Peter Dindinger — NMMI Sports Press
SOCORRO — Leading up to the New Mexico Military Institute’s showdown with No. 3 ranked Socorro, the Colt football team had not yet challenged a top tier Class 3A program.
No. 8 NMMI (4-2) tried to play spoiler on Socorro’s homecoming night, but it was unsuccessful.
The Warriors rolled to a 35-7 victory over the Colts on Friday at Eddie Castaneda Field.
“Obviously, we got punched in the mouth tonight,” said NMMI head coach Randy Montoya. “We really shot ourselves in the foot several times, and that was the real frustrating thing.”
Socorro (5-1) made a big statement on the opening kickoff as Jordan Armijo scored on a 90-yard return. After the failed point after attempt, the Warriors led 6-0 with 11:36 on the clock.
The Colts struggled on their first offensive series, having to punt on fourth-and-22. Socorro’s offense tried to go for it on fourth-and-13 but were unsuccessful.
Aided by two penalties that erased an interception, the Colts got down to the Warrior one yard line with a chance to punch it in and take the lead.
Socorro’s defense made a strong goal line stand and spoiled a quarterback sneak.
From deep in their own territory, the Warriors made some big plays to cap off a nine-play drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Armijo to Adrian Jackson.
Jordan Armijo converted the two points to extend Socorro’s lead to 14-0 with 7:39 in the second quarter.
The Colt offense went three-and-out, which led to a 61-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Armijo to Alex Amaro with 3:01 left until halftime.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Colts turned over the ball on a fumble that setup the Warrior offense on the NMMI 25.
Jackson punched it into the end zone from three yards out with under 40 seconds to go in the first half.
Scoring 22 unanswered points in the second quarter, the Warriors held a commanding 28-0 lead entering the second half.
Another stalled offensive drive by NMMI allowed Socorro to take over on the NMMI 40.
Marcus Armijo later connected with Jackson for a 35-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-five with 8:10 in the third quarter.
With the running clock in effect, the Colts desperately tried to erase the shutout.
A turnover by the Warriors on a fumble helped NMMI score on a lateral that came on a reception by Diego Hernandez from Juan Badillo.
Hernandez flipped the ball to Darrell Ochieng, who sprinted into the end zone from 61 yards out.
NMMI finished with 127 total yards of offense while the Warriors had 370.
Badillo completed 4 of 12 passes for 16 yards while he rushed for 25 yards on 14 carries.
Ochieng had five carries for 65 yards. Hernandez finished with three catches for 12 yards.
Jaikayo Brown had four kickoff returns for 101 yards.
The Colts have a much needed bye next week before opening up District 4-3A play at Dexter on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.
“We knew we had to play our best,” Montoya added. “It’s a learning experience. We knew it was going to be a good team. Unfortunately it wasn’t our night. We’ve got to get focused.”
Socorro 35, NMMI 7
NMMI 0 0 0 7
Socorro 6 22 7 0
FIRST QUARTER
Socorro – Jordan Armijo 90 kickoff return (kick failed), 11:36
SECOND QUARTER
Socorro – Marcus Armijo 12 pass to Adrian Jackson (Jordan Armijo run), 7:39
Socorro – Marcus Armijo 61 pass to Alex Amaro (Kaden Dow kick), 3:01
Socorro – Adrian Jackson 3 run (Kaden Dow kick), 37 seconds
THIRD QUARTER
Socorro – Marcus Armijo 35 pass to Adrian Jackson (Kaden Dow kick), 8:10
FOURTH QUARTER
NMMI – Juan Badillo pass to Diego Hernandez, lateral to Darrell Ochieng for 61 yards (Juan Badillo kick), 4:12
NMMI STATISTICS
Rushes-Yards: 28-111
Passing: 16
Comp-Att-Int: 4-12-0
SOCORRO STATISTICS
Rushes-Yards: 23-177
Passing: 193
Comp-Att-Int: 10-14-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: NMMI, Darrell Ochieng 5-65, Juan Badillo 14-25, Simen Johansen 5-19, Jaikayo Brown 4-2.
Passing: NMMI, Juan Badillo 4-12 – 16.
Receiving: NMMI, Diego Hernandez 3-12, Norberto Valencia 1-4.