Freshman’s late heroics lift Newcomb to first win

By Lee Begaye
Special to the Times

NEWCOMB, N.M.

Newcomb freshman Josiah Nunez spent much of the game lined up at defensive end, holding his own in the trenches.

But it was his final snap that defined the night. Nunez, playing bigger than his frame, chased down Santa Fe Indian quarterback Jacoby Mendoza on the last play of the game, forcing a fumble at the sideline to seal a 14-12 victory and deliver the Skyhawks their first win of the season.

“That last play, that was a freshman — a 130-pound freshman — who told the coaches he was going to make the play,” Skyhawks head coach Vincent Lee said. “And he made the play.”

The dramatic finish capped a back-and-forth contest that began with early fireworks but turned into a defensive struggle. Senior running back Landon Noble gave Newcomb the perfect start, taking a direct snap on the opening drive and charging into the end zone.

Santa Fe Indian responded quickly. On a 1st-and-20 from the Newcomb 23, Mendoza dropped back and hit senior wide receiver Jared Velasquez in stride for the tying score, threading the pass between two defenders. From there, both offenses stalled, and the game went into halftime knotted at 6-6.

The Braves broke through in the third quarter. After both teams exchanged fumbles, Mendoza rolled out and again connected with Velasquez, this time on a four-minute drive that gave Santa Fe Indian a 12-6 advantage heading into the fourth.

With time slipping away, Newcomb leaned on its defense. Sophomore Ryden Nelson intercepted a pass and returned it deep into Santa Fe territory, setting up the Skyhawks at the Braves’ 29. Once again, it was Noble who carried the load. With 2:35 remaining, he powered into the end zone to tie the game at 12, then stretched the ball across the goal line on the conversion to give Newcomb a 14-12 lead.

Santa Fe Indian wasn’t finished. Using all three of its timeouts, the Braves mounted a two-minute drill and benefitted from a late pass interference call that moved the ball to the Newcomb 12. With one last chance, Mendoza rolled right, scanning the end zone against six defensive backs — until Nunez, the freshman end who had been battling all game, broke free and forced the fumble that ended it.

For Lee, the finish was as much about determination as it was execution. He praised the work in the trenches, noting how the offensive line carried much of the load. “The offensive line was outstanding. They blocked their hearts out,” he said.

At the same time, he admitted the Skyhawks made things harder on themselves with avoidable errors. “We need to clean up the small mistakes — we had drives stall because of them. We normally don’t play this way.”

Even so, Lee pointed to the final scoring drive as proof of the team’s resilience. “That last score, we drove down without three of our starters, but we had players willing to step up and take their spots.”

With Noble and senior quarterback Glacius Chee’s offense performance and Nunez’s unlikely heroics on defense, Newcomb found the breakthrough it had been searching for — and a freshman defender proved that heart can outweigh size.

Newcomb (1-1) will host Gallup (0-2) in a non-district matchup on Friday, Sept. 9, while Santa Fe Indian (1-1) will host Laguna Acoma (1-1) on the same day.

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