The Los Alamos Hilltoppers kicked off their 2017 football season Friday evening against the Pojoaque Elks. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Wyatt Saeger makes a great catch deep in Elks’ territory in the third period, but the catch was called back because of a penalty. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
rjmontano@ladailypost.com
Video interview by RJ Montaño with coach and players: here.
POJOAQUE – The luck of the Irish, and Stewart, capped a spectacular night for the Los Alamos High School football (1-0) who downed the Pojoaque Elks 37-0 on Friday night in Pojoaque.
Junior Quarterback Dylan Irish and Senior Runningback Jack Stewart led a ground game that confused and frustrated a young Pojoaque team. “I think I started getting a little bit better throughout the game, it’s just a whole new experience,” Irish said after the game. Irish converted from runningback to quarterback over the summer, which makes him a great candidate to run the option offense for Coach Garrett Williams.
“They started sending the house on us several times, so he got some pressure in his face. There was some specific things that he did that were really good, especially running our option offense.” Williams said about his Junior quarterback. “We got some things to work on, but he showed several things that he can do.”
The ‘Topper offense got off to a quick start lead by a 73-yard touchdown run by Senior Jack Stewart. At the end of the first quarter, Los Alamos would lead 16-0.
In the second quarter, both team’s offensive attacks stalled. The Elks led in time of possession, but mostly lost yardage on sacks and penalties. The ‘Topper offense could never gain traction and would either punt, or turn the ball over on downs. The score was 16-0 at the half.
The defensive intensity picked up in the second half. Stewart would intercept an errant pass by Pojoaque’s Sophomore quarterback Isaiah Rodriguez and return it for the score. ‘Topper Senior Defensive Lineman Arturo Rodriguez would also pick off an attempted pitch, taking it 34-yards to the house for the score.
“I just saw the ball kinda fumbling on his outside arm. I just went for it, next thing I knew I was just running down field,” Arturo Rodriguez said about his score.
Steward would add another long touchdown run of 34-yards to put the ‘Toppers up by 37 and start the running clock and finish with more than 115 rushing yards for the game.
Senior Reciever Wyatt Seager and Junior Receiver Cade Yost had pulled in acrobatic passes of over 30 yards each in the game.
Los Alamos finished the game with the 37-0 victory and more than 300 yards of total offense.
The ‘Toppers will take on Moriarty Sept. 2 in Los Alamos. The Pintos beat West Las Vegas, NM 33-19 to set up the showdown. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Runningback Jack Stewart turns the corner and looks up field for running room. Stewart managed to evade several tackle attempts and scored the first of his three touchdowns for the game. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Ryan Mcneil dodges tacklers for a nice gain. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com 
The Pojoaque runner finds himself surrounded by ‘Topper defense. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Cade Yost picks blockers as he makes his way down the field. Photo by John Mchale/ladailypost.com
Wyatt Seager catches a pass catch deep in Elks’ territory for a big gain. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Quarterback Dylan Irish takes the option to keep the ball in the fourth quarter. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Ryan Mcneil makes a shoe string tackle on a Pojoaque runner. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com