Española Valley’s Ezekial Cuevas, above left, is taken down by Capital’s Angel Gonzalez after a short run in the first half of Thursday’s game in Española. The Sundevils beat the Jaguars 13-6 in a game that was scoreless until the fourth quarter.
Española Valley’s Ezekial Cuevas, No. 44, strips the ball from Capital’s Fabian Maestas on a carry in the first half of Thursday’s game in Española. The Sundevils won 13-6.
Española Valley's Ezekial Cuevas, left, grabs Capital running back Alan Mourning on a carry in the first half of their game Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Espanola.
Capital's Angel Gonzalez, center, celebrates with teammates after intercepting a pass intended for Española Valley's Carter Wilder during a game Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Espanola.
Española Valley’s Ezekial Cuevas, above left, is taken down by Capital’s Angel Gonzalez after a short run in the first half of Thursday’s game in Española. The Sundevils beat the Jaguars 13-6 in a game that was scoreless until the fourth quarter.
ESPAÑOLA — It’s still taking some getting used to, but the idea of successful football being a thing at Española Valley High School is almost … normal.
Thursday’s 13-6 win over visiting Capital means the Sundevils (3-0) have walked off the field winners in 11 of their last 13 games dating to last season. They’ve climbed to No. 4 in the latest coaches poll for Class 4A and have started to garner respect for their bruising style of play on both sides of the ball.
Sundevils coach Tylon Wilder said they team hasn’t quite arrived yet.
“We still have a lot of work to do because I’m not that guy that’s going to say, ‘Yeah we’re here, we’re the best.’ We’re not, man,” Wilder said.
Thursday’s nondistrict win was hardly a thing of beauty. The game was scoreless going into the fourth quarter and featured a handful of mistakes from both teams. Capital showed it’s not great at running the ball while Española proved the forward pass is not part of its offensive arsenal.
Regardless, it was vintage Española in terms of pace, tempo and the physical nature up front. The Sundevils dominated time of possession and came within a single trick play from Capital’s offense to recording a shutout.
Española Valley’s Ezekial Cuevas, No. 44, strips the ball from Capital’s Fabian Maestas on a carry in the first half of Thursday’s game in Española. The Sundevils won 13-6.
Blanked in its first two games against Santa Fe High and St. Michael’s, the Jaguars (0-3) scored for the first time all season on a 70-yard pass play that started when backup quarterback Ace Bachicha threw a lateral pass toward the sideline to receiver Eli Dominguez, who then turned and launched a pass downfield to a wide-open Raymond Salazar.
Salazar did the rest, running the final 55 yards by himself for a touchdown that came just 10 seconds after Española snapped a scoreless tie with a methodical drive that burned nearly 11 minutes off the clock despite covering only 56 yards.
“An 11-minute drive, every coach wants that,” said Wilder. “That’s what we’re designed to do. You know, the whole three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust thing, our offensive line, that’s what we do. The kids weren’t really sure about it at the start of the year but they believe in it now. It’s who we are.”
Capital’s touchdown cut the Sundevils lead to 7-6, but some confusion on the field forced the Jaguars to use a timeout prior to the point-after attempt. More confusion in the pre-snap alignment after the timeout led to a broken play on a haphazard run attempt that would have given Capital the lead.
“Yeah, that one hurt,” said Jaguars coach John Michael Salazar. “We had the perfect call and we didn’t get the personnel we needed in there.”
Salazar said he’d drawn up a passing play on the conversion attempt, but when the Jaguars broke the huddle their quarterback was still on the sidelines because he thought they were going to try a potential game-tying kick.
That gaffe led to another long Española drive, this one covering 80 yards over six-plus minutes. It ended with Sundevils quarterback Irvin Primero sneaking the ball across on a 1-yard dive up the middle with 4:34 left.
Capital's Angel Gonzalez, center, celebrates with teammates after intercepting a pass intended for Española Valley's Carter Wilder during a game Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Espanola.
Primero attempted only one pass the entire game and had it intercepted. He actually had a second pass picked off, but that one was nullified by a Capital penalty.
Everything the Sundevils did was on the ground, name through the efforts of running backs Dylan Sandoval and Ezekial Cuevas. Cuevas scored the game’s first touchdown on a 5-yard run, finishing the game with 109 yards.
Sandoval had 55 yards. Of those, 47 came in the second half, and of those a handful came on that aforementioned 11-minute drive that ended the stalemate.
“We’re all in this for each other,” Sandoval after being awarded the game ball by Wilder. “This one, this was a dogfight. We came into this game wanting to show that we could play up to that team’s [Capital’s] level, that we can play with anyone. They’re a tough, good team. They got after it, so winning this one says a lot about us, I think.”
A 5A program that came into the season with the expectation of making a playoff push, Capital has been hit hard by injuries all season but its expected to get starting quarterback Deaven Montano back in time for next week’s district opener against Del Norte.
“We’ve had some things to deal with but this game, we can take some positives away from it,” Salazar said. “We’re just a few plays away.”
Española Valley's Ezekial Cuevas, left, grabs Capital running back Alan Mourning on a carry in the first half of their game Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Espanola.
