Volcano Vista football quiets Rio Rancho

RIO RANCHO — Volcano Vista made sure there would be no pyrotechnics for Rio Rancho on this night.

An unyielding defense and a physical running game carried the Hawks to a definitive 33-0 triumph over the Rams on a blustery evening in Rio Rancho on Friday. Volcano Vista (7-1, 3-0 1-6A), ranked fourth in state coaches poll, stifled No. 6 Rio Rancho (5-3, 2-1) at every turn as it raced out to a 26-0 halftime advantage and never looked back.

“Big one coming in here, and getting the win’s tough,” said Volcano Vista coach Chad Wallin. “I mean, (we’ve) played here a lot, and with the fans and the home field advantage, our kids are talking about (how) they shoot off fireworks every time they score. So their big thing was there’s not gonna be any damn fireworks.”

It was the sixth consecutive game in which the Hawks have held their opponent to eight points or less, and the first shutout during that streak. Rio Rancho ventures onto the Volcano Vista half of the field were rare, and the Rams were also hindered by three turnovers.

“(Our defense) is working well because all three levels are working together,” Wallin said. “Our D-line eats up a lot of blocks. They’re active. They’re penetrating. We feel like our three are taking up five blocks, which frees up our second-level linebackers to really get after it and play fast to the football.

“And then our DBs do a very good job of keeping everything in front of (them), for the most part. And so when you get all three phases like that working together, it’s pretty nice.”

It wasn’t nice for the Rio Rancho quarterback tandem of JJ Arellano and Micah Takahashi, who struggled to find a rhythm. While the Hawks might not have accumulated a high sack total, their effect was reflected more through pressures and an unusually high number of deflections.

“We had to be close to double digits,” Wallin said of his team’s deflection total. “About halftime, I was like, ‘God, that’s gotta be six.’ … Our D-line coach does a very good job of getting them to get their hands up when we’re not getting penetration. And, I mean, it didn’t help with the shorter quarterbacks. They don’t get to see over them as well. So we worked on it all week, and they did a good job.”

On the other side, the Hawks controlled the game by running the ball. All five of their touchdowns came on the ground, including three by senior Mason Gurule, who finished with 126 rushing yards. Ilijah Hansen and D’angelo Mitchell also chipped in scores on the ground.

“We knew it was gonna be windy, so we’ve been game-planning for the run all week,” Gurule said. “We just had to make it work, the H-backs, the linemen. It just hit the hole nice. It worked. I knew how to make it work.”

For the Hawks, the victory sets up a massive District 1-6A showdown next week at Cleveland — which blanked Piedra Vista 54-0 in Farmington on Friday.

“They’re good. I mean, Cleveland’s Cleveland,” Wallin said. “They’re putting up 50 points on people. We’ve got to show up. We have to be better than tonight.”