Cleveland puts the heat on Centennial for opening weekend win

LAS CRUCES — Ninety-seven degrees at halftime?

No problem for Cameroon native Harris Mbueha and the visiting Cleveland Storm.

Mbueha finished the game with 152 yards on 33 carries, and although the Cleveland offense struggled when he was getting a break, the defending Class 6A state champions won this season opener with defense, downing Centennial 27-8 at the Field of Dreams.

“We’ve played here a lot over the years. This might be the hottest we’ve ever played in,” Storm coach Robert Garza said.

Cleveland intercepted Centennial four times. One of those was a pick-6 by Marcus La Cuesta. The Storm defense also recorded four sacks and limited the Centennial offense to 34 yards rushing. Cleveland did not give up a third-down conversion to the Hawks in the second half.

Cleveland’s first-half touchdowns followed a blocked punt, and a wind-affected punt that went a minus-2 yards.

In the first half, Mbueha made the Hawks pay with a 1-yard TD, after Louie Birch blocked a punt and the Storm recovered it on the 1. What was planned to be a point-after kick saw a bad snap result in holder Jaden Davis finding teammate La Cuesta in the end zone for a 2-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.

Centennial tied the game after Christian Ortiz returned the ensuing kickoff 59 yards to the Storm 32; three plays later, Rudy Rios scored on a 6-yard rush run. Jordan Lucas caught a 2-point conversion pass from QB Daniel Hernandez.

The second errant Centennial punt gave the Storm possession on the Hawks’ 22, and Jordan Hatch passed to Angel Gallegos on the first offensive play for a touchdown and a 14-8 lead. This time , the PAT was blocked.

Karter Weddle caught a 22-yard from sophomore QB Jordan Hatch, making his first varsity start for Cleveland. That third-quarter score made it 21-8 Storm.

La Cuesta’s 46-yard interception return for a score with 3:50 left in regulation put it away.

“We came out (in the second half), we do what we do,” Mbueha said, admitting he was tired.

Said Garza: “We couldn’t ask for a better start. These guys (Centennial) put it to us last year, so it was good to come down here and get that first win.”