Socorro quarterback Isaiah Ocampo is hitting his stride and connected on four TD passes against 5A Miyamura.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain

Isaiah Ocampo threw four touchdowns, including three to sophomore Jay Lee, against Gallup on Sept. 15. The Warriors had luck on their side as Class 3A Socorro escaped with a 28-27 nailbiter of a win over Class 5A Miyamura.

Up 28-21 in the fourth quarter, the Warriors surrendered a late touchdown, but the Patriots were called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and ended up missing the extra point, and Socorro was able to use up the clock.

The measure of luck allowed the Warriors to make the difference in a controversial game where the officials seemed to have eyes only for Socorro.

The Patriots had some miscues, including turning over the football on downs late in the fourth quarter and not punting from their 20-yard line. The move proved shortsighted as Ocampo found Lee on a 10-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-14 at the half.

The Warriors went up on top in the first quarter when Ocampo found Lee for this first touchdown strike of the evening.

Miyamura tied the game at 7-7 before Ocampo linked up with Fernie Torres to take a 14-7 advantage following Dow’s second of four extra-point kicks. The Patriots would roar back to tie the game up, and more than likely could have left the game at 14-14 at the half, but a move (not punting) designed to show a little gamesmanship failed, with Lee pulling down the second of his three TD pass receptions.

Socorro’s other half of the Warriors’ deep-threat offense, Alex Amaro, pulled down a game-high 100 yards on five receptions, while Lee had five catches for 58 yards, Torres caught three for 28 and Jacob Angel had two catches for 14 yards.

Ocampo’s four TDs came off of 13-20 passing for 200 yards, and he led the Warriors’ ground game with 11 carries for 94 yards, Cenyon Scarborough gained 28 on three rushes and Chris Boykin added 14 yards off of three carries.

Midway through the Warriors’ season, Amaro and Lee are proving to be great complements to each other and are forcing defenses to pay attention by shadowing or squeezing up on coverage. It’s giving Ocampo opportunities, as he’s passed for 838 yards. Lee has pulled down 25 balls for 371 yards, and Amaro has 23 receptions for 309 yards.

Socorro has proven to be balanced on offense with 877 ground yards, with Ocampo’s 469 yards leading the way, followed by Boykin with 175 and Scarborough at 143 yards for the season.

The Warriors have two straight home games before starting a District 3-3A slate that has them playing two of their three league games on the road. It might be hard to believe for some fans, but the Warriors’ first district game against Cobre could be for the league title.

Cobre is 3-2 on the year and has only one common opponent (Robertson) with Socorro, with the Indians falling 3-0 and the Warriors dropping their season opener in a mistake-laden game to the Cardinals 28-13.

Before that happens, the Warriors must keep developing and stay healthy in their games against 3-2 Raton (Friday) at 7 p.m. and 4A Gallup on Sept. 29.

Russell Huffman | Assistant Editor