Bloomfield looks to extend win streak tonight at Albuquerque Academy

10 p.m. -- Bloomfield moves to 4-0 on the season and will have a bye week coming up. The Bobcats will be in action on Friday, Sept. 23 when they host Valencia.

"This is amazing for us, it's so exciting to overcome what we did tonight to get this win," said head coach Mike Kovacs. "Defensively, we got after Rivera and flustered him all night long."

9:52 p.m. -- Gordo's fourth down carry is short of a first down with 1:58 to play. Chargers take over inside their own 5. Rivera's first down pass falls incomplete, as does the second down pass, both thrown to his left and with little to no chance of gaining significant yards. Gehres picks up two on third down before getting out of bounds, setting up fourth and long. Choi gets a catch from Rivera for a first down at the 15. 1:30 to play. First down pass incomplete. Gehres gets another catch for eight yards, but he stays inbounds. Third down pass is incomplete. Another fourth down play for the Chargers. Rivera's pass is incomplete and that's the ballgame as Academy turns the ball over on downs.

FINAL SCORE: BLOOMFIELD 17, Albuquerque Academy 14

9:43 p.m. -- Bloomfield facing a fourth-and-9 inside Charger territory, Sharpe finds Andrew Bair for a first down. That's a huge play with under 6 minutes to go. Chargers defensive lineman Brody Whitaker down with an injury after a big stop on Johnson's first down running play. Back-to-back defensive procedure penalties make it a manageable third and 2 for Bloomfield. Seitzinger takes the ball and picks up the first down before he gains another three yards and the clock becomes a bigger factor. Both teams are being plagued by penalties. Gordo gets eight yards up the middle and runs the clock down to 3 minutes to go. Short gain on third down. Timeout Bloomfield.

FINAL: Durango 55-Aztec 0

9:33 p.m. -- Bleicher gets 3 on first down before sliding out of bounds. Short gain by Choi after a reception. Third down pass batted down by Gordo and Bloomfield likely to get good field position on the punt. Bobcats take over at their own 43. Third down screen pass to Drew Perez picks up 12 and gets a first down. Clock rolls down under 8 minutes in game. Chargers timeout with 6:48 to go.

FINAL Montezuma Cortez 40, Kirtland Central 16

9:26 p.m. -- Onside kick recovered by Bloomfield, who starts at their own 44. Gordo gains 4 on first down, and gets 3 more on second down. Daring pass over the middle is batted down. Bloomfield punts to the Chargers who get it to the 19 yard line with 10:21 to go in the game.

9:22 p.m. -- The fourth quarter opened with a touchdown pass from Rivera to Bleicher, that's a 75-yard pass and catch and Academy trims the Bobcat lead. The Chargers lined up for a 2-point attempt but called time out. Lined up again for a 2-point play, Rivera finds Gehres who makes a leaping catch. Bloomfield still leads 17-14 with 11:48 to go in the game.

9:17 p.m. -- Rivera has been off all night for the Chargers with the exception of short passes or screen passes. Second down pass to Gehres complete for 3-yard pass as the quarter comes to an end. Bobcats 17, Chargers 6 as we head to the fourth.

9:13 p.m. -- Bleicher gets nine yards on first down. Bloomfield called for pass interference moves the Chargers to the 24. Another Rivera interception, this one picked off by Rascon. Bobcats start at their own 43 with 4:54 to go in the third quarter. Seitzinger breaks free from a couple tackles but the TD run is called back on a holding penalty. Bloomfield gets a couple short gains, appearing content to bleed the clock. Charger facemask penalty gives Bloomfield a first down across midfield. Aaron Johnson picks up nine up the middle. Gordo gets a couple yards to move the chains. Gordo another five yards on first down before Johnson gets two yards as the clock rolls down to under a minute. Seitzinger fumbles on a fourth down carry and the Chargers recover. Academy takes over at their own 21 with 37 seconds left in the third.

9 p.m. -- Just when momentum started to shift back to Academy, a high snap rolls back 20 yards and is recovered by Seitzinger and Bloomfield takes over on the Chargers side of the field. Seitzinger gets positive yards on first down inside the 30. Andrew Bair's reception is nullified by a holding call. Bloomfield going backwards as a result of a pair of personal fouls. A backwards lateral rolled out of bounds, setting up third down and 40. Bair makes a catch to get some yards back, but well short before a punt. Perez mishandles the snap from center and the Chargers take over near midfield with 5:24 left in the third.

