Demons rebound from deficit, out-execute Hilltoppers in second half

Source: The Santa Fe New MexicanOct.儲存 19--The light went on for Isaac Romero the moment the lights went out for Christian Gonzales.When the lithe senior running back for Santa Fe High was slammed to the ground by a Los Alamos defender at the end of a 9-yard run late in the third quarter of a key District 2AAAA football game Friday night, the flash of fire glowed in Romero's eyes. He wasn't the only Demon who felt that way."It was just the way he slammed him," said Romero, the Demons junior tight end. "The play was over and he overexaggerated that slam. It just got us pissed."And the Demons reacted in kind. The difference, though, was that they smashed into the Hilltoppers defense relentlessly over the final 14 minutes of the district game at Ivan Head Stadium, and it led to a 28-9 win for Santa Fe High. The win gives the Demons (3-4 overall, 2-0 2AAAA) a leg up in the district race, but it was the only gift the Demons accepted on the night.Instead, they out-executed Los Alamos (2-6, 1-1) in the second half and scored 28 unanswered points after trailing 9-0 at the half."No disrespect to Los Alamos, but the only team that was going to beat us on this field tonight was us," Demons head coach Ray Holladay said.That was apparent as the second half played out in favor of Santa Fe High. After going 69 yards on its opening drive to score on Romero's recovery of Mario Holladay's fumble at the goal line in the end zone to cut Los Alamos' lead to 9-7, the Demons started the next drive at their 47 thanks to a 9-yard punt return by Gonzales.But it was at the end of that play that Gonzales was driven into the ground on the Los Alamos tackle. After a few minutes, he got up, but he never returned to the field. However, it seemed to galvanize his teammates. Fullback Rayes Montano plowed into several Hilltoppers on his way to a 10-yard run, and it set the tone for the rest of the night.Eight consecutive running plays followed, and it ended with Romero driving a pile of Hilltoppers into the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown run to give the Demons a 14-9 lead with 9:33 left. Santa Fe High ran for 226 yards in the second half and 378 overall.Gonzales had 82 yards on 10 carries before getting hurt, while Montano had 95 on 17 carries."It was nice," Montano said of the workhorse running. "I worked my [butt] off. It was nice."The Demons threw the ball just three times, and the only completion was a 3-yarder from Taylor Cherwinski, playing quarterback in place of a suspended Robert Corriz, to Romero in the second quarter. Corriz 迷你倉idn't play because of an ejection from last week's 27-9 win over Espanola Valley.The difference between the Demons' success in the second half and the lack of it in the first was simply execution. Four of their first half drives reached Los Alamos territory, but there were no points to show for it. Cherwinski was stopped short of a first down by a yard on a fourth down-and-5 play at the Los Alamos 22 on the opening drive. Holladay fumbled a handoff that the Hilltoppers recovered at the Los Alamos 22 on the next drive.Santa Fe High's final drive of the first half died when Montano was stopped inches from the goal line on the final play before halftime."It should have been 21-9 [in favor of Santa Fe High] at the half," Holladay said. "If Taylor keeps it and runs to the corner on the wedge option instead of giving it [on the final play], there's seven. If Mario doesn't fumble and whoever else fumbled, it's 21-9 at the half."Los Alamos head coach Garett Williams felt the second half essentially was decided before Romero's injury. The Hilltoppers forced an incompletion by Cherwinski on a second-and-13 at the Hilltoppers' 24, but Los Alamos was called for roughing the passer. It put the ball at the 12, and Cherwinski gained four yards on a keeper that set up Holladay's run/Romero's fumble recovery.On the ensuing drive, Hilltoppers quarterback Brice Van Etten didn't see an open Simon Heath, and instead was sacked for a 14-yard loss on third down."What it came down to in the second half was the same thing is has been all season," Williams said. "Costly, costly mistakes."One of the costliest was a special teams mistake on Heath in the fourth quarter when he shanked a punt from the Los Alamos' 6. It was so bad, he downed the ball at the 2 for a net kick of minus-4 yards. Three plays later, Cherwinski scored on a quarterback sneak for a 21-9 lead with 6:19 left.It was the first action for Cherwinski since suffering a concussion against Piedra Vista, and he performed admirably in place of Corriz. The bigger return, though, was linebacker Isaiah Taylor after missing seven weeks with a knee injury. How much of a difference did Taylor make?"First game [against Grants], he had 18 tackles, an interception, a blocked kick, three sacks," Holladay said.Perhaps that was the biggest light that shined at Ivan Head Stadium on Friday night.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.) Visit The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.) at .santafenewmexican.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存倉