It was a disappointing homecoming for the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers.
M-CHS led Ignacio 12-11 at the break on Friday night at Panther Stadium. But the Bobcats shut down the Panthers offense in the second half and exploded for 26 points to run away with a 37-12 win.
The Bobcats got on the board first when M-CHS was attempting to punt pinned deep in its own territory and the snap sailed over Zeke Vargas’ head and into the end zone. Vargas recovered the ball, but couldn’t make it out of the end zone before he was swarmed by defenders and was tackled for a safety.
After punting the ball back to Ignacio, the Panthers answered.
As quarterback Zachary Weinreich dropped back to pass, M-CHS senior Tyler Case knocked the ball out of his hand. The loose ball was then scooped up by Cordell Baer, who cruised 68-yards for a touchdown to put the Panthers up 6-2.
Weinreich connected with Lawrence Valdez for consecutive pickups on the ensuing drive. But after setting up the Bobcats with a first and goal from the M-CHS 2-yard line, the Panthers defense held and forced a turnover on downs.
But then with the Panthers starting with their backs against their own end zone, the Ignacio defense sent the blitz and wound up with its second safety of the contest to produce a baseball-like score of 6-4.
The M-CHS offense put together its best drive of the game in the second quarter after Juan Arballo returned the ball to the home team with his second interception of the game.
Sophomore QB Ike Dennison hit Vargas twice in a row to move the Panthers down to the Ignacio 3-yard line. And then after losing three yards on a botched hand off, Dennison found Baer for a 6-yard touchdown to go up 12-4.
Later in the second quarter, after the two teams traded fumbles, Ignacio took possession with around two minutes left and went to its hurry-up offense. After passes to Kruz Pardo and Valdez moved the Bobcats to the Panthers 1-yard line, Weinreich found senior Timmy Plehinger for a touchdown.
M-CHS led 12-11 at the break, but the second half was all Ignacio.
The Bobcats jumped ahead early in the third on a 30-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Chapman, and then Dalton Labarthe picked off Dennison on the Panthers’ following drive as M-CHS tried to set up a slip screen.
Later in the third, Lorenzo Pena caught a quick pass in the backfield and zipped 47 yards for a score to put the visitors up 24-12.
The Bobcats would tack on two more scores for insurance.
First, Valdez burned the entire M-CHS secondary for a 55-yard touchdown reception. And then, Chapman picked Dennison and took it 55-yards to the house for the final score of the game, as Ignacio went on to win 37-12.
The Panthers forced five turnovers in the contest; Arballo had two interceptions, Baer had two fumble recoveries and Tanner Desrosiers added a fumble recovery.
But they gave it away just as many times. Dennison was picked four times and Lucas Monroe fell on a loose ball for the Bobcats.
M-CHS was playing without linebackers Micah Silversmith, who was out with an injury, and Coby Baer, who was forced to sit out a game after he was ejected in the Panthers’ game against Kirtland Central the week prior.
But M-CHS head coach Scott Conklin said that his team was just outplayed.
“We had lots of people in different positions,” he said. “We’re hurt, banged up and have a lot of people out. But they just out-played us.”
The Panthers have a bye next week, so they’ll work to get everyone back at full strength for their next game against Alamosa on Thursday, September 29.
