in the fourth quarter. 

Often rocked by hard hits administered by Cedaredge’s physically overwhelming pass rush, senior quarterback Zane Pontine nevertheless gutted out a 16-yard scramble on first down, and Blevins then gained two yards down to CHS’ 12 after the chains were re-set. Pontine then carried left on second down, and as blue-clad danger approached, snapped an option pitch even wider to senior Lincoln deKay. 

First to score in the non-conference clash, deKay was also the last – crossing the goal line with just 1:03 left, and setting up junior William Mendoza-Lechuga’s subsequent point-after kick, winnowing the Bruins’ lead down to 50-22 before time expired and the sides having not bothered to line up for any sort of kickoff. 

“Yeah, that did feel good – the first time we got the ball, getting down and scoring … no turnovers,” deKay said. “And, yeah, we need to work on keeping that momentum, I’d say; keep it and the game turns out different.” 

Momentum was surely with Ignacio (0-2 overall, 0-0 1A South Central) starting the final frame, and on the fifth play of a drive started at IHS’ 10, a Pontine option left to deKay gained 40 yards down to Cedaredge’s 20. Pontine then threw a 20-yard touchdown to Archuleta on the very next snap, and Blevins carried in the two-point conversion – bringing the ’Cats back to 50-15 with 8:30 (and counting) left in regulation. 

And momentum was undoubtedly with the visitors at the game’s outset; after Mendoza-Lechuga returned CHS’ kickoff 14 yards to the Ignacio 30, the Bobcats proceeded to confidently march the 70 required yards in eight plays – including a 27-yard deKay jaunt, a 26-yard Pontine-to-Archuleta connection, and subsequent one-yard deKay TD tote around left end. 

Assigned kick/punt duty in place of the injured Miguel Red, Mendoza-Lechuga nailed the evening’s first point-after kick, putting IHS up 7-0 with 8:02 left in the first quarter. The Bruins (1-0, 0-0 1A Western Slope), however, promptly responded with a five-play, 50-yard drive capped by senior wide receiver Rylan Brooks’ 26-yard carry with 6:05 to go. Sophomore Liam Martin then put CHS up 8-7 with a two-point run of a reverse handoff left from junior quarterback Logan Sanders. 

And after junior Shane Smothers intercepted Pontine to halt Ignacio’s next series, and returned the pick to the Bobcats’ 10, Sanders then carried around left end on first down for six points. Isaac Tullis then kicked the extra point, and the Bruins led 15-7 with 5:22 left. 

“We went down and scored, but when they got the ball we didn’t play D hard – like we played offense,” said deKay. “And then once they got up on that two-point conversion, it was … kind of … the team lost it. We’ve really just got to work on that.” 

Penalties then forced IHS to go three-and-out, and CHS sophomore Levi Maxey returned Mendoza-Lechuga’s punt 63 yards for another score, augmented by Tullis’ PAT. The Bobcats’ possession began with penalties for holding and illegal procedure, and a botched snap – Sanders’ unchecked blindside blitz had Pontine in extra danger – from their own 17-yard line was ultimately recovered by CHS soph Zaden Robidoux at the 1 with 1:48 to go. 

Fellow soph Makai Salazar then crashed in for Cedaredge’s fifth TD, and Tullis’ PAT increased the lead to 36-7 with 1:43 still remaining in the quarter. Helped by a 10-yard Blevins carry, Ignacio then managed to use up the rest of the clock, but saw the second quarter commence with CHS junior defensive end Cole Wyatt pick off a short Pontine pass and rumble roughly 32 yards in the opposite direction. Tullis then booted his fifth PAT, and the margin grew to 43-7 with 11:47 left until halftime. 

Dead-on with his first four passes (all completed to Archuleta), Pontine managed to recover a failed Sanders option pitch at the Bobcat 45 with 6:31 left, but then threw his fourth interception of the half when Brooks snared an underthrown ball intended for senior Aven Bourriague. Set up at their own 25 with 5:31 remaining, the Bruins covered the 75 yards in six plays and 2:24, with sophomore backup QB Dane Brown scoring from five yards out. Tullis’ PAT then put CHS up 50-7 and, with 3:07 left, enacted running-clock rules with the outcome not in question. 

“You’ve got to give it to them; they’ve got a great group. I think last year they almost went to Playoffs, so I think they’re going to make another run at it,” IHS head coach Jake Nossaman said. “We know where we’ve got to get to, and we’ll continue to get better. In the second half I don’t think they had their starters in, but we definitely played a little bit better.” 

“We had a few guys missing too, but we’ve got a ‘bye’ to recuperate and continue to … try to find us a ‘W’ in the next game or two.” 

Unofficial statistics at the conclusion showed deKay had racked up a painful 156 yards rushing on 21 carries, and that Archuleta had gained 76 yards on six receptions as Pontine ended up with 76 yards passing in 14 attempts. Regularly lined up at fullback to block for deKay, Blevins still gained 33 yards on four carries. 

“There should have been more touchdowns on the board, to be honest. That’s just how I feel about it,” said Archuleta. “But this one’s in the past now, so we’ll just build on it and work, work, work, work. Keep grinding … hard this bye week and get ready for Olathe.” 

Ignacio will host OHS at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, with the Western Slope-repping Pirates having entered their 9/12 home game versus Center standing 1-0 overall after a season-opening win over 1A South Central member Del Norte. Always a tricky opponent for IHS in the same conference, Center ventured to Wilson Field standing 0-1 after a home loss to Western Slope member Hotchkiss North Fork. 

After facing Olathe, IHS will then welcome 2A Bayfield the following Friday for a 7 p.m. showdown.