The Roy/Mosquero Longhorns had to come from 14 points down in the 6-Man Semifinal game on Friday night, November 3rd, and eventually scored the game winner with :01 left in the game to earn a dramatic come-from-behind 27 – 20 victory over the Grady Bronchos.
With the win, the Longhorns preserved their undefeated season and earned a berth in the NM State Football Championship on November 11.
The Longhorns were not used to playing from behind, and even though Grady lost a lopsided game at home early in the season to the Longhorns, they came to play and took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field scoring on a 13-yard run from Deakin Ragland and led 8-0 with 7:17 left in the first.
The Longhorns dug a deeper hole when on their first possession they fumbled and it was recovered by Chevy Dickson deep in Longhorn territory and then on a fourth and goal from the 4, Zane Rush found Alexander Ciancio on a flag pattern and after the extra point was missed, Grady led by 14 with 2:03 left in the first.
The second quarter saw Roy/Mq turn back Grady after they had earned a first and goal and took over on their own 17. It didn’t take long as Ayden Clavel found Freshman Brycen Barnes on a little flare pass and Barnes raced 63 yards for a score and the shift in momentum. After the Jackson Fudge PAT kick, it was 14 -8 with 4:51 left in the 2nd.
Grady answered with a long kickoff return by Ragland to give them a first and goal at the 14. But after four downs they could only gain 1 yard and Roy/MQ took over with just over 2 minutes left in the half. A long run by Clavel gave Roy the ball in Bronchos territory, but Rush interecepted a pass near the endzone to thwart the threat and Grady lead by 6 at the half.
The Longhorns received the second-half kickoff and were flagged for holding to bring up a 3rd and 17 from the 35, but Clavel floated a pass to a wide-open Hunter Scott. Scott, the only senior on the team, caught the ball right near the sidelines, and tried to walk the tightrope, but went out of bounds after gaining enough yardage to move the sticks. Barnes took the pitch from the 10-yard line and got a good kickout block from Jackson Fudge to tie the game at 14 all, but Fudge’s PAT kick was blocked so the score remained tied with 7:07 left in the third.
On the next possession for Grady, Zane Rush was injured absorbing a blow and looked to be out of the game when he stayed on the ground for several minutes. He got taped up though and returned in a couple of plays to punt the ball, which was partially blocked as Ayden Clavel pushed the blocker back into Rush’s path. In the next series for Roy/MQ they turned it over on downs as the third period wound down.
Grady had a couple of penalties and two dropped passes in their next series, and punted it away and Roy/Mq trying to drive also had the dropsies on two passes including a fourth and 1 to end the third period.
Tied at 14 going into the final period, neither team could mount a sustained drive until Roy scored with 2:36 left on an eight-yard play action pass to Jackson Fudge, to take the lead 20-14. The PAT kick went wide left and so it looked good for the Longhorns, but Grady would have something to say about it.
After an unsuccessful on-side kick attempt, they would take over on the 37 and on the legs and arm of Zane Rush they had a 2nd and goal from the 10. Rush was hemmed in by the Roy/MQ defense but stood tall with Ayden Clavel wrapped around his ankles and found Ciancio who made a one-handed stab for the tying score. Grady lined up for the PAT kick, but then called a time-out and came back on the field lined up for either a run or pass attempt. Rush pitched the ball left and ran interference, but Jackson Fudge gummed up the attempt to keep the game tied at 20 all.
The Longhorns had some last-minute dramatics of their own as they took over on their own 24-yard line with 1:06 left. Ayden Clavel, quickly found Ethan Hazen near the right sideline and he shook a tackle to take it to the Grady 28. A holding penalty was declined after a loss on the play. On a second and long, a completion to Fudge and another short completion to Fudge gave the Longhorns a fourth and four with 15 seconds left. Ayden Clavel scrambled out of bounds for a first and goal with 7.8 seconds left. Clavel again scrambled to the right and got a downfield block by Ethan Hazen for a TD with :01 left. Hazen also threw the PAT to Logan Martinez for a 27-20 lead.
An excessive celebration flag against Roy/MQ and another kickoff from the 15 yard line, but the time ran out.
Roy/Mosquero will host the 6-Man Championship Game against #1 seed Gateway Christian on Saturday, November 11 @ 1pm. Roy will be looking for their first championship in 25 years as their last trophy was hoisted in 1998.
