Junior Devin Flores traded in his football gear for a return Friday night to basketball

Three more football players returned to the basketball lineup and head coach Dave Rodriguez also returned after missing a couple of games as St. Michael’s boys hit the road for Raton Friday night and returned with a 69-59 District 2-3A victory.

The three footballers contributed 57 of the team’s total points, with junior Devin Flores tossing in a game-high 30 points, and fellow juniors Derek Martinez and Lucas Cortiz 13 adding 14 and 13, each as the Horsemen advanced to 3-1 overall and the same in district.

With these key players returning from the gridiron and various injuries, St. Michael’s put together a strong second quarter to overcome a close game and maintain the advantage.

The Horsemen will play host to Los Alamos in a non-district contest Tuesday night.

On Saturday, the undefeated Monte del Sol boys won their third straight by wining a mercy-rule game, 77-29, at Santa Fe’s Tierra Encantada, in a contest that the Dragons led 32-10 after the first quarter and 51-13 at halftime, and the final two quarters were played under the running clock.

Sophomore Xandro Zubia, all of 5-2, came off the bench early in the second quarter to score a career-high 26 points that included a half-dozen from beyond the 3-point arch. Brayan Roybal, a 6-5 senior, added 16 points and sophomore Kevin Enriquez 10 in a contest where Monte del Sol head coach Ralph Casaus emptied his bench early.

The Dragons will play host to Academy of Technology and The Classics on Tuesday afternoon at the Christian Life court in Santa Fe, with game time scheduled for 5 o’clock.

In girl’s hoops, visiting Monte del Sol won its first in three starts when it topped Tierra Encantada, 23-11, in a low-scoring contest that had the Dragons leading 6-3 at halftime and then putting together a 11-6 run in the third quarter. This happened to be a season-high for Monte del Sol after it scored 13 and 9 in its last two starts. The Dragons will be home Tuesday versus Academy of Technology and The Classics at Christian Life in a 3:30 opener.

Gabriela Rosas had the game-high nine points for Monte del Sol and teammates Daisy Ortiz and Arcaceli Pena had eight and six, respectively in what was Tierra Encantada’s opener.

The Capital High girls dropped their fourth straight and fourth in five starts when losing Saturday at non-district opponent Rio Rancho Cleveland, 57-26, and with the Storm advancing to 5-1 by turning a 24-3 first-quarter lead into a rout. The Jaguars trailed 27-9 at the half and 44-18 after three quarters. Senior Ethena Silva led Capital with 13 points.

The Jags have a 5-5A district date Tuesday night versus Albuquerque Manzan