Miyamura rushes for 8 TDs in rout over Moriarty

GALLUP

The Miyamura Patriots scored on four consecutive possessions and they never looked back last Friday night against Moriarty.

The Patriots finished with eight rushing TDs with senior Ciyllis Cole-Roy leading the charge going 141 yards on 10 carries and three TDs.

“Sure, I can get all the stats, but it’s really up to the guys up front,” Cole-Roy said of his O-line. “They’re the reason why I can score all of those touchdowns.”

As a team, Miyamura finished with 309 yards rushing with senior quarterback Blas Saucedo rushing for 67 yards on four carries and two TDs while running back Chris Chavez added 48 yards on six carries and two scores.

Saucedo was just as effective in the air by completing 9-of-18 passes for 198 yards with senior wide out Bowdy Evans accounting for 112 of those yards on four receptions.

“We had a lot of fun out there,” Saucedo said. “I mean, we worked really hard in practice, making sure we executed every play.

“A lot of those plays we ran, we perfected it during practice,” he added. “We just came out and did our jobs, so everything looked good.”

First-year Miyamura coach David Foley said his club played “mistake free” football as the Patriots improved to 2-4 overall.

“I don’t think we had any penalties really on offense, which is awesome,” he said. “You know, the kids have been getting reps and we’ve got six games under our belts, so things are starting to click for them.”

Since its opening two games, Foley said his club has been making improvements on the offensive side of the ball.

“We scored 16 points in our first two games but the guys are coming around,” he said. “I mean, we scored four touchdowns against Goddard and we got four against Socorro and they’re both top 25 teams.

“The outcomes of those games weren’t what we wanted,” he said, “but we continue to improve and get confidence and, yeah, things are starting to click a little better.”

Saucedo agreed while adding that playing the likes of Aztec, Silver, Goddard and Socorro gave them a better understanding of where they measure against some of the state’s best football squads.

“We wanted to play a tougher schedule to see where we are at,” he said. “I think we’re taking steps in the right direction to be where we need to be.

“I think playing teams like Goddard and Socorro will help us prepare for a bigger monster in PV,” Chavez said of the top-ranked Piedra Vista Panthers.

The Patriots will host PV on Oct. 14 to start District 1/5-5A play.

Chavez said they took the lost to Socorro to heart and that changed their attitudes leading up to the Moriarty game.

“We had a big talk with the team and we really got after it in practice,” he said. “I think that was a big help in tonight’s win.”

“PV is the No. 1 team in 5A right now, but we like to take on the juggernauts and see where we really stand,” Saucedo chimed in. “I think it’s gonna be a good challenge for us, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Foley said PV is the team to beat in the district as the Panthers sport a 6-0 record, which includes a pair of top 5 wins over 5A schools Goddard and Albuquerque Valley.

“They’re the cream of the crop,” the Miyamura coach said. “They’re playing fantastic. They’re fast, they’re physical and they’ve got plenty of offensive weapons.

“From what I can remember from the offseason I think they return all 11 defensive starters,” he added. “I know they’re going to be strong defensive, but I hope with the weapons we have we can give them some concerns.”

Foley said he has a couple of starters out and he’s hoping to get them back when they start district play in two weeks. On Saturday, the Patriots will host winless Del Norte.

“We’re optimistic that we’ll get them back,” he said offensive lineman Nathan Jim Jr. and linebacker Ross Keeler.

“I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but we’ll have PV after our bye week,” he said. “We have an extra week to prepare for them, but it also means we’re not competing that week before and some teams can lose that game speed for that first quarter. We’ll have a couple of weeks to prepare and so hopefully we’ll be well prepared.”

In its game against Moriarty, the Patriots limited the passing game, but they gave up 183 yards rushing the 4A Pintos.

“They found some things that worked on the edge, but my concern was the inside trap they run,” Foley said. “They run the power exceptionally well. That is what Socorro ran last week and they went up the middle of the defense.

“Moriarty makes a lot of big plays that way, but we came out stopped that right off the bat,” he said. “I was really proud of the defense, but obviously we made a few mental mistakes to where they beat us on some play action stuff.”

With 12 playoffs spots among 16 teams in 5A, Miyamura is hoping to make the cut.

“If we don’t play our best football we’ll be on the outside looking in,” Foley said. “But I think we can compete with anybody. We just got to keep improving.”

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