Football: Goliath Defeats David 48-12 Jacona Field
Pojoaque Valley head football coach Quevin Redding billed the Pojoaque Valley-Raton High football game as a David and Goliath story. His allegory had a ring of truth, but in this case Goliath (Raton-the state’s number two ranked team) was just too big.
A quick scan of their roster is eye-popping. The Tigers (8-1, 2-0) have eight players who weigh in over 200; they field a 308 pound tackle, Keanu Trujillo and four more players weigh in at 250 or more. Then, there’s 6’4″, 219 pound junior quarterback Dustin Walton. The Tigers looked more like a college team than a AAA high school team.
Despite the Tigers’ size and skill, the Elks came out and drew first blood on a 18-yard TD hookup between Pojoaque quarterback Mike Garcia and Luke Salazar.
Goliath was stunned. He staggered, recovered and reeled off 41 unanswered points to take a 41-6 lead into the half.
Walton, operating from the shot-gun with four to five wide-outs, was devastating. He had 275 passing yards at the half and threw five touchdown strikes in the first two quarters. He finished the game 21-of-27 for 367 yards. five touchdowns and no interceptions. For the season, Walton has thrown for 2,214 yards and 27 touchdowns. Although just a junior, UCLA, Colorado and Colorado State have shown interests in recruiting him.
Raton’s quick, aggressive defense shut-down Pojoaque’s offense. Garcia completed 11-of-24 for 135 yards and one touchdown. He also gained 54 of the Elks’ 97 yards on the ground.
The turning point of the game came in the second quarter with Raton up 14-6. Deep in their own territory, the Elks were forced to punt. The snap flew over Tim Cowen’s head and Raton recovered on the four-yard line. Morphew Malachi bulled it in for a TD on the Tiger’s first play after the turnover.
The errant snap was the first bad punt snap of the season.
In the third quarter, with a running clock, the Elks matched Raton’s lone second half score after Garcia completed a 48-yard pass, setting up Robert Ortiz’s 1-yard touchdown run.
“When you play a good team, mistakes are amplified,” Redding said. “They’re the number two team in the state for a reason and they showed why today.
“I’m not going to put icing on the cake, we still have a long way to go. But this is not the end of the season. I still want to go to the state playoffs.”
Pojoaque (6-2, 1-1 District 2AAA) travels to Las Vegas on Friday for a 7 p.m. district game against Las Vegas Robertson (0-1 District 2AAA). Its a must win for the Elks if they want to stay in playoff contention.
