Haiden Jorgenson goes high for the pass from quarterback Kyle Evenhus and takes it in for a touchdown as Jacob Pino tries to break up the pass play. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Melaki Gutierrez stiff-arms a Spartan defender on his way to a touchdown in the 2nd quarter. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
By MIKE COTE
Sports
Los Alamos Daily Post
A wild game ended with a controversial call Saturday at Sullivan Field. The Los Alamos Hilltopper football team held on through a wild fourth quarter to win 35-34 over the Bernalillo Spartans.
That game was broadcast on the Los Alamos Daily Post’s YouTube channel.
Los Alamos led by 19 after dominating the third quarter, but Bernalillo came back to score three unanswered touchdowns to cut the lead to just one. Then, after a late turnover by Los Alamos, Bernalillo scored an apparent touchdown with less than a minute remaining.
Bernalillo running back David Llanez, who ran for more than 200 yards in the game, scored what appeared to be the go-ahead touchdown on a fake field goal – the Spartans had not attempted a placekick of any kind in the entire game.
One official signaled a touchdown on Llanez’s run, which set off a big celebration by the Spartans, but another official ruled that Llanez had stepped out of bounds at the 2-yard line. A penalty flag was thrown for excessive celebration following the play and Bernalillo was sent back to the 17-yard line, where its improbable comeback attempt sputtered out.
With the win, Los Alamos improved to 3-4 on the season heading into its open week. Los Alamos will start District 1-5A play at Manzano Oct. 14.
The game was back-and-forth in the first half, with the Hilltoppers holding a 21-16 lead, but the Hilltoppers scored twice in the third quarter.
Quarterback Kyle Evenhus, starting the game for the injured Zack Stidham, threw two long touchdown passes in the first half, one to Haiden Jorgenson and the other to Melaki Gutierrez. In the second half, Evenhus hit Teke Nieto out of the backfield and Nieto rumbled 70 yards for a touchdown, throwing a wicked stiff-arm on a Bernalillo defensive back trying to run him down.
Nieto had a huge game in the backfield for Los Alamos, rushing for 97 yards and finishing with 87 yards receiving. Evenhus had 247 yards passing.
Defensively, Jackson Blair had a pair of sacks against Bernalillo quarterback Uriel Castro. Castro threw three touchdown passes, two of them on perfectly executed go routes to Jacob Pino, both off well-executed pump-fakes, the second of which put the Spartans back within one score.
Los Alamos and Bernalillo (2-4) have a rivalry that dates back to 2009 when the Hilltoppers won 95-0 at Sullivan Field – a game that spurred the installation of the 50-point mercy rule in New Mexico high school football. The two teams have faced off in numerous heated contests since then.
Jackson Blair almost gets a sack on quarterback Uriel Castro, but he did sack Castro two other times in the game. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Teke Nieto breaks tackles on his way for a 70-yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Teke Nieto and Jehoran Quintana close in on David Llanez for a loss in the first quarter. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com