The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate football traveled to Elizabeth on Saturday, Nov. 8, to take on the Elizabeth Cardinals in the first round of the state’s 2A division playoffs. The Pirates fell to the Cardinals by a score of 44-38 in a back-and-forth game with multiple lead changes.
Coach Nathan Morales explained the Pirates “left it all out there last Saturday,” commending the team’s effort on the season as a whole.
“There’s no quit in those guys. They play like champions and they leave no doubts,” Morales said, mentioning the Pirates grew throughout the season. “The kids played well, and they continued to grow and fight all year and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
According to stats entered into Max Preps and shared with The SUN, the opening quarter of the game saw the Pirates and Cardinals match each other with rushing touchdowns, tying at 7-7.
The Pirates gave up points first, but responded with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Colton Lucero on their opening offensive possession.
The Cardinals were able to build a 22-7 lead halfway through the second quarter as the Pirates gave up two fumbles, with Morales noting that only one of the turnovers led to points for the Cardinals.
With under five minutes to go in the second quarter, Lucero broke off an 80-yard touchdown run, bringing the Pirates back within one score at 22-14.
A defensive stop for the Pirates allowed for their offense to take over again with under two minutes to play in the half.
Hudson Mazur connected with Lucero for a 7-yard touchdown pass as time expired. An unsuccessful two-point attempt left the score at 22-20 in favor of the Cardinals going into halftime.
“We just knew it was gonna be a four-quarter battle,” Morales said, explaining that the Pirates weren’t necessarily focusing on the score, but on just playing quality football until the end.
The Pirates started the second half with the ball and were able to cap off their possession with a 9-yard rushing touchdown by Mazur, giving the Pirates their first lead of the game.
Another unsuccessful two-point attempt left the score at 22-26 in favor of the Pirates.
Pagosa’s defense held up again, keeping Elizabeth from scoring on the Cardinals’ first offensive possession of the second half.
The Pirates were then able to capitalize and extend their lead to 22-32 thanks to a 60-yard touchdown rush by Lucero on their following offensive possession.
Lucero’s touchdown was followed by a failed extra-point attempt, leaving the score at 22-32 with about six minutes to play in the third quarter.
The Cardinals were able to get on the board late in the third with a 6-yard rushing touchdown, pulling within one score at 29-32.
The Pirates extended their lead again in the fourth quarter with a 4-yard touchdown rush by Lucero. Another failed extra-point attempt left the score at 29-38 with just over eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals were then able to score a 7-yard rushing touchdown a minute later, bringing the score to 36-38.
On their following offensive possession, the Pirates were forced to punt for the first time in the game, giving the ball back to the Cardinals with under five minutes to play.
Elizabeth was able to come up with another rushing touchdown and a successful two-point attempt, taking the lead at 44-38.
The Pirates received the ball with under two minutes to play and were able to get into the red zone on the 17-yard line with just three seconds left on the clock, but were unable to get into the end zone on the last play of the game, Morales explained.
“Super proud of them, they played well,” he said of the Pirates, noting they were able to take the lead twice during the game against the No. 4-ranked Cardinals.
Morales also mentioned the Pirates played well enough to win the game, but it “just got away from us.”
“It was four quarters of football and everybody played their hearts out,” he added.
This was the second meeting between the two teams this season, with the first matchup being played in Elizabeth on Sept. 26. The Cardinals defeated the Pirates 41-0 in that affair.
That was the last loss the Pirates suffered before going on a five-game win streak to close out the regular season.
In that matchup, the Pirates were limited to a total of 183 yards on offense while the Cardinals put up a total of 433 yards.
In the playoff matchup on Nov. 8, the Pirates were able to put up a total of 422 yards of total offense, 74 passing yards and 348 rushing yards.
The Cardinals put up 367 yards of total offense.
Mazur completed his sole pass attempt for a 7-yard touchdown, while Creede Dozier completed three out of four pass attempts for a total of 67 yards.
Lucero led the Pirates on the ground with 268 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries, and also hauled in one pass reception for a 7-yard touchdown.
Mazur had nine carries during the game for a total of 81 yards and one touchdown.
Alex Pacheco had one carry that went for a loss of 1 yard.
Mazur also had one reception for 29 yards, and Kasen Limebrook pulled in two receptions for a total of 38 yards.
On the defensive side, Zander Lefthandbull led the Pirates in solo tackles with nine. Pacheco, Mazur and Lucero each recorded seven solo tackles.
Jimmy Elledge recorded five solo tackles, while Dozier and Jeremiah Dean recorded four each. Jayton Ross and Aidan Vega each recorded three solo tackles, and Jonathon Baker recorded one.
Mazur converted two out of four extra-point attempts.
Morales commented on this year’s Pirate seniors and the role they played, highlighting the leadership displayed throughout the season.
“Our seniors did a great job leading for us this year,” he said, noting the Pirates had a “great senior class” this year that will be missed big time.
