HIGH SCHOOL

Scorpions top Bulldogs; KC volleyball has won four straight

Steven Bortstein
Farmington Daily Times

FARMINGTON − The Farmington High School football team got back to their winning ways over the weekend, outscoring Albuquerque High 34-12 in the second half on their way to an impressive win on the road.

Meantime, the final days of non-district competition in both volleyball and soccer matches are netting mixed results from several local and area teams.

Here's a recap of local and area high school sports action.

Football

FARMINGTON 41, Albuquerque 18

The Farmington High School football team scored 27 unanswered points in the third quarter, breaking open a close game and proving best on the road, beating Albuquerque High by a final of 41-18 on Saturday afternoon at Milne Stadium.

Leading 7-6 at the break, the Scorpions broke the game wide open thanks to solid contributions from Jevon Smith, who scored a touchdown from 77 yards out as well as a pair of touchdown throws from quarterback Trel Griego.

The Farmington win improves their record on the season to 2-3 after a disappointing loss last weekend at home against Cibola. The Scorpions have one game remaining in their non-district schedule, at home on Friday night against Rio Rancho.

SILVER 28, Aztec 14

The Silver High School football team got a pair of touchdown passes from senior quarterback Emiliano Jimenez, erasing an early 14-0 deficit on their way to a 28-14 home victory Saturday afternoon over Aztec.

The fourth-ranked (Class 4A) Fighting Colts fell behind early in the contest after Aztec scored on a fumble return for a touchdown in the game's opening minutes, followed by a quick touchdown pass less than two minutes later. Trailing 14-0, Silver quickly answered on their next drive when Jimenez connected with senior running back Aidan Granado for the first of his two scores on the day.

Silver senior running back Mason Lockett ran for a score late in the first quarter to even the game at 14 apiece. Both teams struggled to gain any momentum until the final two minutes of the half when Jimenez found senior Ricky Vasquez for a 19-yard scoring strike, giving the Fighting Colts a 21-14 lead heading into the locker room.

Granado extended the Silver lead late in the fourth quarter when he scampered for a 23-yard score essentially ending the contest.

The Fighting Colts (5-0) have outscored their opponents this season by a margin of 173-23. The 14-point victory over the Tigers is the smallest margin of victory Silver has had all season.

Aztec (2-3) has lost each of their last two games and will look to bounce back at home on Saturday at 6 p.m. when they face St. Michael's (4-0) who are coming off a bye week after successive shutout wins over Santa Fe and Los Alamos.

Boys Soccer

FARMINGTON 3, Bloomfield 1

HOPE CHRISTIAN 4, Farmington 1

The Hope Christian boys soccer team got a pair of goals from sophomore Justus Mason, leading them to a 4-1 win at home Saturday afternoon over Farmington.

Mason's goals, in addition to goals by junior Noah Kelshaw and freshman Michael Kokulis, allowed the Huskies to win for the fourth time in their last five matches.

Farmington (6-4) will open their District 1-4A campaign at home Tuesday at 6 p.m. against Sandia

Farmington's Caleb Allred (9) attempts to the get the ball past Bloomfield's Goff Ausan (front) and Ethan Caleb Smith-Eaton (back) in the first half on Tuesday, September 13, at Bobcat Stadium.

In a match that took two days to complete, the Farmington High School boys soccer team beat Bloomfield by a final score of 3-1 at Bobcat Stadium as both teams prepare for the start of their district campaigns later this month.

The match, which started on Tuesday before it was halted due to stormy weather conditions, resumed on Thursday afternoon as the Scorpions won for their second consecutive time and improved their record on the season to 6-3.

Bloomfield has lost four of their last five matches and saw their record fall to 2-5-1 on the season.

Farmington will play their final non-district match on Saturday on the road against Hope Christian while Bloomfield has a pair of non-district games coming up, the first of which is Saturday at home against Taos before traveling to face Bayfield on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Girls Soccer

HOPE CHRISTIAN 6, Farmington 1

The Hope Christian High School Lady Huskies scored three goals in both the first and second half on their way to a 6-1 road victory Saturday afternoon over Farmington at Hutchison Stadium.

Senior Ashlyn Salas, who came into the match as the team's leading scorer, added three more goals to her total this season. Salas has scored 17 times this season to go along with five assists through Hope Christian's first 11 games on the schedule.

Junior Savanah Sanchez added a pair of goals for the Lady Huskies, who improved their record this season to a perfect 11-0. Farmington (5-2-2) is in the middle of a three-match winless streak as they prepare to open their District 2-5A schedule on the road Tuesday against Sandia.

RIO RANCHO 2, Piedra Vista 0

Senior Maya Romero and junior Addisyn Leeds each scored a goal as Rio Rancho High School girl's soccer team blanked Piedra Vista at home 2-0 on Thursday afternoon.

Romero, already the team's leading scorer with 14 goals and 10 assists this season, helped the Lady Rams to their second win from their last three matches.

Piedra Vista (5-3-2) opens their District 2-5A schedule on the road Tuesday afternoon against Eldorado.

Volleyball

GALLUP 3, Navajo Prep 0

The Gallup High School volleyball team earned a three games to none sweep on the road, beating Navajo Prep on Wednesday afternoon while winning their third straight match.

The Lady Bengals earned the sweep with scores of 25-22, 25-13 and 25-17, improving their record to 5-3 on the season. Gallup is led on the court by seniors Daliyah Morris and Kayla Jones, with a combined 32 kills and 16 service aces.

The Lady Eagles have lost two in a row and fall to 1-7 on the season. Navajo Prep wraps up their non-district campaign Wednesday on the road against Dulce.

KIRTLAND CENTRAL 3, Montezuma-Cortez 0

Kirtland Central's Blu Lansing (4) attempts a kill past Montezuma-Cortez's Elise Galbraith (13) during the second set of their volleyball match, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022 at Bronco Arena.

The Kirtland Central High School volleyball team picked up their fourth straight win Thursday night, sweeping Montezuma-Cortez three games to none at Bronco Arena.

The Broncos earned the hard-fought victory over the Panthers with scores of 25-18, 25-16 and 27-25 while running their record to 6-2 on the season. The loss drops Montezuma-Cortez to a record of 4-4.

Kirtland Central has a busy week of non-district action coming up, beginning on Tuesday with a road trip to Piedra Vista followed by a tournament next weekend.