Silver scores late, steals one from Academy

Another week, another fantastic — and unpredictable — finish in District 2-4A prep football.

Albuquerque Academy, riding some recent momentum, stood poised Friday afternoon to claim another district win, having come from two touchdowns down to lead visiting Silver in the fourth quarter.

But it was the Colts who summoned some late-game magic, adding more chaos in the state’s wildest district.

Silver senior running back Michael James Jimenez scored on a 1-yard run — and the ball barely crossed the goal line — with 31 seconds remaining on fourth down, and the seventh-ranked Colts’ clutch drive allowed them to hit the road back home with a dramatic 21-17 victory over the sixth-ranked Chargers.

“These guys have been so resilient and stayed together with all these injuries and clawing the wins out,” Silver coach Jerome Ortiz said. “Us healthy? We can play with anybody.”

Silver (6-3, 2-3 in 2-4A) had the game’s first 14 points. Academy came all the way back to lead 17-14 on a 4-yard scoring run by Ryan Williams with 7:56 remaining.

Silver went 62 yards on eight plays for the game-winner. That included a big 29-yard throw from quarterback Josiah Madrid to receiver Milo Brines.

The Colts thought Christian Maynes scored on third down, but he was ruled just short.

“I had to reach for it,” Jimenez said, laughing.

The Chargers (4-4, 2-2) had scored a combined 92 points the previous two weeks in victories against St. Pius and Manzano, but Academy was down 14-0 at halftime on Friday.

Madrid found Brines down the middle of the field for a 60-yard touchdown barely three minutes into the game for Silver. Early in the second quarter, Madrid tossed a 15-yard TD pass to Urijah Arrey. This came one play after Academy committed pass interference on a 4th-and-6 for the Colts from the Academy 30.

Academy twice during the game — once near the end of the first half, and once more in the third quarter — bypassed a chip-shot field goal attempt (22 and 29 yards) in order to go for fourth-and-longs (one 5 yards, the other 7 yards) from deep inside the red zone.

Neither fourth down attempt succeeded, and that was a likely six points the Chargers left on the field.

“You know, if you really look at it,” Ortiz said, “Academy has one of the best field-goal kickers in the country (Gage Conway). If they go for field goals instead of going for their fourth downs, this is a whole different score.

“Me personally? That gives them the win.”

And very late in the game, and leading 17-14, Academy faced a fourth-and-5 from the Silver 38. The Chargers chose not to punt to try to pin the Colts’ offense, believing a conversion might allow them to bleed the rest of the clock. They went for it, had a pass go incomplete, and Silver gained probably 25 free yards of field position as a result.

At the end, one of Silver’s injured running backs, Mekhi Grant, suggested the formation to run on the fourth-down scoring run.

“It was a great call,” Ortiz said.

Academy is at Portales next week. Silver was in last place in 2-4A just a couple of weeks ago; the Colts close against Manzano.

“(Overcoming) adversity on this team, it was lacking at first, if I’m being honest,” Jimenez said. “We would get down and it was hard for us to come back. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”

Academy's first points Friday were on a safety, on a ball snapped well over the Silver punter's head and into the end zone, where he was tackled. The Chargers turned two Colts turnovers into 15 points in a three-minute span early in the fourth quarter.

Academy pulled to within 14-10 with 10:48 left thanks to a Silver gamble that backfired. The Colts went for a fourth down from their 21 and fumbled instead, giving Academy, which recovered, a short field.

Braun moments later threw an 8-yard TD pass to Conway, who also ran in the 2-point converstion to make it 14-10. The Chargers intercepted a pass on the very next play ahead of Williams' 4-yard scoring run.