Socorro County Football - Steers extend their season with playoff win

Friday, Oct. 31, marked the end of the season for two Socorro County football teams, as Socorro and Alamo lost their games.

However, on Nov. 1 the Magdalena Steers showed their strengths in the second half and beat the Mustangs in that playoff game.

Magdalena Steers head to the semifinals

The Steers were off to a slow start in Saturday’s game against the Mountainair Mustangs. They knew it would be a competitive game, as the regular season match-up between the two teams ended in a narrow 28-25 win for the Steers. Head Coach Danny Daniels attributed that to nerves and a Saturday game instead of a Thursday or Friday gameday.

“You know, everybody was nervous. We had boys saying they couldn’t sleep. When you’re playing on a Saturday, you got more days to anticipate your game.” Daniels said.

The Steers threw an interception in the first quarter, then another in the second quarter. The Mustangs fumbled to give it back to the Steers, but the Mustangs pushed the Steers back into their own endzone for a safety ato go up 2-0. Mountainair took further advantage and scored again, making it 8-0 for the Mustangs halfway through the second quarter.

The Steers finally found some traction with a big, 60-plus-yard TD run by #27 Ky Stephens with 4:28 on the clock in the second quarter. Steers closed the gap to 8-6. An interception by #22 for the Steers, Matthew Lopez gave them another chance that they took to the redzone. However, they came up short and the remainder of the half went scoreless. 8-6 Mustangs at halftime.

The Magdalena Steers used halftime wisely. The coaches and players said and did the right things to make the needed adjustments.

“So, I brought my coaches together. ‘Hey, let’s take it easy on them. Let’s talk about what we did wrong, but let’s not get all over them. Let’s correct it.’” Daniels said.

It wasn’t instantly obvious, as Mountainair got the ball first. Solid defense stopped the Mustang drive, and then steady offense got the Steers to the redzone. The Mustangs held them up though and forced a fourth and goal from the 24 yard line with 5:29 on the clock in the third quarter. That’s when #81 Kanaan Stephens connected with #7 EJ Lucero. That passing touchdown flipped the switch, and it was all Steers from then on. Lopez’s two-point kick made it 14-8 for the Steers.

#9 Nathan Bruton threw a touchdown pass to #81 Stephens early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 20-8. When Mountainair threatened, #81 Stephens stopped their drive with a pick. After that, #13 Prescott Herrera just ran, and ran, and ran. Three TDs by Herrera, and one more two-point kick by Lucero, carried the Steers to a 40-8 victory.

“First half we tried some different stuff that didn’t work. So, at halftime we talked about some new stuff. We started from scratch and we just executed every play after halftime.” Herrera said.

The second half was the game the Steers needed to prepare for their next game. The now 8-1 Steers will be traveling to face the 9-1 Logan Longhorns in the six-man semifinals on Friday, Nov. 7, at 4 p.m. The Steers lost to the Longhorns on the road 47-32 in the very first game of the regular season, but the Steers hope to carry the momentum of their Saturday win all the way through Friday’s game.

“If we can put it all together and get a whole game out of it, I think we’re tough to beat.” Daniels said.

Socorro Warriors end their season with a loss to Dexter

The Socorro Warriors traveled to Dexter, NM, on Friday, Oct. 31, to take on the Dexter Demons in this Halloween game. The final game of the season was a tough one for the Warriors, as the Demons came into the game at 7-1 and 5-0 in the district.

The Demons had outscored their opponents 346 to 104 prior to the game against the Warriors. On Halloween Day, the Demons added 50 more points to their season total and took the district title as they mercy ruled the Warriors. The game ended early at 50-0.

Socorro finished their season at 1-9 overall and 1-5 in their district, having beat the Cobre Indians to get a win for the season. It certainly wasn’t the outcome they had wanted for the season, but the team figured a lot out during the season and made improvements along the way. Their roster included a lot of underclassmen who got a lot of playing time this season. That experience will pay off for the next football season.

Alamo Cougars suffer loss a long way from home

The Alamo Cougars had a long drive to their playoff game against the Escalante Lobos on Halloween Day. The drive to Tierra Amarilla, NM, takes about 4.5 hours from Alamo. The team planned on a hotel stay for the night to avoid the long return drive at night.

The Lobos were 7-3 coming into the game, having outscored their opponents 378 to 208. So, the numbers show that Escalante would be the expected favorites, but Alamo hoped to ride the momentum of its winning streak and catch the Lobos off guard following a loss.

An Alamo resident said that Escalante’s strengths were Alamo’s weaknesses, but if Alamo could get some offense going they had a chance. However, the Cougars were unable to find an offensive rhythm that gameday, and they couldn’t get into the endzone. The Escalante Lobos controlled the game and won 38-0.

The playoff loss to Escalante put Alamo at 3-6 overall for the season. Reflecting on this season, the Cougars can look back at their strength in district for two seasons in a row.

“It was a tough season for us, but we managed to pull together to win our very first district championship.” Head Coach Wyatt Billy said.

The Cougars had finished up 3-0 and first place in their district this year, while they were a second place 4-1 in district last year.

“I coached some great young men this season. They did not give up on themselves, and they pushed hard to the very end. I couldn’t ask for a better season.” Billy said.

Looking forward to next year, a few seniors will be moving on, but they have plenty of experienced underclassmen who can return to lead them.