“We’re gonna miss them,” he said.
Morales explained the seniors were “such a huge part of our culture, and success we’ve had the last couple of years.”
The Pirates made the state playoffs three out of the last four seasons, including one playoff victory in 2023.
“The kids believe in each other, they trust each other, and they continue to fight and grow as a team together,” Morales said of the Pirates.
Morales noted that Ross played through an injured shoulder all season long, showing his commitment to the team and his senior season.
Morales commented on Dozier’s role as quarterback and his ability “to run this offense efficiently,” noting the Pirates instilled a new offensive system early on this season.
Morales also noted how Vega, Dean and Ross all played skill positions in past seasons, but switched to offensive linemen as seniors.
“The commitment to those guys just wanting to do whatever it takes, they wanted their senior year to be great, and they accepted that challenge and they grew all year from it,” Morales said.
Morales commented on Lincoln Butler’s season, noting, “he played a huge role for us” at center.
Jonathan Baker featured as a starting receiver for much of the season, with Morales commenting that Baker was “blocking his tail off” all season.
Morales also commented on Lucero, noting, “he’s his own animal,” describing him as a “special athlete” who is capable of being a collegiate athlete in three different sports.
“Those seniors, we’re definitely gonna miss ‘em,” Morales said, adding that he is excited for them to be moving on to their next journey in life.
“Those seven seniors are gonna be champions. No matter what they do, they’ll be successful,” Morales said.
Morales spoke about how the Pirates continued to improve over the season, noting, “It’s all about our brotherhood that we’ve instilled” from the seniors down to the freshman.
He explained that the team knew it was getting better each week, and knew that it would take a few weeks to see the effects of some of the changes Morales made to the team’s systems.
“I definitely wish we were still playing this week. I thought the seniors deserved another week. I thought this team deserved another week,” Morales said while reflecting on the season.
He spoke more about how the team improved over each week with the goal of playing its best football at the end of the season.
While recalling an interview before week one of this season, when asked what goals the team had in mind, Morales indicated, “I said for us to be playing our best football at the end, and we were.”
The Pirates ended their season with an overall record of 6-4, including an undefeated league mark of 5-0 which claimed them the Intermountain League (IML) title.
The Pirates’ last IML title came in the 2019 season.
Pagosa also won its league title in the 2020 season (the Southwest League), which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and saw fewer teams compete in the fall season in alternate leagues.
The team’s 2025 season featured ups and downs.
After opening the season with a commanding 51-0 win over Kirtland Central High School from New Mexico, the Pirates lost three straight games before beginning IML play.
“When you’re 1-3 … the world will tell you to quit, and that wasn’t in these seniors’ minds. All they wanted to do was finish, and they did,” Morales said, highlighting the team was able to go on and win the IML title from that point.
He also commented on the playoff rematch against Elizabeth, and how the Pirates were able to take on a team that beat them by 41 points, “and had ‘em on the ropes” in the playoff match.
“[Elizabeth] had to work for it,” Morales added, noting the Pirates limited the Cardinals from scoring on any big plays.
Morales noted the team stayed positive throughout the whole game, and that “everything we did that game was positive.”
Morales commended the Pirates efforts, stating they played well as a team and were up against a bigger Cardinals’ team that had a size advantage.
“Just the fight and determination they had to lay it all out there on the line for their brother, their teammates out there,” showed for four quarters, Morales said. “They were just out there battling.”
Morales mentioned that at the end of the game, he was unsure what to say because the Pirates’ motto had been to “leave no doubt, and there was no doubt in my mind that they left it all out there,” noting he couldn’t be more proud for the pirates effort on the season as a whole.
Morales expressed gratitude for the support the Pirates have received from the community, noting Pagosa has a great community, a great school and great football players who “care about each other.”
He spoke more about the senior leadership on the team and how it goes a long way for the program, noting this year’s seniors will be missed, but it will be a challenge to next year’s seniors to continue that.
“We just want to say thank you to our fans and the community for supporting us this year,” Morales said, adding, “just the love and support we’ve gotten from Pagosa Springs this year and years in the past, it’s amazing and we really appreciate it.”
He added, “It all goes a long way.”
Season leaders
Lucero rushed for a total of 1,797 yards on the season, placing him in the top five rushers in the state across all divisions. Lucero also led the Pirates in touchdowns this season, racking up 29, with 25 of those being rushing touchdowns.
Pacheco recorded six rushing touchdowns on the year, and Mazur recorded five.
Limebrook led the team in receiving touchdowns with a total of two on the year, followed by Lucero and Pacheco, who each recorded one.
On defense, Dozier led the Pirates in interceptions with a total of three. Mazur and Lucero recorded two interceptions each.
Ross led the Pirates in fumble recoveries, picking up three.
Vega and Lucero led the team in sacks on the season with two each.
Lefthandbull led the Pirates in tackles per game, averaging eight.
clayton@pagosasun.com
>