The Warriors are officially perfect on the season at home. In their final game, the team never trailed, defeating Cobre 62-17.
Greg Byrd | El Defensor Chieftain photos

 

Correction: The final score was 62-17, not 54-17.

The Warriors are peaking at the right time with the playoffs coming up. The team had a big win on Friday night against Cobre 62-17 to improve to 8-1. The team never trailed in the game.

Before the game, the Warriors’ seniors were honored with their families. David Avalos who mans the end zone cannon was also honored as he turned 59. He recently recovered from a stroke.

Senior Jordan Armijo was wreaking havoc on the ground.

Socorro got the ball first. Senior Adadrian Jackson had a huge return on the opening kick. Senior Jordan Armijo plugged it in up the middle to start the scoring off, making it 7-0. On the following drive, Jackson fumbled but quickly recovered for a first down. That led to junior Marcus Armijo scoring on a wildcat play, 14-0 after one.

Indians senior Adrian Juarez connected on a field goal to get them on the board before Jackson had another huge return that resulted in another quick score. The stands erupted when Jordan made a terrific interception on the next play. Cobre stalled the Warriors drive and sniffed out a fake punt on fourth down. They finally found the end zone on a corner right pass to senior Jeraiah Garcia. The score was 35-10 going into the locker room at the half.

At halftime the “Charisma Blues” dance, took the field, led by Coach Jill Madrid-Angel. The team performed great, especially considering they had only been practicing for three weeks.

“I really liked how I played defense tonight,” junior Damien Greenwood said after the game. “They had some big plays up front so I just tried to get them. There wasn’t one particular play I remember, I made a lot of good ones though.”

The Warriors in a players only huddle as they prepare for their final homegame of the season before the playoffs start.

Indeed Greenwood did just that from the start of the second half, flying all over the field, making some thundering tackles. Jordan Armijo punched it in again and he was pumped up after the score. Armijo then had another pick in the red zone when Cobre was driving. A brief scare happened shortly after 8th grader Jay Lee was shaken up a play. With the coaches help he was was able to walk it off. Jordan Armijo scored yet again to make 49-10. Cobre wasn’t going away. Juarez scored on a tough run. That would be the end for them.

After the game, head coach Damien Ocampo was pleased with what he saw.

“Across the board this was a good showing for us tonight. The kids played hard and mentally they played well. It always means a ton when we beat a rival. The scoreboard didn’t reflect that Cobre is really good, we just were able to take advantage of things early. The only thing for our guys we need to clean up were a few mistakes here and there, but that’s about it.”

The Warriors won’t be at home again until playoff time arrives. The final game is at Hatch Valley October 29. The playoffs seeding for state will be released after that.

3A 3 District Standings:

  1. Socorro; 8-1.
  2. Cobre; 3-7.
  3. Hatch Valley; 1-8.

 

Greg Byrd | El Defensor Chieftain Sports Editor