Los Lunas goes up big, then hangs on for district win over Eldorado

What started out looking like an easy night at the office turned into a down-to-the-wire victory for Los Lunas.

The Tigers squandered all of a 21-0 lead, then held on to top Eldorado 28-22 in a District 2-6A opener at Los Lunas on Friday night. The outcome wasn’t decided until linebacker Bryant Baca sacked Eagles quarterback Giovanni Evans on fourth and goal from the Los Lunas 15-yard line as time expired.

“That was a heck of a win for the program, the community. We knew it was going to be incredibly tough, especially on homecoming week against such a great team,” said Tigers coach Greg Henington. “But we're super proud of our kids coming through in the end.”

Early on, it appeared that Los Lunas (2-2, 1-0) was well on its way to a running clock. The Tigers scored on each of their first three possessions to go up 21-0 with 11:06 remaining in the second quarter. And they weren’t cheap touchdowns, either. Senior quarterback Kaiden Reese opened the scoring with a 72-yard romp on a read option. On his team’s second possession, he found tight end Anthony Castillo for a 33-yard score. A 16-yard touchdown run for Jagger Casillias — on the heels of a 29-yard connection from Reese to Castillo — completed the early run.

Momentum began to shift after the Tigers intercepted an Evans pass deep in their own territory. Eldorado (1-2, 0-1) responded by getting a safety on the ensuing play and then going on a 10-play TD march to cut the deficit to 21-8 as time expired in the first half. The Eagles kept things rolling with a 13-play scoring drive to open the third quarter to make it 21-14. As Los Lunas continued to sputter, Eldorado took its first lead at 22-21 with 6:44 remaining in the third quarter.

“We knew they were better than that, than 21-0, right? We knew they were going to come back and fight,” Henington said. “They got some plays and got some things to go their way. Next thing you know, we're in a battle.”

The game was largely a defensive slugfest from there, but Martin Cordova gave the Tigers the lead for good with a seven-yard run with 7:35 to play. After holding Eldorado to a three-and-out, Los Lunas was seemingly in position to ice the game when Cordova dove into the Eagles line on fourth and one at midfield. What initially appeared to be a first down was then determined to be a turnover on downs following a measurement, giving Eldorado one last gasp with 3:26 to play.

It was rarely pretty, but Evans led the Eagles on a 15-play drive — aided by some gritty scrambles as well as some costly Los Lunas penalties — to the Tigers 10. One play before Baca’s sack, it seemed that an incompletion in the end zone would give Los Lunas the victory. Instead, a false start on Eldorado gave the Eagles one final opportunity. That set the stage for Baca’s victory-sealing hit from Evans’ blindside.

“They just stood up like men,” Henington said. “People making plays, big hits, and just being relentless with what they've been taught by their D coordinator.”