Area roundup: Tigers, Buffs stay perfect

There were some big wins and tough losses for the local teams this past weekend. Elida (4-0) and Melrose (3-0) stayed undefeated, while Texico moved back to .500 (2-2) with a home shutout of Capitan.

Thursday

Melrose 64, Magdalena 12

The Buffaloes’ quest for another state championship run completed phase three when they defeated Magdalena by 52 in Thursday night’s home opener.

Thus far, Melrose has defeated its three opponents — Dulce, Tatum and Magdalena — 160-18 this season. No further information was available at press time.

The Buffaloes will be back at it this Friday when they visit Mountainair. Game time is 6 p.m.

Friday

Texico 43, Capitan 0

The Wolverines’ climb back to .500 was a decisive one.

First-year head coach Bob Gilbreath picked up his second victory with a strong all-around performance by his team Friday night at Texico High School.

Among the Wolverines’ biggest standouts was a special teamer, Anders Nelson, who had a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown and totaled 122 return yards.

Gabe Dickerman passed for 150 yards and three touchdowns. And running back Zeke Soliz had two touchdowns — one rushing, one receiving — while ringing up 74 yards rushing and 55 receiving.

And then there was the defense that posted a shutout.

Overall, a good night for Texico.

“Yeah, it was,” Gilbreath said. “It was just a really good team effort. We didn’t have anyone who just loaded the stat column; we just had a pretty diverse group of kids as far as rushing yards and receiving yards and all-purpose yards. It was just a really good game all-around for the team.”

This coming Friday, Texico heads just across the state line to play Farwell (1-2). Game time is 6:30 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time.

Elida 57, Carrizozo 6

As the Tigers continue their steady slog toward what they hope is a state-championship run, they do so in impressive fashion.

With Friday’s 51-point annihilation of Carrizozo, Elida has outscored its four opponents 246-37. Yikes.

Of all the Elida highlights from Friday’s lopsided win, head coach Jereme Woodruff looked upfront first to find his biggest stars, noting offensive linemen Johny Woodruff, Wesley Poling and Logan Victor.

“Just because it didn’t matter who we gave the ball,” Coach Woodruff said, “those guys just blocked their ears off for him.”

Because of the 50-plus game, Elida only ran 23 offensive plays. The Tigers were able to move players into different positions, helping them become even more versatile.

And they were also able to play reserves, which helps the team’s already-strong depth.

“Overall our young guys got a lot of experience,” Coach Woodruff said. “We played, I think, a total of five freshmen, and they all performed exceptionally well.”

Among them was defensive back/running back Aiden Yates, whom Coach Woodruff estimates might reach five feet tall in cowboy boots. “By far the smallest guy on the field,” Coach Woodruff said.

Friday, though, Yates played like a seven-footer when he reached up and stripped the ball from a Carrizozo receiver.

Overall, a great day to be involved with Tiger football.

“I think we had one negative play on offense on all the plays we ran,” Coach Woodruff said. “We pretty much dominated the game from beginning to end.”

Hondo Valley 48, Floyd 8

It might be hard to fathom considering the final score, but Floyd actually led this one for quite a while.

The Broncos held an 8-7 advantage after the first quarter, and still led by that score at halftime.

The second half, though, brought a cold bucket of ice water, as Hondo Valley scored 13 unanswered points in the third quarter to go up 20-8, then added 28 more unanswered in the fourth to win by 40.

It won’t get any easier for the Broncos, who visit unbeaten Elida on Friday at 7 p.m.

Menaul 54, Dora 14

After Dora’s first scheduled opponent canceled its season, and the Coyotes had a bye for the following week, they finally played their opener this past Friday.

Unfortunately for Dora, it was a rough start, as Menaul jumped out 28-0 by the first quarter’s end before going on to a 40-point victory.

The Coyotes will try to lock down their first win this coming Friday when hosting Pine Hill at 7 p.m.

Olton 36, Farwell 26

Farwell was hoping to climb over .500 for the first time this season.

A win this past Friday at Olton would’ve done the trick, moving the Steers to 2-1 on the young season. Instead, it was 1-2 for Farwell with a 10-point loss.

The Steers will look for a return to .500 this Friday when they host cross-track rival Texico at 7:30 p.m. CDT.