Bernalillo scores 34 in final quarter of season opener

BERNALILLO — Bernalillo High School football team kicked off its season with a bang, defeating Valley High School 46-6 after a fourth-quarter offensive explosion from the Spartans.

Windy weather, drizzling rain, snack bar nachos, people sitting in the beds of their trucks … Friday Night Lights are back, and BHS was ready. The Spartans scored 34 points in the fourth quarter — 40 points unanswered — and started the season in the win column.

“Kudos to my staff; they work very hard. Kudos to the kids; they kept playing. And in the fourth quarter, everything just came together,” said Spartan head coach John Cobos, now in his 10th season at the helm of the BHS program.

For most of the night, it was a close game. In fact, it was even tied 6-6 until Bernalillo wide receiver and safety Joseph Duran was able to make a great play for six in the middle of the third quarter.

“What I love about this team is that we just keep on grinding. The game did not start like we wanted it to. We thought we were going to come out and dominate,” Cobos said. “We know we are a good football team. You know what, respect to Valley man, they came out and punched us in the mouth.”

Duran had a solid outing, which included a fourth-down conversion catch on offense and an interception on defense.

Heading into the fourth quarter, Bernalillo had a 12-6 lead. A rushing touchdown by BHS running back Nathan Encinias extended the lead to 18.

On the next possession, Valley quarterback, senior Julian Butkivich, drifted out of the pocket in response to Bernalillo pressure. With defenders closing in, Butkivich lobbed an underthrown pass downfield. Bernalillo cornerback Kenneth Saiz hit the juice, picked off the ball and took it back to the house with multiple Bernalillo players blocking.

“It felt awesome. I just read where the ball was going to go, caught it and then my teammates helped me out,” Saiz said.

When Saiz made the play, the stadium was rocking. The Spartans must have felt the adrenaline, too, because after this, they never looked back.

Next, Bernalillo linebacker Ivan Ruiz was able to jump an intermediate pass and get another pick six for the Spartans.

Valley’s next possession ended in a muffed exchange between the long snapper and punter that resulted in a short field for Bernalillo. The Spartans punched it in for a rushing touchdown courtesy of Bernalillo running back Josh Barajas.

On the next possession, the Bernalillo defense was able to force another turnover after a great hit and recovery by Bernalillo off-ball linebacker Gabriel Trujillo.

The final touchdown of the night came by way of the Castro brothers. Bernalillo quarterback Uriel Castro threw a dart to his brother and BHS tight end, Ulisses Castro, who found open space and dashed to the end zone.

The Bernalillo defense finished the night with multiple sacks, quarterback pressures, fumbles forced, fumbles recovered, tackles for loss, passes defended, interceptions and defensive touchdowns.

The Bernalillo special teams also made plays, created turnovers and played great kickoff coverage that often resulted in Valley starting drives inside their own 20.

The player of the game was two-way player Ivan Ruiz, who finished the night with nine tackles, two interceptions and two total touchdowns (one receiving touchdown and one pick six).

“It feels pretty good. I feel pretty good. I feel happy, and I know the team is happy,” Ruiz said.

At the end of the game, each Bernalillo player rang the ceremonial bell as is tradition when the Spartans win.

Bernalillo will have three straight home games before hitting the road, and their next matchup is 7 p.m. Aug. 30, when they take on Highland High School at Spartan Stadium.