Peter Dindinger – NMMI Sports Press

SANTA FE – Win or lose, the New Mexico Military Institute Colt football team had already rewritten the history books.

On Saturday afternoon, the Colts showed plenty of character and grit by battling the fourth-seeded St. Michael’s Horseman during the Class 3A quarterfinal round at the Christian Brothers Athletic Complex.

In the end, the Horseman came away with the 34-14 victory over the fifth-seeded Colts (8-3).

St. Michael’s advances to the semifinals to take on No. 1 seeded Raton.

This marked the first time since 2004 in which NMMI had advanced to the quarterfinal round.

It was a quiet opening quarter for both offenses.

The Horseman (8-3) had an eight-yard touchdown reception by Devin Flores called back on an offensive pass interference penalty, which ultimately led to St. Michael’s failing a fourth-and-22 conversion.

NMMI had to punt on fourth-and-seven on its next series. Isaac Ruiz returned the punt for a 42-yard touchdown run with 3:15 in the first quarter to give St. Michael’s the 7-0 lead.

St. Michael’s attempted and recovered the onside kick but the ball didn’t roll 10 yards as the Colts got possession.

Unfortunately, NMMI couldn’t find the end zone as it punted away once again before the end of the quarter.

The biggest moment of the second quarter came during a fourth-and-one situation, where the Colts were stopped for a two-yard loss.

A 30-yard run by Daymon Lujan setup a 42-yard touchdown pass from Zachary Martinez to Flores with 1:32 left until halftime.

After another three-and-out by the Colt offense, Badillo pinned the Horseman on their own 10 with a 69-yard punt.

Badillo later grabbed an interception with 58 seconds in the second quarter.

Down 14-0, the Colts could’ve just laid down and quit.

But they didn’t.

Norberto Valencia attempted an onside kick that was recovered by Martin Bustamante. On four quick plays, Darrell Ochieng punched it into the end zone from 22 yards with 10:25 in the third quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, Flores had a 90-yard return for a touchdown. After the missed extra point, St. Michael’s led 20-7.

Facing another turnover on downs on fourth-and-10, the Colts used a fake punt pass in the form of a 32-yard strike from Badillo to David Wendeln-Lankard to keep the drive alive.

Badillo later connected with Valencia for a seven-yard touchdown to make the score 20-14 with 5:52 in the third quarter.

NMMI had outscored St. Michael’s 14-6 in the frame.

Using an 11-play drive, the Horseman answered back with a 13-yard touchdown run by Lujan at the start of the fourth quarter.

Isaiah Salazar spoiled NMMI’s next offensive drive by grabbing an interception, which led to a 16-yard touchdown pass from Martinez to Flores with under 10 minutes to go in the game.

Down 27-14, the Colts tried to convert a fourth-and-27 situation, but came up empty on an incomplete pass.

Diego Hernandez later got the ball back for the Colts after Lujan fumbled.

NMMI turned the ball right back to St. Michael’s on the first play of the next drive as Ruiz grabbed an interception.

Like a game of tug of war, Ned Curnutt recovered a fumble for the Colts after a negative run by Lujan.

The Colts couldn’t spark up any points off another miscue by the Horseman as they failed to convert a fourth-and-12 situation.

St. Michael’s then used a pair of big runs to help chisel down the clock to come away with win.

Unofficially, the Colts tallied 206 yards of offense.

Badillo went 9 of 25 with 105 passing yards while he rushed for 31 yards on 12 carries.

Ochieng finished with 44 yards on the ground off five carries and Jaikayo Brown rushed for 24 yards on six attempts.

Hernandez led the receiving corps with five catches for 39 yards.

The Horseman finished with 309 yards of offense. Martinez completed 8 of 11 passes for 117 yards while Lujan led the rushing attack with 19 carries for 135 yards.

After the game it was a somber moment for the seven NMMI seniors.

The group had already accomplished so much in one season such as winning a district title, knocking off rival Dexter, upsetting Hope Christian and winning a first-round matchup.

These things were uncharted territory for the Colts in years past, but this group proved that NMMI can be a contender.

St. Michael’s 34, NMMI 14

NMMI                           0            0             14              0

St. Mike’s                     7            7              6              14

FIRST QUARTER

St. Mike’s — Isaac Ruiz 42 punt return (Milena Keene kick), 3:15

SECOND QUARTER

St. Mike’s — Zachary Martinez 42 pass to Devin Flores (Milena Keene kick), 1:32

THIRD QUARTER

NMMI — Darrell Ochieng 22 run (David WendeIn-Lankard kick), 10:25

St. Mike’s — Devin Flores 90 kickoff return (kick failed), 10:10

NMMI — Juan Badillo 7 pass to Norberto Valencia (David WendeIn-Lankard kick), 5:52

FOURTH QUARTER

St. Mike’s — Daymon Lujan 13 run (Milena Keene kick), 11:53

St. Mike’s — Zachary Martinez 16 pass to Devin Flores (Milena Keene kick), 9:54

NMMI STATISTICS

Rushes-Yards: 27-101

Passing: 105

Comp-Att-Int: 9-25-2

ST. MICHAEL’S STATISTICS

Rushes-Yards: 30-192

Passing: 117

Comp-Att-Int: 8-11-1  

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: NMMI, Darrell Ochieng 5-44, Juan Badillo 12-31, Jaikayo Brown 6-24, Simen Johansen 4-2.

Passing: NMMI, Juan Badillo 9-25-2 – 105.

Receiving: NMMI, Diego Hernandez 5-39, David WendeIn-Lankard 1-32, Jaikayo Brown 1-14, Darrell Ochieng 1-13, Norberto Valencia 1-7.