Olathe denies IHS first win in ’25
Jacob Avila didn’t make it to the end of the game either.
Aided off after an apparent hamstring injury with nine minutes left in the Olathe Pirates’ Sept. 12 game at Ignacio, losing the senior certainly hurt the visitors in, at least, the short term. But his presence early in the third quarter had, one way or another, long-term consequences – for the opposing Bobcats.
OHS’ only hope to prevent Ignacio from beginning the third quarter with a potentially game-breaking bang, Avila lunged to bring down his opposing No. 21, before that ’Cat could pull an already-difficult catch more so in bounds and finish a 55-yard pitch-and-catch with senior quarterback Zane Pontine.
Dragged down near Olathe’s 10-yard line immediately after receiving Pontine’s long bomb, senior Gabe Archuleta didn’t scramble to his feet as he normally would. Helped off the field, he’d be lost for the remainder of the non-conference contest – and, as feared, the rest of the 2025 season with a broken left clavicle. And just like that, IHS was caught in a close contest without its best deep threat – someone who’d have been essential at the conclusion.
Trailing 20-16 after OHS sophomore Hunter Lynch carried for a 1-yard touchdown – on fourth down, no less – around right tackle (junior QB Garrett Keith’s two-point conversion run, however, was stuffed), capping a six-play, 45-yard drive using 3:11 worth of clock, the ’Cats went back on offense at their own 24 with 2:28 left in regulation.
Needing a new long-range weapon, Pontine looked multiple times for D.J. Hendren – making his season debut – but under constant Pirate pressure overthrew the senior, viable as either a running back or wide receiver, three times. Pontine then managed to hit senior RB Lincoln deKay for a seven-yard gain reaching OHS’ 48, but Ignacio’s luck ran out the next play when Olathe junior Bryce Good intercepted Pontine’s final downfield attempt.
Able to make a short return killing off as many of the waning seconds as possible, Good’s give-up slide set OHS’ offense up at their own 38 with only 37.7 ticks remaining. Keith then knelt once, securing the guests a shaky four-point victory denying the Bobcats (0-3 overall, 0-0 1A South Central) their first this fall.
Overcoming Hendren’s early, tone-setting 98-yard fumble return for a score (deKay added the two-pointer), the Pirates (3-0, 0-0 1A Western Slope), meanwhile, remained unbeaten as they repaid IHS for last year’s 34-7 beatdown at Wilson Field.
Archuleta ended up with four grabs for 88 yards as Pontine threw for 141 on 11 completions. Senior Aven Bourriague caught two passes for 30 yards and deKay two for 18, while Hendren snared two for a yard and junior Shaun Sanderson one for four. Pontine also rushed for a 1-yard TD – set up by the ill-fated heave to Archuleta – and added the two-point tote.
Figures for OHS weren’t fully available by press time, but Lynch rushed for 41 yards on seven carries during the last 15:58 of play, while Keith grossed 35 on four while going 1-for-3 passing during that time span for zero yards. Junior Colton Snell snagged a 5-yard TD in response to Pontine’s scoring carry, bringing Olathe back to 16-14 after the two-point try failed.
Looking ahead, Ignacio will next host Bayfield (2-0, 0-0 2A Intermountain) on Friday, Sept. 19, with kickoff against the Wolverines – who rolled into 3A Gallup, N.M., on the 12th and left with a 46-26 win over the Bengals – set for 7 p.m. IHS will then begin conference play hosting Centauri on Oct. 4 at 1 p.m.