Socorro County Football - Magdalena gets another big win at home

The Magdalena Steers earned their second win of the season with a big home victory over the Reserve Mountaineers. Meanwhile, the Socorro Warriors and the Alamo Cougars are still searching for their first wins this year.

Magdalena Steers end another game by mercy rule

The Magdalena Steers football has put up two big wins in a row at home. Two weeks ago, on Sept. 5, they beat the Roy/Mosquero Blue 76-26, with the game stopping in the 4th quarter due to the mercy rule. In New Mexico, if a team is up by 50 points after the second quarter, the game ends automatically. In last Friday’s game, on Sept. 12, the Steers beat the Reserve Mountaineers 61-0. That game ended at halftime.

“It’s always good to get a win, and it was nice. We got a lot of kids playing time. We scored from running, catching, and defensively. So I thought we did a good job tonight.” said Magdalena Head Coach Danny Daniels.

Reserve is rebuilding their varsity football program after having not played a game since the 2021 season. Knowing that, Daniels didn’t want to take the win for granted and was thinking about what they needed to work on.

“They’re just barely getting back into football, so they’re young. I felt like we did what we needed to do, but a little bit disappointed in the execution. We dropped some balls,” said Daniels, “but overall I’m happy with the team for the game.”

Daniels was concerned about the wind before the game because it might affect their kicking, but the wind died down somewhat during the game. They successfully made three kicks for extra points after touchdowns.

“And kicks are important because it’s two points in six man. We’re doing better with that, more kicks than we did in our previous game,” said Daniels.

The Steers travel to Alamo to play the Cougars on Friday, Sept. 19 at 5 p.m.

Socorro Warriors get some points on the board in loss to Estancia

The Socorro Warriors were able to get 18 points on the board last Friday, Sept. 12, against the Estancia Bears. However, the Warriors were not able to slow down a Bears running game that gained 369 yards on the ground. The final score was 60-18 in favor of the Bears.

Estancia scored first and converted for two more to go up 8-0. The Warriors got a rushing touchdown in the first quarter to close the gap to 8-6, as they failed on a rushing attempt for the two-point conversion. However, Estancia took off from there and controlled the rest of the game.

The 0-4 Socorro Warriors will take on the 1-3 Ruidoso Warriors at home for their first district game of the season on Friday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.

Alamo Cougars struggle against the Panthers

The Alamo team struggled against a tough Menaul Panthers team last Friday, Sept. 12. The Cougars offense would get going at times, but just couldn’t get into the end zone. The Cougar defense could not stop the Panthers either. The final score was 50-0 for Panthers, with the game ending by mercy rule early in the fourth quarter. Head Coach Wyatt Billy stayed positive after the game though.

“Yeah, we did a lot of great things. Normally, when it comes to Menaul, we easy out before half time, but we stuck it out as hard as we could all the way through. They’re excited that we made the fourth quarter.” said Billy.

They had some chances during the game, but penalties and turnovers didn’t help them out. The wet conditions didn’t help either. The game was delayed one hour because of heavy rain, and then it continued to rain on and off throughout. The Cougars know what to work on to prepare for their next game.

“We could have had a few touchdowns where we just couldn’t catch the ball, but the kids are still focused. The kids are still trying to develop the team. So I’m proud of everything we did.” said Billy.

Alamo hosts the Magdalena Steers on Friday, Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. This intracounty match-up will be a modified game, as the Steers play 6-man while the Cougars normally play 8-man.

According to the Alamo football schedule they will play six on defense and eight on offense.

“We’re going to be excited for that,” Billy said about the upcoming game, “And get a couple touchdowns on them as well.”