Bloomfield repeats as 4A state champs

ALBUQUERQUE

The Bloomfield football team may have cemented its status as a dynastic program.

On Saturday, the top-seeded Bobcats (12-1) claimed its second consecutive 4A state crown with a 58-27 win over No. 2 St. Pius X Sartans (10-2) in a rematch in last year’s title game at the Nusenda Community Stadium in Albuquerque.

The latest crown is the program’s fourth as Bloomfield has claimed three of the previous four state titles at the 4A level. With that, they have earned plenty of respect statewide.
“We are starting to talk those words now,” Bloomfield coach Mike Kovacs said. “We didn’t last year, and after this one I said to the guys that we are on the verge of being one of those teams, you know, of being a dynasty.”

Kovacs says being a dynasty “is equivalent of you continuing to be at your best” regardless of the wins and losses.

“There has to be that respect out there for the teams that come face you and I think we’ve earned that,” he said.

The back-to-back state crowns was the first in Bloomfield’s history as that created plenty of buzz following the Bobcats 31-point win.

“The win today is not only the back-to-back championships, but it’s the completion of the season, the completion of the belief that these seniors had,” Kovacs said. “They wanted to go out with their own bang, and I thought they did.”

And although the Bobcats won this contest by at least four touchdown scores, the game was a lot closer than the final score indicated. Nonetheless, the momentum swing seemed to favor the Bobcats more than St. Pius X as Bloomfield had a couple of key scoring spurts during the three-hour contest.

Senior quarterback Manuel “Peanut” Chavarria had a big hand in that as he finished out his prep career with 433 total yards and seven touchdowns. Chavarria completed 11-of-20 passes for 324 yards for five TDs and he rushed for 109 yards and two TD scores.

“It’s our first back-to-back state titles and it feels amazing,” Chavarria said. “We didn’t want to do it for ourselves, we wanted to do it for our town. We have more fans than the home team, which is saying something. Being able to do for them and our town, and just making history is just the greatest feeling ever.”

The Bloomfield QB attributed his gaudy numbers to his offensive line. They gave him plenty of time to find his receivers as he hit senior Deasyl Priddy for three TD receptions and one each to Kaleb Hutchens and Peyton Duncan.

“Our line is the best line in the state, and they proved it today,” Chavarria said.

Senior Dean Litsuie plays on that O-line as the left tackle. Like Chavarria, the Diné player wanted to cap his prep playing career on a high note.

“It’s my last game and I wanted us to win back-to-back,” Litsuie said. “It’s feels good, and it feels nice that we were able to do that. Winning this is making me cry because I’m gonna miss my friends and I’m gonna miss my brothers.”

Saturday’s championship game got off to a rousing start as the two teams scored three TDs in the game’s first 93 seconds.

Duncan got the Bobcats going as he went untouched for an 85-yard score as Bloomfield took a 7-0 lead after the PAT with 11:36 showing on the clock.

“That hole opened up and that hole was created by my wide receivers,” Duncan said of Gavin Pecotte and Kaleb Hutchens. “I just saw open grass and I just knew that I had to turn on the jets.”

After his score, St. Pius X responded with a touchdown of their own with junior halfback Hershul Olloway Jr., scoring from 65 yards out. With that TD, the Sartans tied the contest at 7-all after the PAT with 11:18 left.

In the Bobcats’ next series, Chavarria hooked up with Hutchens for a 56-yard TD as Bloomfield took a 14-7 advantage with 10:27 left in the opening quarter.

With both teams’ defense settling in, the two clubs exchanged a series of punts and turnovers for the rest of the first stanza. Still, the Sartans were looking to tie the contest early in the second.

Nevertheless, they had a promising drive stall at Bloomfield’s 22-yard line as the Bobcats went the other way and completed a 78-yard scoring drive.

In that drive, senior running back Cole Gosnell carried the ball two times for 43 yards, which set them up at the Sartan’s 25-yard line. Three plays later, Chavarria scored from 16 yards out for a 20-7 advantage with 9:26 left in the second.

The Kovacs-coached team tacked on two more scores from Priddy to cap the second half. After a short St. Pius X punt, Priddy ran in the final 16 yards to complete a 49-yard scoring drive for a 28-7 cushion.

With time running out, the Bobcats went 75 yards as Priddy caught a spectacular 41-yard reception with five seconds left for a 36-7 halftime lead.

“The momentum was crazy, we were up (29) points, and we couldn’t have asked for a better half,” Duncan said. “They were fighting, though, and I’ll give St. Pius props. They’re just dogs all the way around and they didn’t give up. They kept fighting until the end.”

Despite trailing, St. Pius X flipped the script at the start of the second half. Sartan quarterback Isaiah Carpenter got their rally going with a pair of passes to junior wide receiver Cayl Cox-Liggins.

The duo connected with a 38-yard reception that set them up at their own 44-yard line. Two plays later they moved the chains for 46 yards that put them at Bloomfield’s 10-yard line. Carpenter then ran in the final 10 yards that cut Bloomfield’s lead down to 36-13 with 9:40 left.

Carpenter spearheaded another scoring drive for the Sartans as St. Pius X covered 77 yards with the QB running in a 13-yard TD run. After the successful two-point conversion, the Albuquerque private school closed within 36-21 with 5:39 left.

“After we got that late touchdown before the half, we tried to tell them to don’t let down,” Kovacs said of his team. “We knew St. Pius can be a very dangerous team and they can come back on you. You saw that in three possessions where they scored in two.”

The Sartans were on the verge of drawing closer when they reached Bloomfield’s 26-yard line with just under four minutes left. A 15-yard penalty, however, stripped those plans as Bloomfield took over at their own 35-yard line. The Bobcats then ran nine running plays which was capped by a 10-yard TD run by Chavarria as Bloomfield took a 43-21 lead.

With 11:11 left in the fourth, Carpenter hit junior wide receiver Curtis Flake III for a 31-yard TD reception to get within 43-27. That was as close as they would get as Bloomfield scored the game’s final 15 points.

“We knew they were gonna get some plays on us,” Chavarria said. “They’re St. Pius and they’re very explosive. They got great players and a shout out to them. But we’re just the better team all the way around and it showed today. We told each other don’t break and we didn’t break.”

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