Bernalillo's two long touchdown passes the difference in win over Portales

BERNALILLO — If this was indeed a measuring stick game in Class 4A prep football, Bernalillo likes where it stands.

And for Spartans senior quarterback Uriel Castro, it’s a game he won’t soon forget.

No. 3 Bernalillo (3-0) got two long touchdown passes from Castro — one in each half — and held off second-ranked Portales (1-2) 14-7 at the Spartans home field on Friday night.

“We knew Bloomfield and Portales were kind of the cream (of Class 4A). People are kind of wanting to know if we were for real,” Bernalillo coach John Cobos said. “I know that was the message coming in, but hopefully people understand that we’re a good team. We find different ways to win.”

Castro got the Spartans off to a quick start when he scrambled out of danger and found Joseph Duran for a 59-yard touchdown pass with 4:59 to play in the first quarter.

The fact that it came not long after Castro threw an interception on Bernalillo’s second play of the game says a little something about his mentality.

“I told my guys, ‘We’re gonna come back. We’re gonna put this ball in the end zone. I trust you guys. You guys just gotta trust me,’” Castro said. “And my guys executed the play perfectly, and we put the ball in the end zone.”

The game turned into a bit of a slog from there, as both teams struggled offensively and turned the ball over frequently.

Portales was hindered by the absence of standout quarterback Paxton Culpepper, who tore his ACL the previous week against Lovington and will miss the rest of the season.

Dallas Lozano gave a gritty effort filling in for Culpepper, and it was his 23-yard completion to Xavier Tarpeh that set up a game-tying 12-yard touchdown run by Tommy Lopez with 2:09 left in the third quarter.

That scoring play resulted in a scary moment for Bernalillo. Castro, who was in at cornerback, stayed down in the end zone for several minutes and had to be carted off the field. The injury wasn’t nearly as dire as it initially seemed, however. According to Cobos, Castro suffered a stinger attempting to make a tackle, but after missing one series, the Spartans quarterback returned to play hero down the stretch.

“I just got a bad stinger,” Castro said. “So when I heard I was fine to get back in, I could not give up on my brothers because I know they would do the same thing for me.”

Not long after it looked like he might be done for the game, Castro returned to the field and connected on a 49-yard bomb to Kenneth Saiz — who made a nice adjustment while the ball was in the air — to give Bernalillo what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown with 4:41 remaining.

Cobos said he was proud of his leader, who shook off three interceptions and the aforementioned injury to make the game’s biggest play when it mattered most.

“I know people look back at the stats and talk about the interceptions and stuff, but it’s something when you have a gunslinger like you do,” Cobos said. “It’s kind of like living and dying by the 3-pointer.”

Portales would have two more possessions, but the Rams were down to their third quarterback after Lozano suffered an injury in the third quarter, and they were unable to mount a serious threat.

Despite those difficult circumstances, Portales coach Jaime Ramirez came away with both pride for his own team and respect for the Spartans.

“They battled,” Ramirez said. “I knew that Bernalillo was a good football team. I knew that they had a lot of heart and they’re well coached …. Our hat’s off to them and what they’ve done.”

Gradually earning respect is part of the plan for the Spartans, which despite making a statement, knows the team has plenty left to accomplish.

“There’s a lot of football left to play as we start our district, and it’s gonna be a tough district,” Cobos said. “But, you know, it feels good to finally get over that hump as Portales has had our number for the last couple of years.”

Bernalillo defeats Portales football: Photos