The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate football team shut out Kirtland Central, N.M, by a score of 51-0 last Friday, Aug. 29, in the team’s season opener at Golden Peaks Stadium.
Coach Nathan Morales commented that he was pleased with the Pirates’ defensive performance on the night in maintaining a shutout.
“Our defense did well,” he said, adding that going forward this season he wants the Pirates to “shore up” the edges more and not let the opponents’ ball carries get to the outside.
“I was pleased with the way we were flying to the football,” he added, explaining there was a good effort in group tackling.
According to stats on MaxPreps, the Pirates recorded a total of 32 tackles on the night, with Zander LeftHandBull leading the team, racking up 12 tackles. Jayton Ross recorded five tackles, while 12 other Pirates recorded one or two tackles each on the night.
Aidan Vega recorded the team’s only sack, which resulted in a 6-yard loss for the Broncos.
Hudson Mazur came up with one interception, returning it for 37 yards. Braylon Landry and Ross each recorded one fumble recovery, and Jeremiah Dean blocked a punt.
The Pirates racked up a total of eight touchdowns on the night, with seven coming in the first half.
The Pirates tallied a total of 336 offensive yards on the night, putting up 324 rushing yards and 12 passing yards.
Pirate quarterback Creede Dozier completed one of three pass attempts for a total of 12 yards, and rushed for a total of 2 yards on two carries.
Morales commented that, offensively, the Pirates are “pretty athletic and fast,” noting he hopes to be able to use that to their advantage throughout the season. “I think we’re a fast team, we’re an athletic team ... and we’re a tough team. We’re a physical football team, so we’re gonna ride that.”
Colton Lucero led the Pirates in rushing on the night, putting up a total of 138 yards and three touchdowns on seven carries.
Alex Pacheco racked up 99 rushing yards on five carries, also recording three touchdowns on the night. Pacheco also returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown.
Dean and Mazur each had two carries, putting up 22 and 63 yards, respectively. Mazur also recorded one touchdown.
Kasen Limebrook pulled in the Pirates’ only reception on the night for a gain of 12 yards.
Morales commented on the Pirates’ special teams, noting a former player is assisting with special teams coaching this year.
“We want a big play from special teams every week,” he said. “That was huge for us.”
The Pirates will be back in action today, Thursday, Sept. 4, hosting the Centauri Falcons at Golden Peaks Stadium at 7 p.m.
The Falcons are 1-0 on the season and ranked second in the state’s 1A division.
Morales explained the Falcons are consistently a top-five team in the state’s 1A division.
He noted that with a short week for preparation, the Pirates simply need to keep doing what they’ve been doing, and look “shore up” some things from the game against Kirtland.
Reflecting on last week’s matchup and going forward in the season, Morales commented, “I think we ran the ball well … we just gotta be physical upfront and swarm the ball on defense and I think we’ll be OK.”
He explained the Pirates have five or six playmakers they are confident can be impactful, but that the offensive line needs to be able to finish off its blocks.
“All they need is a little space,” Morales said in regard to the Pirates’ playmakers.
Morales also noted there is a decent amount of familiarity between Centauri and Pagosa Springs, adding that he hopes the team can continue using the home-field crowd to build momentum.
“We love having the big crowd,” he said.
clayton@pagosasun.com
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