At Colt Field on the New Mexico Military Institute campus on Saturday, the fifth-seeded Colts galloped over the No. 12 Wingate Bears, 48-7, to win their first round match-up in the NMAA Football Class 3A State Playoffs.
The Colts put up 21 unanswered points in the first quarter, beginning with a 74-yard touchdown rush by Miguel Garcia on their first play from the line of scrimmage.
NMMI quickly got the ball back when Grant Maloney forced a Wingate fumble with a quarterback sack, which Brendan Mann recovered at the Bears’ 38 yard line.
Konstantino Scopelitis scored on the next play on a 38-yard option pitch.
NMMI’s final touchdown of the period was set up by another Bear turnover; Caden Cater picked off a Wingate pass to give the Colts a first-and-ten on the Bear 48 yard line.
Colt quarterback Luke Tomasits got the score this time, rushing in on an option keeper from seven yards out, capping a six play drive.
Wingate’s lone score of the game was also set up by a turnover, with the Bears recovering a loose ball on the NMMI 31 after a QB sack. After a 15-yard face mask penalty, Wingate QB LeDanion Begay hit Riley Morgan on a 10-yard out route; a good downfield block allowed Morgan take the ball the rest of the way into the corner of the end zone.
The Colts answered with a pair of TDs before the end of the half to make it 34-7 before heading into the locker rooms. Garcia got the first, a six-yard plunge completing a four-play 33 yard drive with 8:50 left in he second; Diego Del Rincon got the second, a 19-yard rush at the 1:50 mark.
NMMI posted two more TDs before the third period expired, forcing a running clock for the rest of the game which caused the fourth quarter to go by very quickly.
Garcia got his third score of the game, a 36-yard rush, with 6:21 left in the third; Del Rincon got his second TD with a 22-yard rush with 3:06 remaining, also in the third, to close out the points column.
“I thought we played well on all ends of the field,” said NMMI head coach John O’Mera. “The neat thing is, we got a lot of guys some playing time. We were able to play the third and fourth quarter with some of our guys who really work hard every day and just don’t get the opportunity.”
One of those players coach was talking about was Teahan Calvert who picked up 12 yards on four carries. Garcia finished as the rushing leader for the Colts with 177 yards (and those three aforementioned TDs) on 11 carries; Del Rincon had 75 yards (and two TDs) on seven attempts; and Scopelitis had 64 yards and one TD on three rushes.
On the defensive side, Maloney led NMMI in tackles (7), sacks (3 for 20 yards), TFLs (3.5 for 22 yards) and forced fumbles (2). He also tied with Micah Grado with two pass break-ups.
“The defense played well against a team with a very mobile quarterback and Garcia had another great game rushing,” said O’Mera, simply. “The defensive line did a great job of getting to the quarterback and either getting him down or keeping him contained.”
With the win, next up for the Colts in the quarterfinals will be fourth-seeded Pojoaque Valley at 6:00 pm MST on Friday, Nov. 14 in Santa Fe, NM.
“Now we’ve got to buckle it up and go after Pojoaque, a very good football team,” finished O’Mera. “They are well-coached with a very good quarterback, excellent receivers and fast running backs.”