Upstart Farmington crushes Miyamura, makes case for playoff bid

GALLUP

It took a masterful performance and a series of uncharacteristic miscues by Miyamura for the Farmington Scorpions to get the signature win they needed to position themselves for a state playoff bid.

Farmington senior quarterback Kody Becenti accounted for 215 yards while junior running back Axel Fowler added 101 yards as Farmington rolled past Miyamura 48-12 at Public School Stadium last Friday night, snapping the Patriot’s three game win streak.

It took Farmington (3-5-1 overall, 3-1 in 5A District 1 play) nearly three minutes to get going as they took advantage of a short field when Miyamura fumbled the ball away deep in their own territory on punt return.

With the pigskin on the 6-yard line, Becenti ran the ball twice with his second attempt giving the Scorpions their first score of the night. From that point on, Farmington had their way as they found the end zone five more times to end the first half.

“Our kids responded real well and we haven’t gotten many of those this year,” Farmington coach Jeff Dalton said of the unforced fumble. “The ball bounced our way and it’s bounced the other way a lot of times this year so we know how that is but we learned from those things.”

Dalton said momentum plays a huge factor in football and after that special teams play, they started to click.

“That was the first complete game we’ve played all year,” he said. “That’s what happens when you stay focused for four quarters.”

With the win, the Scorpions can finish no worse than second place in the district race as they improved their chances of making the 5A playoffs after starting the season with an 0-5-1 record.

“This was a must-win for us and we felt like that if we can’t beat a couple of tough teams in our district we really don’t deserve to be in the playoffs,” Dalton said. “We had to win this for our mental well being. This is a huge mental win for us because these guys have gone through some adversity this year.”

The Patriots opened last Friday’s game with four turnovers, leading to one of their worst starts this year.

“It was really bad and it’s disappointing now,” Miyamura coach Wes Shank said. “I knew Farmington was a pretty good football team and I don’t know if I ever convinced the kids of that.”

Despite having a 2-5-1 record entering last Friday’s district showdown, Shank said Farmington played some tough competition so their overall record had been a bit misleading.

“Obviously the kids underestimated Farmington and I couldn’t convince them otherwise,” he said. “I knew they were fast and they gave us a whooping at home on senior night. Offensively this was by far our worst showing. Usually, offensively we have been keeping pace.”

With those early turnovers by Miyamura, the Scorpions essentially won the game in the first period by taking a 21-0 lead. At the half, the Scorpions ran the score up to 41-6 as they knifed through Miyamura’s defense behind the play and decision-making of Becenti.

The Farmington senior finished with 6-for-7 passes for 154 yards and also rushed for 61 yards on a dozen carries and four touchdowns. Three of those scores were on the ground as he found the end zone from the 5-, 18- and 2-yard line.

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