SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
It was the final football game of the season for city rivals Santa Fe High and Capital, and so they both put together impressive finales in the contest at the Jaguars’ field.
It was also a surprisingly impressive turnout. The stands were packed so tight, there became standing room only at kickoff time on a rather chilly Friday night.
Yeah, you can say it was a playoff-like atmosphere.
The final result went the Demons’ way at 28-21, but it could have gone either way. Both teams mixed up their offense and defense, and it came down to the final plays and everybody remained standing, sitting, and cheering.
Neither team had talk-of-the-town records, Santa Fe High picking up its second win in nine starts, the Jaguars winding up at 1-9. Both went 0-3 in District 5-6A.
As for the attending crowd, just because the rest of the state wasn’t paying attention, hundreds of loyal followers of both teams certainly were. Temperatures dipped into the low 50s with a steady breeze that brought added cold, and the game went almost three hours.
And the teams, as has usually been the case with Capital, came down to one or two plays, but alas the Jags lost for the seventh time this season by a single possession.
As for Santa Fe High, it was a team that barely resembled the one that had been pounded several times enroute to this game. So with seemingly nothing to play for, the Demons and their fans arrived with the energy enthusiasm of a team kind of like one making a playoff appearance.
Said senior running back Alex Mora of Santa Fe High: “It’s the last game for us, and for a lot of seniors, and we want to finish well in our last game. It’s big for a lot of people.”
Mora and wide receiver Bryce Melton helped the Demons get away to a 28-7 lead in the first half. State sprint champion Melton began things on a 70-yard scoring pass from quarterback Mike Abeyta. Shortly after, Mora added a 2-yard scamper into the end zone and it became 14-0.
Their head coach Andrew Martinez expressed his satisfaction.
“I knew my guys would be ready,” he said. “They had a very good week of practice, there was a look, a feeling here that tells me it’s going to be different, and they had all week.”
The Jaguars did hang around. They trimmed the deficit to seven, had some ready offensive plays along the ground, but the Demons maintained the advantage.
At the finish, Santa Fe High’s players poured onto the field to celebrate the victory, and even more so on the road.
“No matter where we win,” said Martinez, “it puts us into next year, and this is something to build on.”
And pity poor Capital, once again, so close and so far from victory. Yup, it’s also next season for it.
