Valley claims district championship with thrilling win over Los Alamos

Billy Cobos was screaming his approval. The head coach with Class 5A’s most unruly beard and most playful social media avatar was speaking to the newly minted District 2-5A football champions, his Valley Vikings, who were sitting in front of him.

But by the sheer volume of his voice, he may just as well have been speaking to the entirety of the North Valley.

Valley’s tense and thrilling 26-23 win over Los Alamos on Thursday night at Milne Stadium clinched the league title for the Vikings (6-3, 3-0 in 2-5A), and with it an almost certain home game in the first round of the upcoming 5A playoffs.

Senior running back Charles Lopez-Burton overcame a terrible start (two early lost fumbles), and finished with 262 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner, a 2-yard run with 90 seconds to go for the ninth-ranked Vikings.

“It feels absolutely amazing,” Lopez-Burton said of Valley clinching the district, its first in 10 years. “Last year, we went into this same game, but the outcome wasn’t what we wanted. So this year, we went to work and we knew exactly what we wanted and how to prepare for it.”

Los Alamos (7-2, 1-1 in 2-5A) fumbled the ensuing kickoff after Valley took that 26-23 lead, and the Vikings ran out the clock.

Before that, Valley went 89 yards on 10 rushing plays — the Vikings did not complete a single pass the entire night and only tried five — including a crucial fourth-and-2 conversion from the Los Alamos 37, with Lopez-Burton going four yards to keep the drive going.

Two plays later, Lopez-Burton rumbled 31 yards to the 2, and he scored on the next play.

“Pound and ground and don’t give them the ball back,” Cobos said of Valley’s approach on that long scoring drive. “I was afraid that No. 14 (Melaki Gutierrez), who is a great athlete, was gonna take over the game, and we couldn’t afford that.”

Gutierrez, one of the state’s speediest athletes — he’s in the top 3 for sure — never got that chance when the Hilltoppers fumbled the kickoff.

Cobos’ voice may become scratchy after he screamed his adrenaline-filled victory speech to his team, but the glow on his face made it clear it was worth it.

“We had to put (what happened last year in Los Alamos aside), but in the back of our minds as a coaching staff, we were like, ‘We gotta get this one back,'" Cobos said.

The Hilltoppers had the game’s first two points, as they tackled Valley punter Tazhe Wilson in the end zone for a safety near the end of the first quarter.

On the first play of the second quarter, Valley’s Daniel Garcia took a jet sweep handoff 54 yards for a score and a 6-2 lead. The first of Lopez-Burton’s three TDs, on Valley’s next drive, upped the Valley lead to 13-2. Burton scored on a 15-yard run one play after he went 34 yards to put the Vikings in the red zone. The PAT failed.

Los Alamos got a much-needed score with 30 seconds to go before halftime, as quarterback Kyle Evenhus threw a 25-yard touchdown pass (on third-and-17) to Seth Cowan to trail by only four at the break.

Gutierrez did not play the first half Thursday. He was ejected last week against Manzano, and usually would have had to sit out all of Thursday night. But the Hilltoppers appealed his suspension down to just the first half.

And his impact was immediately felt when he returned, because he took the first snap of the third quarter, an option pitch, 63 yards for an electrifying, go-ahead touchdown that put Los Alamos in front 16-13.

Valley took over and went 71 yards for an immediate answer. Lopez-Burton scored from the 2 on a fourth-and-1 and a 19-16 Vikings lead. The PAT was blocked.

Los Alamos countered as Evenhus hit Haiden Jorgenson on a pretty 27-yard score in the back of the end zone to put the ‘Toppers in front 23-19 with 4:14 to go in the third quarter.

Lopez-Burton had the game-winner, and Cobos displayed faith in his back even after the two early fumbles.

“I couldn’t put my head down. I had to keep going and keep pushing through it,” Lopez-Burton said.

Added Cobos: “We have 100 percent trust in him.”

Valley’s ground game gained 431 yards (Wilson also had an excellent night for the Vikings), and the effectiveness of it in the fourth quarter was apparent as Valley ran 20 offensive plays to just four in the final 12 minutes for the Hilltoppers.

As for No. 8-ranked Los Alamos (7-2, 1-1), the Hilltoppers, who finish the regular season next week against Del Norte, are likely looking at a first-round road game in the postseason, coach Garrett Williams said.

VALLEY 26, LOS ALAMOS 23

Los Alamos 2 7 14 0 – 23

Valley 0 13 6 7 – 26

Scoring: LA, safety, Valley punter tackled in end zone; V, Daniel Garcia 54 run (kick failed); V, Charles Lopez-Burton 15 run (William Bradford kick); LA, Seth Cowan 25 pass from Kyle Evenhus (Cowan kick); LA, Melaki Gutierrez 63 run (Cowan kick); V, Lopez-Burton 2 run (kick blocked); LA, Haiden Jorgenson 27 pass from Evenhus (Cowan kick); V, Lopez-Burton 2 run (Bradford kick). Records: V 6-3, 3-0 in 2-5A; LA 7-2, 1-1.

First downs: LA 7; V 18. Rushes-yards: LA 26-170; V 58-431. Passing: LA 10-18-0–107; V 0-5-0–0. Total offense: LA 277; V 431. Punts-avg.: LA 5-44.8; V 3-31.1. Fumbles-lost: LA 2-2; V 3-2. Penalties-yards: LA 6-60; V 8-64.

MANZANO 63, DEL NORTE 8: At Wilson Stadium, four of the six touchdown passes thrown by Monarchs quarterback James Vautier were caught by Josh Nieto, and the Monarchs (2-7, 1-2) routed the Knights (1-8, 0-2) in the other District 2-5A matchup Thursday night.

The Manzano defense forced four turnovers, returning both an interception for a touchdown and a fumble for a score.

Nieto finished with six catches for 120 yards.

Photos: Valley Vikings defeat Los Alamos Hilltoppers