The Topper Varsity Football Team is led onto Sullivan Field Friday evening by Tyler Weiss carrying the Topper Banner to play the Pojoaque Elks. The game was all Toppers who shut out the running game for the Elks, so they went to a passing game almost exclusively, which was effective against the Toppers. In spite of the score, it was a very exciting game with both sides showing moments of glory. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Liam Harper makes an over the shoulder at full stride catch from Tyler Weiss that went for the second touchdown. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Jose Salazar goes high to make the catch deep in Elk territory, which led to the third touchdown in front of the coverage by Anthony Chaves. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Los Alamos High School quarterback Tyler Weiss connected on two big pass plays in the first half to give the Hilltoppers a 21-6 lead at halftime over the pesky Pojoaque  Valley High School Elks.

Pojoaque was proving to be a tough opponent. Los Alamos’ quick-strike capability was able to put points on the scoreboard quickly to offset the tough play in the trenches.

Penalties and turnover plagued Pojoaque in the second half and the Hilltoppers were able to pull away. Los Alamos led 37-6 at the end of the third quarter and added another touchdown in the fourth quarter to take a 44-6 lead. Pojoaque was able to score again in the game’ final three minutes. Los Alamos took a 44-13 victory.

The Hilltoppers wasted no time putting up the game’s first touchdown. After taking the opening kickoff, Weiss dropped back to pass and fired downfield to wide receiver Jose Salazar. The ball dropped into Salazar’s hands between two defenders for a 52-yard gain. Fullback Matt Archuleta ran for a first down at Pojoaque’s nine-yard line. Caden Thornton carried the ball down to the one-yard line. On the fourth play of the game, Archuleta bulled his way into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown. Alex Chavez booted the extra point and Los Alamos was led 7-0 in the first quarter.

The Hilltoppers were knocking on the door again on their next drive. Los Alamos drove inside Pojoaque’s 10-yard line. The Elks dodged that bullet by recovering a Weiss fumble at the six-yard line. From there, Pojoaque used the arm and the legs of quarterback Devonn Leyba-Holmes to steadily move the ball downfield. Pojoaque was at Los Alamos’ 45-yard line when Leyba-Holmes dropped back to pass. He threw deep down the left sideline, where receiver Anthony Meloy-Chavez gathered the ball in and ran into the end zone for a touchdown. Pojoaque had driven 94 yards for the score.  

In the second quarter, Pojoaque took over at Los Alamos’ 45-yard line after tackling Weiss for a big loss after a bad snap from center. The Los Alamos defense was able to hold the elks on downs and the Hilltoppers took over at their own 37-yard line. A penalty moved the Hilltoppers back to their 28-yard line. Weiss dropped back to pass, getting time to spot receiver Liam Harper running open behind the defense, he heaved a long pass that Harper caught in stride and he raced to the end zone to complete a 72-yard scoring play. The extra point made the score 14-6 at 10:07 of the second quarter.

Los Alamos got the ball back at midfield following an interception by Salazar, but Pojoaque was able to hold on downs and took over at their 42-yard line. A long pass by Leyba-Holmes to Jacob Sullivan moved the ball down to Los Alamos’ nine-yard line and the Elks were threatening to score. After two incomplete passes, Leyba-Holmes scrambled down to the six-yard line. On fourth down, a pass fell incomplete, but a penalty on Los Alamos gave Pojoaque one more shot. Another pass also fell incomplete and Los Alamos was able to hold and took over on downs.

A big run up the middle by Archuleta got the Hilltoppers out from under the shadow of their own goalpost. Weiss then scrambled for a big gain and a personal foul on Pojoaque for throwing Weiss to the ground after he was clearly out of bounds added 15 more yards.

With time running out in the first half, Weiss dropped back to pass and spotted Salazar open on a crossing route over the middle. Salazar gathered the ball in and ran to the end zone as time expired in the first half. Chavez booted the extra point and Los Alamos led 21-6 at halftime.

The Elks were snake-bitten in the third quarter, making mistake after mistake. The first came on the second-half kickoff, which Pojoaque’s Andres Sandoval appeared to run back for a touchdown. However, a needless illegal-block penalty negated the score.

On the Elks’ next possession, Los Alamos blocked a Pojoaque punt and took over at midfield. After a pass from Weiss to Archuleta and a run by Archuleta moved the ball to Pojoaque’s 24-yard line, Ryan Schwartzkopf took a handoff and darted through the middle of the Pojoaque defense for a touchdown. Los Alamos now led 28-6 at 7:09 of the third quarter.

The Elks mishandled the ensuing kickoff and Sandoval was tackled back at Pojoaque’s three-yard line. Leyba-holes then threw an interception to Los Alamos’ Jakob Green at the 11-yard line. Three plays later, Archuleta ran for his second touchdown and the extra point made the 35-6 at 6:09 of the third quarter.

Los Alamos was now just pinning their ears back and rushing Leyba-Holmes relentlessly, throwing him for big losses. Backed up to inside their own 10-yard line, the Elks couldn’t stop the Hilltoppers pass rush. Leyba-Holmes dropped back into his own end zone and was about to be tackled when he flung a desperation pass. He was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, which resulted in a safety and two points for Los Alamos, giving the Hilltoppers a 37-6 lead.

Following the free kick to the Hilltoppers after the safety, Los Alamos drove for the game’s final touchdown. James Rodriguez ground out yardage and ran time off the clock, carrying the ball four straight times  into the interior of the line, then caught a pass for another first down. From the 25-yard line, Green dashed around the left side for the touchdown. Chavez’s sixth extra point mad the score 44-6 with 6:37 left in the game.

Despite the score, the Elks showed they still had some fight left in them. Pojoaque dove for the game’s final touchdown with 2:43 left in the game. Leyba-Holmes scrambled 19 yards for the touchdown and Brandon Herrera booted the extra point to make the score 44-13 and that was the final score.

The Hilltoppers offense has shown the ability to put points on the board so far this season. Coach Garret Williams still feels that Los Alamos is leaving points on the field but is excited about his offense.

“These kids are young,” Williams said. “They’re fast and they play hard. They’re fun to watch. This year we have a lot more speed and depth at the skill positions.”

The Hilltoppers improved to 2-1 on the season. Los Alamos travels to Bloomfield High School Saturday at Bloomfield. Last year, the Hilltoppers knocked off the Bobcats 28-20 in Los Alamos. Bloomfield ended up playing in the Class 4A state championship game, losing to Taos 14-7. The Hilltoppers may have to put lots of points on the board, as Bloomfield is 3-0 and averaging 57 points a game. The Bobcats, however, have yet to play a Class 4A opponent.

Tyler Weiss eludes tacklers for extra yards in Topper territory. Weiss had another outstanding night with runs for good yardage and threw for three touchdowns. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

The Topper Marching Band was on hand to perform at half time and presented another version of its Black Orpheus show. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Quarterback Devonn Holmes did an outstanding job of running the passing game for the Elks but was caught in the backfield by from left, Aiden Johnson, Dimitri Bullock and Alex Chaves. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Matthew Archuleta finds a big hole and runs in for the fifth touchdown. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Jacob Green catching a pass from Tyler Weiss beat the coverage and eluded two tacklers to score the 6th and final touchdown. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com