close
close

Navajo Prep keeps district title hopes alive: Eagles upend McCurdy, 34-14

Posted on by Larry
Navajo Prep keeps district title hopes alive: Eagles upend McCurdy, 34-14

By Lee Begaye
Specially for Time

ESPAÑOLA, NM – The District 1-2A football title is still up for grabs after the Navajo Prep Eagles defeated the McCurdy Bobcats Saturday afternoon at SunDevil Stadium in Española Valley.

The two teams took the field for a hard-fought match that started off as a nail-biter, but Navajo Prep (6-2, 3-1) took full control by scoring 20 unanswered points in the second half, leading to a 34- 14 win on the second half. Bobcats, who fell to 6-3 overall and 3-1 in district play.

Entering the final week of the regular season, three teams sit atop the district standings, with Cuba, Navajo Prep and McCurdy having identical records.

On Friday, Navajo Prep will host Newcomb for the final game of the regular season, while McCurdy travels to Hózhó Academy on Saturday at 1 p.m. Cuba is also at Laguna Acoma on Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.

The first quarter of last Saturday’s game started with fireworks as McCurdy struck first, lighting up the scoreboard with a 48-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jeremaya Roybal to junior running back Marius Sanchez, putting them up 8-0 after a successful 2-0. point conversion.

Navajo Prep’s offense responded quickly as senior quarterback Xavier Nez found freshman wide receiver Gracin Vigil on a 10-yard pass over two defenders for a touchdown as the Eagles trailed 8-6 after the failed 2-point conversion.

On the next drive, McCurdy answered back and Roybal broke through for a 62-yard touchdown, extending McCurdy’s lead to 14-6.

As the clock ticked down on the opening quarter, Navajo Prep found the end zone again. Nez, in sync with his receivers, launched a 16-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver LeVaughn Jim. Nez not only scored the crucial touchdown, but he also kept the ball for a two-point conversion, tying the game at 14-14 near the end of the first quarter.

With neither team scoring in the next period, the score remained 14-14 at halftime.

When the two teams returned to the field in the third quarter, Navajo Prep’s offense picked up where it left off as the Eagles closed out the game by scoring three touchdowns while shutting down McCurdy.

Running back Nehemiah Simpson took the spotlight, rushing up the middle on a delayed handoff, as he remained relatively untouched until crossing the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown run that gave Navajo Prep its first lead of the day at 20-14 .

Although the point-after attempt failed, the momentum clearly shifted in Navajo Prep’s favor after the Eagles recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. The ball was initially played on the 25-yard line when Sánchez picked up the ball. He ran it to the 37-yard line before coughing up the ball as Navajo Prep’s Ivan John recovered the ball.

Nez took advantage of the turnover and scrambled his way to a three-yard rushing touchdown on a quarterback keeper. He then ran the ball for another two-point conversion, extending the lead to 28-14.

On the next kickoff, Navajo Prep executed a perfectly placed onside kick that McCurdy was unable to recover, allowing Navajo Prep to march downfield again, with Simpson scoring from nine yards out to make it 34-14 with 3:40 to go in the third.

In the fourth, Navajo Prep’s defense continued to thwart McCurdy’s efforts. Simpson recovered another McCurdy fumble, squashing any hopes of a comeback. Both teams traded possessions in the closing minutes, and McCurdy’s offense couldn’t break through Navajo Prep’s defense.

“Our special teams came away with two turnovers, which really helped us in this win,” said Navajo Prep coach Roderick Denetso. “We also went from playing in a snowstorm to playing in the heat last week, which allowed us to pass the ball freely again.”

Looking ahead, Denetso said they will have their hands full against the Skyhawks.

“We have to clean up some of the little things we saw today and get ready for Newcomb,” the Navajo Prep coach said. “I hate big wins like that because we can get too confident, and Newcomb is a good team not to prepare for.

“So we are now celebrating this win and starting to prepare for Newcomb,” he added. “And we’ll see what happens with the McCurdy and Cuba games as well.”