Elijah Brody accounts for 8 TDs, West Mesa rolls Atrisco Heritage

Not even a nearly hour-long lightning delay could stop the West Mesa Mustangs from getting revenge in a 74-36 victory over Atrisco Heritage.

One year removed from a heartbreaking 59-54 loss to the Jaguars that kept West Mesa out of the playoffs and got the Atrisco Heritage into the postseason, the Mustangs got eight total touchdowns from senior quarterback Elijah Brody — including seven rushing — and just enough big plays on defense to cruise to a victory at Nusenda Community Stadium on Friday night.

The game started at approximately 7:50 p.m. due to lightning in the area before kickoff. Considering West Mesa had the game circled on the calendar since last September, it was only a minor inconvenience.

“We’ve been waiting for this game for 365 days,” Brody said. “We knew we wanted to go get these guys and we knew we owed them, so it was good to come out here and dominate.”

Though the game itself was something of a marathon, with more than 30 combined penalties to go with all the points and yardage, that didn’t dampen the Mustangs’ enthusiasm for celebration. After the victory, West Mesa coach Landrick Brody was holding aloft the special trophy helmet (half West Mesa/half Atrisco Heritage) created for this series. Brody and Atrisco Heritage coach Howard Knezevich conceived of the trophy last year. The winning team will hold it until their next meeting.

As is so often the case, it was the coach’s son who was the best player on the field. This time he relied primarily on his legs — though he did connect with Marcos Ochoa for a 69-yard TD strike in the first half. All told, Elijah Brody rushed for 230 yards, a total that was highlighted by a 65-yard jaunt to give his team a 67-28 advantage in the fourth quarter.

“We knew we were going to have some success offensively, but when you’re able to put points on the board like we were able to tonight, you’re gonna fall asleep very happy,” Elijah Brody said.

After a relatively competitive first half, West Mesa (4-1) took advantage of short fields on its first two possessions of the third quarter to permanently swing momentum in its favor.

The Mustangs Ronnie Gilletti took a short second half kickoff 52 yards to the Atrisco 13, and Brody scored on a 15-yard run two plays later. The Jaguars (3-2) dug themselves an even deeper hole when Latavious Morris was intercepted by the Mustangs Sajon Thompson to give West Mesa the the ball at the Atrisco 35. Once again, West Mesa was quick to capitalize, as Brody scored from 18 yards out two plays later to give his team a 40-14 lead.

Though they had their share of offensive success, the Jaguars never got closer than 19 points the rest of the way. They were hindered by four interceptions — two each from Morris and Landon Griego, who took over under center in the second half.

Both Brody, who scored five of his rushing touchdowns in the second half, and senior running back Marcus Sharp, who added 166 yards and two scores on the ground on the evening, encountered less and less resistance from the Jaguars defense as the game progressed.

“Our O-line’s been working hard,” Elijah Brody said. “They’ve been grinding and getting better and better each week. And this was a statement week for them to go out here and dominate these boys.”

Editor's note: A sentence in this story regarding the helmet Landrick Brody held after the game was revised after publication.