There is no place like home: Spartans slay the Sundevils

BERNALILLO — The Goon Squad is finally home! The Bernalillo Spartans (4-1) dominated the Espanola Valley Sundevils (3-3) in a home opener at Spartan Stadium Sept. 26 with a 41-12 win.

After five weeks, the Spartans finally played their first home game of the season and arguably played their best game of the season.

“Being on the road four games in a row then having the bye, it was just really nice to play in front of our home crowd and our families. It’s nice to finally get to bed at a decent time,” head coach John Cobos said. “It was a nice bounce-back game from the weather we had to deal with in Moriarty.”

Having himself a career day was starting quarterback Ulisses Castro, who rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another.

“Coach Miller helped me settle into the position a lot; Coach Cobos helped me as well, all the coaches helped me a lot, “ Castro said.

Castro, who has been the starting tight end for the past couple years, has only played quarterback for the past month. While on defense, Castro plays defensive end.

Another player making waves for the Spartans was senior receiver and safety Joseph Duran, who caught a touchdown and forced a fumble while making a tackle on defense.

“I’m really happy with how we played. We’ve had a couple of rough starts on offense for sure ... I’m really happy we could come out and just score and keep scoring,” Duran said.

In total, the Spartans scored five rushing touchdowns: three from Castro, one from running back Mario Molinar, and one from running back Davontae Richards.

The Goon Squad defense proved again to be one of the best in state and held Espanola Valley to under 200 total yards while creating four turnovers (three interceptions and one fumble recovery).

“It’s what we are known for; our defense is going to keep us in ball games,” Cobos said, crediting defensive coordinator Jarmaine Mcchriston for instilling a philosophy that all players have bought into. “The defensive motto is six turnovers. Those guys really yearn for it.”

A standout Spartan defender was defensive back RJ Fleets, who recorded two interceptions. Logging the other interception was senior defensive back Anthony Willie.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Spartans held a commanding 41-0 lead, and started to put in second-stringers.

At this time, Espanola Valley was able to string a couple of nice drives. Sundevil quarterback Irvin Primero threw two touchdown passes: one to sophomore Cody Trujillo, and one to senior Cody Coffeen.

When the clock hit zero, the Spartans shook hands and excitedly rang the victory bell at Spartan Stadium.

“Keep an eye out for us. We ain’t gonna stop. Don’t keep us in the game, or we will come back,” Castro said.

The Spartans will set their sights on a road matchup with Kirtland Central (1-4) Oct. 3.