Goon Squad Spartans win big; King Castro shows 'mercy'

BERNALILLO — A homecoming game to remember! On Oct. 4, the Bernalillo Spartans (6-0) demolished the visiting Kirtland Central Broncos (1-5) at Spartan Stadium in front of a sold out crowd. The final: Bernalillo 54, Kirtland Central 0.

The Goon Squad Spartans are still undefeated with four games left in the regular season. In fact, this is the second straight season that the Spartans have started 6-0.

"They are resilient and they buy in. Every game is unique, every week is unique," head coach John Cobos said. "We don't look past anybody. This week, our total focus was on Kirtland Central. Now, our focus is on Aztec."

What wasn't working for the Spartans? The corners were physical, the lineman won in the trenches, the defense posted another shutout, and wide receiver Joseph Duran could not be stopped.

"First of all, I couldn't do it without my line, and Uriel [Castro], without him I couldn't have done it," Duran said. "I just run my routes at 100%, and the ball is there."

Duran was an absolute menace all game. He torched any defender in his area, capitalized on blown coverages and caught four touchdown passes.

Bernalillo quarterback Uriel Castro also caught fire and put on a throwing masterclass. Castro finished the game with seven touchdown passes.

Other Spartan receivers catching touchdowns were Ivan Ruiz who caught two, and recently crowned Ulisses Castro, who caught the game-ending touchdown with a 1:50 left in the fourth quarter, which prompted the implementation of the mercy rule.

Yes, Ulisses Castro was crowned at the halftime homecoming coronation and caught the final touchdown of the game. In total, the Castro brothers threw for seven touchdowns, caught one and got a crown.

However, Castro was not the only Spartan who got to achieve homecoming royalty.

At the halftime homecoming coronation, two students from each grade were crowned. Those students were Ava Romero (freshman), Jovani Guevara (freshman), Valeria Diaz (sophomore), Ulisses Castro (sophomore), Shawn Kee (junior), Lilyanna Cate (junior), Hyshtiani Kaulaity-Quintana (senior), and Valerie Coriz (senior).

The Spartans will hop on the road for their next two games against Aztec (0-6) on Oct.11, and then against undefeated Bloomfield (6-0) on Oct. 18.

"It's my last year, and I got my brother right here; number two, Joe Duran. I got my little brother on the team, everyone else on this team is my family," Castro said. "We want to make history here at the Bernallilo football program. We want to be the first ones to win that blue trophy."