It was a game featuring few surprises, other than three of IHS Field's four banks of lights going out before the second-half kickoff. So what was even more amazing than the Bobcats trying a halfback-option pass, given the fact they hadn't completed one in response to several enemy scores, was the fact that it almost worked.
It nearly provided Ignacio with about the only offensive highlight possible last Friday night against a veteran John Mall squad hell-bent on crashing the Bobcats' Homecoming Week 2015.
Already trailing the Panthers 46-0 in the third quarter, freshman Lawrence Valdez took a first-down handoff right, stopped and let fly a near-perfect pass that just outran intended target Rain Rosa, trying to deny the guests a shutout.
Three plays later, unfortunately, freshman quarterback Isaiah Jacket-inserted in place of senior starter Zach Weinreich after halftime-was intercepted by JMHS junior Santos Reyna. Five plays and an Ignacio penalty later, John Mall's four-yard push with 10:45 left in the fourth, and a two-point conversion run, increased the invaders' advantage to 54-0.
And still, John Mall wasn't through; senior Garrett Quintana then fell on a botched first-down pitch to Valdez at the IHS 17-yard line on the Bobcats' next play, and Vigil plowed in from a yard three snaps later for the blowout's final six points. Incredibly, when he crossed the goal line there was still 5:20 remaining.
"Oh man, it means a lot," Panther Evan Gonzales said of avenging last year's Homecoming loss to IHS in Walsenburg. "Coming back this year and getting stuff done.it feels good. Feels real good."
The Panthers were relentless with nine touchdowns in 11 total possessions.
"We just didn't do our jobs," Bobcat senior back Tyler Beebe said afterwards.
Junior Lorenzo Pe単a's fumble recovery at the JMHS 27 with 5:06 left in the first quarter, and junior Ethan Appenzeller's pick of John Mall senior Destry Crockett with 7:09 were highlights for the Bobcats. Junior Timmy Plehinger also tried keeping the score down by deflecting at least three of the Panthers' four point-after kicks.
"They're way bigger than us, but we gave it our all," said Pe単a (5-34 rushing), who also snuffed out a two-point pass but who punted five times as Ignacio dipped to 0-5, 0-1 in the 1A Southern Peaks league. "It was pretty tough."
"We executed well; I've got to give credit to our o-line," Crockett said, "because without them we couldn't have run the ball as well as we did. And our running backs did what they needed to do after that!"
"And I think it's really going to send a statement," he continued, "to other teams that we're here to play, looking to win the league."
Starting with an eight-yard Crockett keeper and 8:58 left in the first quarter, the Panthers (3-2, 1-0) took an 18-0 lead into the second, and built it up to 38-0 at half on a one-yard Crockett carry with only 20 seconds left in the quarter after senior Tanner Ragan fell upon a blocked Pe単a punt at the Bobcat 18 just 44 seconds earlier.
Up next, IHS hosts fifth-ranked Monte Vista at 7 p.m. Friday, with the Pirates coming in 4-1, 1-0 after blanking Center (3-2, 0-1) 36-0 last week.
"We've just got to keep on pushing," Pe単a said. "Our team.they're good, just learning right now. We'll just at practice go 110 percent, and do our all. That's all we can do."
