Peter Dindinger – NMMI Sports Press

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES – After having a bad taste in their mouth from last week’s heartbreaking loss to Hagerman, the New Mexico Military Institute Colt football team bounced back in Week 5.

Behind 471 yards of total offense, the Colts notched a 41-12 victory over the Hot Springs Tigers on Friday night.

“I think that might’ve been, since I’ve been here, the most big plays we’ve had in a single game,” said NMMI head coach Randy Montoya. ”For them to be able to come out here and have a quality opponent like we did and have a big game – I was excited for them.”

NMMI (3-1) got on the board quickly with a one-yard touchdown run by Juan Badillo with 8:56 in the first quarter.

Hot Springs answered back with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Kaidyn Lanham to Josiah Tidwell with 6:08 on the clock.

After the unsuccessful two point conversion, the Tigers only trailed by one.

The Colts went on to score twice more to establish some early dominance.

A big 48-yard run by Darrell Ochieng set up a two-yard touchdown pass from Badillo to Diego Hernandez.

A turnover in the form of a fumble recovered by Badillo plagued the Tigers’ next drive.

In one quick pass the Colts extended their lead to 20-6 after a failed point after attempt. Badillo threw a 79-yard touchdown strike to Norberto Valencia with 1:56 left in the opening quarter.

NMMI forced another turnover on Hot Springs’ next drive as Ochieng grabbed an interception. The Colts had an opportunity to score four times but a fumble on the seven-yard line prevented them from doing so.

Everything had seemed to be working out for the Colts.

After a bad punt that was botched, NMMI had good field position that allowed Alexander Johnson to score on a four-yard run with 10:55 in the second quarter.

Badillo converted the two points with a pass to Diego Hernandez to make the score 28-6.

The Tigers (2-2) were able to find the end zone once more after some unfortunate drives. Devin Gonzalez scored on an 11-yard run with 5:30 left until halftime.

The two point conversion was failed giving the Colts a 16-point lead.

On the second play of NMMI’s next offensive series, Badillo tossed an 83-yard touchdown pass to Hernandez to make the score 35-12 with 4:36 on the clock.

The third turnover of the night for the Tigers spoiled yet another drive as the Colts came up with a fumble recovery.

Ochieng got in the end zone on a six-yard carry. After a missed point after attempt, NMMI lead by 29 points at the end of two quarters.

Badillo had a big night under center, throwing for 205 yards with three touchdowns while completing 7 of 9 passes.

Ochieng rushed for 116 yards on 10 carries as the Colts finished with 238 rushing yards.

It was also a solid day for the receiving corps as Hernandez caught six passes for 125 yards.

The Tigers had 163 yards of total offense while only tallying seven first downs.

NMMI is back at home next week to play Loving at 7 p.m. The Falcons are 0-5 after suffering a close 20-14 loss to Capitan.

“We were in a rut. Different kids got different touches tonight, so I think that was huge for them to get those reps,” Montoya added. “It was a good night all the way around. We got to build on this because it’s just going to get harder. We’re going to start district here pretty soon.”

NMMI 41, Hot Springs 12

Hot Springs         6              6              0              0

NMMI                   20           21           0              0

FIRST QUARTER

NMMI – Juan Badillo 1 run (William Cox kick), 8:36

HSHS – Kaidyn Lanham 25 pass to Josiah Tidwell (conversion failed), 6:08

NMMI – Juan Badillo 2 pass to Diego Hernandez (William Cox kick), 3:59

NMMI – Juan Badillo 79 pass to Norberto Valencia (kick failed), 1:56

SECOND QUARTER

NMMI – Alexander Johnson 4 run (Juan Badillo pass to Diego Hernandez), 10:55

HSHS – Devin Gonzalez 11 run (conversion failed), 5:30

NMMI – Juan Badillo 83 pass to Diego Hernandez (William Cox kick), 4:37

NMMI – Darrell Ochieng 6 run (kick failed), :24

NMMI STATISTICS

Rushes-Yards: 37-238

Passing: 233

Comp-Att-Int: 11-14-0

HOT SPRINGS STATISTICS

Rushes-Yards: 22-63

Passing: 100

Comp-Att-Int: 5-15-3

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: NMMI, Darrell Ochieng 10-116, Juan Badillo 11-44, David WendeIn-Lankard 6-38, William Cox 4-18, Gael Venegas 1-11, Simen Johansen 1-7, Alexander Johnson 1-4.

Passing: NMMI, Juan Badillo 7-9 – 205, David WendeIn-Lankard 4-5 – 28.

Receiving: NMMI, Diego Hernandez 6-125, Norberto Valencia 2-90, Gael Venegas 1-15, Juan Badillo 2-3.