Buffs jump on Foxes early in 50-0 triumph

MELROSE – At this rate, the upcoming 8-man football playoffs may look more like the Melrose Invitational.

Ranked No. 1 in the classification, Melrose had outscored its opponents 456-90 entering Friday's 8-man District 3 showdown against rival and second-ranked Fort Sumner. It was just more of the same, though, as the Buffaloes opened a 30-0 lead midway through the opening stanza and rolled to a 50-0 victory.

It was the seventh shutout of the season for the Buffs (9-1, 4-0 district), including 50-point mercy rules against seven of the other nine teams in the 8-man top 10.

Melrose – which lost to defending Colorado 8-man champion Mancos 58-28 and beat Dove Creek (Colo.) 42-26 in its second and fourth games – has allowed only one touchdown against its eight New Mexico foes, and 50-pointed all of them.

"They're a good team," Buffs senior linebacker Dathan Yeary said of the Foxes (5-2, 2-1. "But we came out ready to play. The rent was due today, and we paid it."

Fort Sumner squib-kicked to start the game, but the Buffs recovered at midfield. On the first play, senior Michael Cardonita took a short pass from junior quarterback Josh Roybal and weaved his way down the sideline to score.

After junior Landen Flores sacked Foxes QB Joaquin Segura for a fourth-down, 10-yard loss to the Fort Sumner 34, Yeary went over left tackle three plays later on a 14-yard TD run.

On the Foxes' next possession, Flores sacked Segura again, this time forcing a fumble that senior Gray Brandon brought back 33 yards to paydirt. Then Fort Sumner's next series ended in a punting situation, but the ball was snapped out of the end zone for a 22-0 lead.

On the ensuing free kick, sophomore Jaxon Odom returned it 62 yards for a TD and, with his 2PAT run, it became 30-0 with 5:56 left in the quarter.

"We didn't expect that," said Buffs coach Drew Hatley, whose team is seeking its first 8-man title since 2019. "They're a well-coached team, and they've got good players.

"Things happened early that helped us, but we've got a lot of respect for their team."

Roybal threw for three tallies to finish the scoring – a 62-yarder to Cardonita and a 19-yarder to Odom in the second quarter to make it 44-0 at halftime, and an 11-yard toss to junior Braydon Eldridge to end it with 4:41 left in the third frame.

The game had a running clock from the final six minutes of the half, when the lead surpassed 35 points.

"Every week he (Hatley) tells us it doesn't matter if you play the worst team in the world or if you're playing Texas Tech," Yeary said. "We were prepared for a four-quarter game tonight, but we just stayed humble and we were ready."

Pairings for the eight-team, 8-man playoffs are set to be announced on Sunday by the New Mexico Activities Association.

"I'm just proud of all of them," Hatley said of his squad. "Everybody did something that stood out tonight.

"They (players) should enjoy that one, but it's kind of the 24-hour rule. After that, we'll break down the film and see what we can improve on."

In other area football games on Friday night:

Texico 21, Jal 13 – At Jal, senior quarterback Cade Figg ran for a touchdown and threw for a pair of scores as the Wolverines, No. 1-ranked in Class 2A, beat the fourth-ranked and defending 2A champion Panthers in a rematch of last year's title game.

Figg connected with junior Alex Fuentes on a 10-yard TD pass and with sophomore Luke Thompson for 62 yards in the second quarter, each time giving the Wolverines (7-2, 1-1 District 4-2A) a one-point lead.

Figg then broke off a 55-yard TD run early in the third period, and Texico relied on its defense the rest of the way. Senior Blake Curtis went 3-for-3 on PAT kicks for the Wolverines.

Junior quarterback Nolbert Cervantes scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter for Jal (6-3, 1-2), and tossed a 9-yard scoring strike to senior wide receiver Ito Arroyo in the second frame.

Texico wraps up district and regular-season play at home on Friday night against Loving.

Grady 66, Hondo 12 – At Hondo, the Bronchos scored five of their nine touchdowns on defense and special teams and finished the regular campaign 7-2 with a non-district rout of the Eagles (1-6), ending at halftime on the 50-point rule. Grady will enter the 6-man playoffs this week on a five-game winning streak.

Junior Deakin Ragland scored four TDs for the Bronchos, on runs of 2 and 44 yards, a 20-yard pass from senior Zane Rush and a 60-yard punt return. Zane Rush and his younger brother, Hays, returned INTs 44 and 48 yards, respectively, for scores.

Also, freshmen Madden Flood and Konor King recovered Hondo fumbles in the Eagles' end zone, while freshman Caden Croy threw a 12-yard TD pass to eighth-grader Trell Foote. Meantime, senior Sergio Perez was 6-for-9 on 2-point conversion kicks.

Hale Center 38, Bovina 17 – Trailing by two, the Owls outscored Bovina 23-0 in the second half in a District 3-2A Division II matchup at Hale Center. The result leaves both squads at 2-6 (1-2 district).

Senior quarterback Daniel Herrera tallied on a pair of 11-yard runs and senior Miguel Lopez, whose20-yard field goal as time expired last week gave the Mustangs a 29-26 victory over Crosbyton, kicked a 24-yarder as Bovina led 17-15 at halftime.

Junior quarterback Aiden Baldridge ran for touchdowns of 50 and 21 yards and tossed scoring passes of 45 yards to junior Jessie Castillo and senior Aiden Berumen for the Owls. Baldridge also threw for three 2-point conversions.

Bovina will be at home on Friday for a district matchup against Sudan.

In other area action on Friday night, top-ranked Gateway Christian (8-0, 5-0 6-man District 2) handed Dora (3-6, 1-4) a 56-6 setback at Roswell and host Animas (2-5) posted a 43-38 non-district 6-man victory over Elida (5-4). In games played at Amarillo, Farwell (6-2, 2-1 District 1-2A Division I) bounced Highland Park 56-32 while Muleshoe (7-1, 1-1 District 2-3A Division I) cruised to a 48-6 triumph over River Road (1-8, 0-1).

More information on these games will appear in Wednesday's paper.