Thoreau makes easy work of Gallup: Hawks eyeing third district title

THOREAU – Senior quarterback Stetson Perry threw for three touchdowns and the Thoreau defense was too much for Gallup as the Hawks mercy-ruled the Bengals.

Thoreau put up 28 points in the opening quarter and rolled to a 50-0 win on Friday night as the game was called early.

The Hawks led 42-0 at the half as Thoreau coach Erik Loera inserted his JV squad after the break. The second-string players earned nearly 20 minutes of playing time with a running clock before Loera reinserted his starters with senior running back Elam Smith ending the contest with over three minutes left in the fourth quarter with an 11-yard TD run.

“It was good to get to play our JV team,” Loera said. “They haven’t had a game in like three weeks, so we put them in the whole third quarter, and they played a little bit in the fourth.”

Thoreau is looking to win its third district title under Loera as the Hawks go into Friday’s game with Tohatchi at 3-2 overall and 2-0 in District 1-3A play.

“We’re going for a three-peat, but we take it one game at a time,” Loera said. “I tell the kids not to get big-headed because any team could stop us on any given night if we don’t show up. So they got to stay humble and let their coach be the one to brag. I want my team, my players, to stay humble and keep grounded.”

After a Gallup turnover, Perry connected with senior Ty Tahe for a 20-yard scoring strike for a 6-0 lead. In its next series, Perry found Smith for a 16-yard TD as Thoreau opened up a 14-0 cushion with 5:30 left.

“He’s coming into his own,” Loera said of Perry, who took over the QB duties after serving as backup to Isaac Bear Eagle last year.

“He’s learning the plays,” Loera said. “He’s more comfortable with offense, it really showed last week at Shiprock, and it transitioned into this game.

“He’s got command on the offense,” the Thoreau coach added. “His teammates respect him, and his receivers, his backs, and his linemen will do anything for him.”

Late in the first, Perry threw his third TD, this time to junior Jordan Calladitto as Thoreau opened up a 28-0 cushion.

“I have a lot of confidence in my receivers,” Perry said. “They know their routes and I know they can catch the ball. They play with a lot of confidence, and confidence is key to winning football games.”

Defensively, Thoreau held the Bengals in check, allowing just 53 yards of offense. Not once did Gallup get past midfield as Thoreau had a good field advantage.

The Hawks also picked off Gallup quarterback Jacob Yazzie three times as two of those interceptions were returned for scores with junior Saige Westmoreland and Smith returning one each.

Westmorland’s pick-six came in the opening quarter while Smith’s interception came at the 11:31 mark when Thoreau’s lead ballooned to 35-0.

“Our defense gives the offense fits when we have guys moving around,” Loera said. “We got good pass rushing tonight and I have to credit Louis Bear Eagle, our defensive coordinator. He’s hell of a coach. He calls the plays and see what the other team is running. We’re also very versatile. We can switch our defense around.”

Thoreau senior Isaac Charley also had an interception in the middle of the second stanza as he found the end zone, but his 40-yard score was called back due to penalties.

Nonetheless, junior Noah Trickey rushed for a 54-yard TD score that earned Thoreau a commanding 42-0 lead with 8:38 left before halftime.

The Hawks racked up 129 yards rushing with Trickey leading the way. Elam Smith rushed for 32 yards on two carries and a TD.

“Elam Smith is our speedster, but I got six backs that could start,” the Thoreau coach said. “I’m stacked and that helps when we have injuries. We had a couple of injuries this season, so it helped us to get through some of those games.”

Earlier this season, Loera’s team came up short to Socorro (37-14) and Hot Springs (28-20) in a pair of non-district games.

“We had Socorro beat,” Loera said. “We were beating them at halftime and then we had a bunch of injuries at the beginning of the third. We had three of our starters on offense and defense get injured in the first three minutes of the third and it was just a snowball effect, but we were beating them at halftime.”

Against Hot Springs, the third-year Thoreau coach says his team didn’t show up until the second half of the game.

“It was a long drive to Hot Springs,” Loera said. “We got there, but we never got off the bus to where we didn’t show up. We finally did in the second half and (Hot Springs) didn’t score and we put in 20 points.”

Despite trailing throughout the game, the Hawks did have a chance to send the contest into overtime.

“We did have an opportunity, but we fumbled it there at the end,” Loera said. “If we can play four quarters of football, we can compete with any team in the state.”

Thoreau is scheduled to play at Tohatchi on Friday, but the game might be moved to Thoreau due to construction work being done at Tohatchi High School.

“It’d be nice to have another game at home, but we’ll play anywhere,” Loera said. “We’re going to have to come up with our ‘A-game’ against Tohatchi. They’re well-coached.”

Like his coach, Smith says Tohatchi is going to be a formidable opponent as the Cougars are also 2-0 in district play.

“Tohatchi has a big line,” Smith said. “They’re definitely tall, but I think we can hang with them. We want all the fans to be there.”

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