Buffs back on top

MELROSE — Suffice it to say, Tristan Sena had a full night in his final football game at Melrose High School.

To say he was a stat-stuffer may be a bit of an understatement. Sena scored six touchdowns — in four different ways — and threw for another while intercepting two passes as Melrose captured its fifth 8-man state championship in six years with a 56-44 victory over Tatum on Friday night.

The third-seeded Buffaloes (11-1), outplayed for much of the first half, turned the tables after the break. Led by Sena, they held the top-seeded and defending champion Coyotes (10-2) to just two first downs, 95 total yards and six points after trailing 38-26 at the half.

“We’ll never stop relying on him,” Buffs coach Caleb King said of Sena. “He’s too good of a player.”

The game was the rubber match between district rivals, each of whom had won on the other’s field during the regular season.

After Tatum sophomore Hayden Mullins stunned the Buffs with an 82-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff, Sena helped Melrose change the momentum. A turnover had the Coyotes in scoring position, but Sena intercepted a pass by senior quarterback Sebastian Jimenez and returned it 85 yards for a score, tying the game 8-8.

“I think it was a miscommunication between their quarterback and the receiver,” said Sena, who has been a part of four Melrose titles since his eighth-grade year. “I just read it and went with my instincts.”

IHe also rushed for two scores, caught a TD pass and returned a punt 85 yards to the house in addition to his TD toss.

Sena finished with 186 yards rushing on 29 carries, including 160 yards on the ground in the second half.

“We had a lot of emotion to start the game,” Tatum coach Gary Richardson said. “They just took it to us in the second half. I think we ran out of gas, and we didn’t have an answer for them.”

Tatum appeared to be in control after a 30-point second quarter in which the smallish but strong-armed Jimenez threw for three touchdowns. The Coyotes scored twice in the final minute of the half to erase a two-point deficit.

“We switched (junior) Devon Bailey to (pass) coverage,” King said of second-half adjustments. “We knew we could handle them inside. We just had to keep them from (being able to) throw over the top.

“The biggest thing (at halftime) is we had to keep things positive.”

The game was still in doubt after Jimenez found senior Kaden Rodriguez on a 60-yard scoring play with 6:46 left, making it 50-44. Sena, though, countered on the first play after the kickoff, keeping the ball over right tackle and breaking off a 55-yard insurance TD.

“I’m just so proud of this team,” Sena said. “They played amazing. We’ll be talking about this one for years to come.”

Senior Jake Pierce helped keep the Coyotes at bay with back-to-back sacks of Jimenez, forcing Tatum to give up the ball on downs with just over five minutes to go.

“It goes to the coaches for calling the right blitz,” Pierce said of the sacks. “Our coaches are amazing.

“At that point, I thought deep down we were going to pull it off.”

Eighth-grader Michael Cardonita, who shared time at QB with Sena, completed 4-of-6 passes for 156 yards and three TDs while adding 88 yards rushing. Juniors Tate Sorgen and Devon Bailey also caught touchdown passes for Melrose.

“I think it says a lot about our program,” Sena said. “We’ve got the best coaches in the state. We just do the best we can because we love our coaches and we couldn’t be more blessed than to have them at our school.”

The teams went back and forth for most of the first half, with four lead changes.

“I think it was just jitters (at the start),” Pierce said. “We didn’t wrap up (against Mullins) on that first kickoff. We said, ‘In the second half of the game, we have to be more consistent,’ and we took it.”

Jimenez finished with 275 yards through the air, while Rodriguez caught five passes for 101 yards and three TDs, including a halfback pass late in the half from senior Scott Alexander.

“We’ve been a strong second-half team all year,” Richardson said. “We were ready to play; we played with a lot of adrenaline, but I think we ran out of gas.

“We’ve got a good bunch coming up. I think these teams may see each other (in the postseason) again next year.”