The New Mexico Military Institute Colt football team earned a trip to the quarterfinals after clipping the Hawks in the first-round of the New Mexico Activities Association’s Class 3A Football State Championships, 48-8.
Thoreau High School claimed the No. 12 spot in the twelve-team bracket, but the fifth-seeded Colts, playing at home, dispelled early any thoughts of an upset by posting 28 points in the first quarter.
NMMI’s first score came less than three minutes into the game. The Hawks received the opening kickoff but fumbled on their second play from the line of scrimmage, giving the Colts possession at the Thoreau 41. After a pair of runs for 13 yards by junior quarterback Juan Badillo, he went to the air and found senior wide receiver Norberto Valencia to pick up the remaining 28. Badillo made the PAT and NMMI was up 7-0 with 9:37 still left in the first.
Badillo needed just one play to get the Colts’ next six. The Colt defense forced a four-and-out on the following Hawk offensive series, giving the ball back to their own offensive unit at the NMMI 30 yard line after the punt. Senior wide-out Darrell Ochieng then streaked down the right sideline and Badillo hit him in stride for a 70-yard pass and catch. Another Badillo PAT made it 14-0 with 7 minutes left in the first.
The Institute defense came up with another quick stop, allowing just 18 yards for the Hawks on six plays. The Colts took over again on offense at their own 44. This time NMMI head coach Randy Montoya elected to go with his ground game. Badillo, Ochieng and senior running back Jaikayo Brown combined for 7 carries, with Badillo finishing off the 56-yard TD drive in a 1-yard end-zone plunge.
The Colts managed one more TD in the period, despite only nine seconds remaining after the Badillo rushing TD. NMMI sophomore David Wendeln-Lankard placed a short kickoff into the second row of Thoreau’s return unit, and senior Gael Garza got to the ball first, giving the ball yet again to the NMMI offense on the Thoreau 41. Brown got tapped for the carry on the next play. After breaking through the middle of the Hawk defensive line, he cut back to open field and sped down the sideline for the touchdown. Wendeln-Lankard came in to kick the point-after and the Institute was up 28-0 with the first quarter finally expired.
Neither team managed a score in the second quarter, but the Hawk offense finally started to click. They ate up the clock with two drives deep into Colt territory. The first spanned nine plays and 43 yards before stalling out at the NMMI 20 yard line. The second drive made it down to the NMMI 17 with 36 yards for Thoreau on 11 plays, but NMMI’s Ochieng put a stop to the Hawk incursion with an interception at the 1 yard line.
In the third quarter, the Colts scored on their opening possession, making it a running clock for the remainer of the contest due to the mercy rule. That drive went 66 yards in 8 plays and was capped by a 27-yard TD pass from Badillo to senior tight end Diego Hernandez.
A scoop-and-score after Hernandez blocked a Thoreau punt made it 42-0 at the 4:29 mark in the third – Alexander Johnson made the recovery at the Hawk 8 and ran in for the touchdown.
NMMI’s final six points came with 10:17 left in the fourth. Wendeln-Lankard, playing at the quarterback position, completed a 6-play, 43 yard drive with a 2-yard keeper. Up 48-0 and with the 50-point end-of-game rule in mind, the Colts went for the two-point conversion; but the pass from Wendeln-Lankard to junior slot back William Cox was incomplete.
Thoreau finally broke the shutout and put the final points on the board with a nine-play 62-yard drive. The Hawk’s big running back Dillon Butler, who had 90 net yards rushing in the contest, got the TD from 1 yard out. Teammate Joshua Charley got the 2-point PAT on a rush right-up the middle.
“It’s been 17 years since our last playoff win,” said NMMI coach Montoya. This was a huge accomplishment for our kids. They played well, played for four quarters – it was a good day all around.”
“We thought we had some mismatches out there – wanted to exploit those – and our kids did a great job of doing that. Our quarterback put the ball in great spots to make some big plays,” said Montoya when asked about the passing prowess of Badillo (7 of 8 passing with 3 TDs and no INTs) and the Colt ariel attack which garnered 173 yards.
Montoya also had high-praise for his defensive unit. “The defense played tough. They had some big boys who ran hard and were bigger than us up front. We had to re-arrange some personnel to try and match their size and our kids did a great job of adjusting. I was tickled to death on how we were able to re-group.”
Next up for the Colts in the NMMA Class 3A playoffs will be fourth-seeded St. Michael’s. They’ll travel to Santa Fe to take on the Horsemen at 1:00 pm MST on Saturday, Nov. 13.
“We know we’re gonna be the underdogs from here on out,” finished Montoya, “but our kids are excited and we’re ready for the next challenge.”
NMMI 48, Thoreau 8
THOR 0 0 0 8
NMMI 28 0 14 6
FIRST QUARTER
NMMI — Juan Badillo 28 pass to Norberto Valencia (Juan Badillo kick), 9:34
NMMI — Juan Badillo 70 pass to Darrell Ochieng (Juan Badillo kick), 7:00
NMMI — Juan Badillo 1 run (David Wendeln-Lankard kick), 0:09
NMMI — Jaikayo Brown 41 run (David Wendeln-Lankard), 0:00
THIRD QUARTER
NMMI — Juan Badillo 27 pass to Diego Hernandez (Juan Badillo kick), 8:06
NMMI — Alexander Johnson 8 punt block return (Juan Badillo kick), 4:29
FOURTH QUARTER
NMMI — David Wendeln-Lankard 2 run (conversion failed), 10:17
THOREAU — Dillon Butler 1 run (Joshua Charley run), 3:27
NMMI STATISTICS
Rushes-Yards: 24-221
Passing: 173
Comp-Att-Int: 7-9-0
THOREAU STATISTICS
Rushes-Yards: 35-158
Passing: 73
Comp-Att-Int: 5-11-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: NMMI, Simen Johansen 2-61, Juan Badillo 7-60, Jaikayo Brown 3-46, David Wendeln-Lankard 4-36, William Cox 3-25, Darrell Ochieng 3-(-7).
Passing: NMMI, Juan Badillo 7-8-0 – 173, David WendeIn-Lankard 0-1 – 0.
Receiving: NMMI, Darrell Ochieng 2-101, Diego Hernandez 3-40, Norberto Valencia 1-28, Jonathan Cueller 1-4.