La Cueva proves its championship mettle in taking down Cleveland for 6A crown

La Cueva is a much different team than the one Cleveland saw back in August.

For that, the Bears owe the Storm at least a small debt of gratitude.

No. 3 La Cueva (10-4) claimed its first blue trophy in football since 2018 with a surprisingly dominant 35-14 victory over top-seeded Cleveland (9-4) in the Class 6A championship game Saturday afternoon on the Storm’s home field. It was the Bears’ 10th consecutive triumph after an 0-3 start, as they avenged a 27-7 loss to Cleveland in Week 2 of the regular season.

“We really don’t look back at anything we did beyond a couple days,” La Cueva coach Brandon Back said. “We knew we had the ability to do this. We just had to play four full quarters of a game, and we were able to accomplish that.”

After that loss to Cleveland in August, La Cueva prepared with an eye toward an eventual rematch against the Storm.

“People don’t know, but we were game-planning ever since we lost in that second week,” said Bears quarterback Cam Dyer. “I think all that extra preparation and all that time getting ready, all that extra time watching film — that’s what it’s all about.”

Dyer was at the forefront of La Cueva’s offensive charge against what was widely regarded as Class 6A’s best defense. He finished with 350 total yards and accounted for three touchdowns, including scoring runs of 88 and 72 yards on consecutive La Cueva possessions in the second quarter to give his team a 21-7 lead.

Explosive plays were a major factor for the Bears. In addition to Dyer’s work, Cheeto Lumbrera III opened the second half with a 66-yard jaunt — part of his 108 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the day.

“Just athletes doing their thing,” Back said. “That was the biggest thing.”

Dyer, meanwhile, pointed to a game plan that had been in the works for weeks as being critical to his team’s success against a defense that had allowed just 25 points in its previous six games combined.

“There were a couple different schemes, counters, midline reads, different stuff that our coaches dialed up,” he said. “We knew we would face them again. So we were preparing for them all season.”

Were it not for a trio of lost fumbles in the first half, La Cueva might have won by an even more comfortable margin. Two of those — a fumble by Dyer while attempting a sneak on the Cleveland 1 and a muffed punt that set up the Storm’s second touchdown of the game — were critical.

The Bears were able to have some margin for error thanks in large part to a defense that put on a performance indicative of one of the state’s top units. La Cueva limited Cleveland to just 213 yards of total offense, and quarterback Jordan Hatch completed just 10 of 30 passes while struggling to find open receivers.

Star linebacker Mason Posa led the way for La Cueva, whether it was harassing Hatch on blitzes, stifling bruising Storm running back Harris Mbueha or deflecting passes in coverage. Posa admitted that the Bears entered the title game with a chip on their shoulder.

“Everyone thought Cleveland was gonna win,” Posa said. “… Everyone hating on our defense, people (saying) we’re a good defense, not a great defense. But you know what, we proved them wrong. La Cueva Bears, we’re the best program in the state.”

Cleveland remained within 28-14 late in the third quarter, but drives of 14 and nine plays fizzled in La Cueva territory down the stretch. The Bears put the game away with a seven-yard TD pass from Dyer to Nate Silva to provide the final margin with 3:35 to play.

While Back said that his team never looked too far in its rearview as the season progressed, one can’t help but think that an unexpected 0-3 start provided valuable motivation.

“We weren’t the team that we are now,” Posa said. “We changed.”

Added Dyer: “I think just going to an 0-3 start, nobody expected us to be there … That fueled our fire. We came in with that chip on our shoulder like we have had all season. We just came ready to play and handled business.”

LA CUEVA 35, CLEVELAND 14

La Cueva 0 21 7 7 — 35

Cleveland 7 7 0 0 — 14

Scoring: C, Harris Mbueha 4 run (Miguel Quinones kick); LC, Cheeto Lumbrera III 3 run (Chance Whitmire kick); LC, Cameron Dyer 88 run (Whitmire kick); L, Dyer 72 run (Whitmire kick); C, Chuka Tutman 1 run (Quinones kick), LC, Lumbrera III 66 run (Whitmire kick); LC, Nate Silva 7 pass from Dyer (Whitmire kick). Records: LC 10-3, C 9-4.

Photos: La Cueva wins the 6A championship game