The Pagosa Springs High Pirate football team traveled to Monte Vista last Friday, Sept. 19, falling to Monte Vista 42-21.
“It came down to big plays,” coach Nathan Morales said. “They made more big plays than we did.”
The first quarter ended tied at 7-7 with the Pirates and Monte Vista each rushing for one touchdown. Monte Vista scored first, taking the lead, but the Pirates responded on the following offensive drive with a 49-yard rushing touchdown by Alex Pacheco, who racked up a total of 95 rushing yards and one touchdown on nine carries.
“We ran the ball well,” Morales commented.
The Pirates totaled 266 rushing yards on the night, led by Colton Lucero, who ran for 133 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries.
The second quarter saw blows traded between the two sides, with Monte Vista retaking the lead 13-7, with the Pirates blocking the extra-point attempt.
“Our special teams played really well,” Morales added, explaining the Pirates also put themselves in positions on offense to make big plays.
“We just didn’t capitalize on ‘em and they did. That’s what it came down to,” he said.
On the following drive for the Pirates, Lucero responded with an 8-yard rushing touchdown, tying the game at 13-13. A successful extra-point attempt put the Pirates up 14-13 going into halftime.
Morales explained that Monte Vista had a big third quarter and was able to jump out to a 35-21 lead over the Pirates.
A 2-yard touchdown run by Creede Dozier put more points on the board for the Pirates about halfway through the third quarter.
Dozier tallied a total of 6 rushing yards and one touchdown on six carries, and also connected one of eight pass attempts for 17 yards. Dozier was picked off twice that night.
Kasen Limebrook was the only receiver on the night, pulling in one reception for 17 yards. Limebrook also had one pass attempt, which was intercepted.
Hudson Mazur and Jimmy Elledge ran for 29 yards on three carries and for 3 yards on one carry, respectively.
Mazur converted all three of his extra-point attempts on the night.
On the defensive side, Zander Lefthandbull led the Pirates in tackles on the night, recording 12 individual tackles and assisting on three.
Mazur recorded nine individual tackles and Lucero had nine, including two tackles for loss and one sack.
“We had ‘em on the ropes third and long three or four times and they got big pass plays out of it,” Morales said.
He explained the outcome of the game came down to three or four plays.
“They had a couple big plays in the third quarter that really helped them,” he said, adding, “I gotta do a better job making sure that doesn’t happen.”
Going forward, “as a team we’re frustrated,” Morales said, but also encouraged because “we know how close we are.”
He added, “We’re so close to executing and firing at all cylinders, and that’s what’s exciting.”
He explained that the Pirates intend to learn from each game and continue to improve as the season goes on, noting the team is gearing up for another long travel day as the Pirates head to Elizabeth tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 26, to take on the Elizabeth Cardinals at 7 p.m.
The Pirates are 1-2, while the Cardinals are 3-1.
“Yeah, we got a bad taste in our mouth because of the losses, but we understand how close we are to be rolling,” he added.
clayton@pagosasun.com
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