8:53 p.m. -- Short kickoff covered by Academy at the 34. Jaewon Choi gets an 11-yard reception on third and long for a first down. Conway picks up another first down. Rivera finds Conway for another down inside the Bobcat 40. Another interception returned by Perez stops a Charger drive. Bobcats dodge a bullet and take over inside the 10. 8:40 to go in the third. Seitzinger carries the ball to a first down. Deep pass by Sharpe to Perez falls incomplete. The next time, though, it is intercepted, as Bleicher gets his second pick of the game. Academy takes over and gets some added yardage on a personal foul call, starting at the Bobcat 36.

8:41 p.m. -- Academy will get the ball to start the second half. If Bloomfield comes up big defensively, look for the Bobcats to use their running game to bleed the clock and keep the game moving along. Both quarterbacks have been picked off multiple times in the first half. "Momentum" is clearly on Bloomfield's side as we get ready for kickoff.

8:23 p.m. -- Sharpe finds Perez inside the 10. Clock under a minute. No gain for Seitzinger as clock rolls down. Bloomfield calls time out with three seconds left at the 8-yard line. And then another time out.... They were lined up for a field goal before Mike Kovacs called the team's third and final time out of the half. Andrew Himes field goal extends the Bloomfield lead to 17-6 at the break.

Montezuma-Cortez leads Kirtland Central 26-6.

8:16 p.m. -- Academy loses the ball after a lateral and a fumble. Bloomfield offense back on the field. 3:15 to go in the half. Seitzinger bulls his way for a 15 yard gain. Gordo with a short gain as Bobcats trying to squeeze the first half clock down. Ball in the red zone. Short gain by Aaron Johnson before going out of bounds. Clock down to 1:37. Timeout on the field.

8:12 p.m. -- Academy starts next drive at their own 25. Conway finds room up the middle for a 14-yard gain. Late hit on Rivera puts the ball across midfield. Deep passes, particularly in the middle of the field are tough to find. It seems particularly tough from west to east on the field. Procedural penalty on Academy. This time, Gehres comes down with a catch near the 20. Another deep pass from Rivera and another interception, this one picked off in the end zone by Drew Perez. Bloomfield starts their drive at the 20. Andres Gordo starts off the drive with a 11-yard run before a Bobcat penalty backs them up. Deep pass comes up short, intended for Rascon. Perez battles for gain of 11, but brings up fourth down. Bloomfield goes for it and gets the first down with a pass reception by Perez to midfield. Seitzinger makes a good play to get the ball to the 40 and a first down. The drive stalled after two losses on running plays. Academy gets called for another offsides. Short gain by Perez brings up fourth down and they go for it. Pass to Rascon falls incomplete in end zone. Academy gets the turnover on downs.

Newsflash: Moths really like temporary lights!

Other scores: Durango leads Aztec 35-0 midway through second quarter.

7:52 p.m. -- Academy drive falls short at their own 37, and the snap goes over the head of the punter before being run out of bounds. Bloomfield takes over inside the Academy 30. Jesse Seitzinger gets some good yardage on back-to-back carries, moving the Bobcats to the 10. And there's the lightning in the distance. Sharpe finds Seitzinger in the flat and he rolls into the end zone for a Bobcat touchdown. PAT is good and Bloomfield extends the lead to 14-6 with 10:31 to go in the half.

7:46 p.m. -- That's the end of the first quarter as Bloomfield's defense starting to pick up the pace a bit. Bloomfield 7-Academy 6.

7:43 p.m. -- Bobcats settling too often for the deep pass and coming up empty more often than not. Sharpe picked off for the second time in the game, this time by Rylee Bleicher. Academy takes over at their own 30. Rivera goes deep and throws his first interception, as George Rascon comes away with the ball. Bloomfield takes over and gets some positive yards right away, crossing midfield for the first time in the game. Sharpe finds Rascon for a 35-yard touchdown pass. PAT is good and Bloomfield leads 7-6 with less than a minute to play in the first.

7:34 p.m. -- Bobcats start third drive at the 16 yard line and finally get some positive play, with Sharpe finding Aaron Johnson for 16 yards. Both teams getting tagged with procedural penalties. The drive stalled after that first big play and the Bobcats punt again with Academy taking over at their own 24. 4 minutes left in first quarter. The lights are becoming a factor for both teams, especially in the middle of the field. Offensive line penalty puts Academy back. Pass complete to Conway for no gain. Gehres dropped a pass where he was wide open down the far sideline. Punt returned to the Bobcat 48.

7:25 p.m. -- Bobcats start second drive at their own 32, and Sharpe again misses receivers on three straight incomplete passes. Punt return by Gehres has Academy starting at their own 34. Rivera avoids the blitz and finds Jaewon Choi for 21-yard reception. Carter Speegle makes a great catch on deep middle route, putting Academy in the red zone. From the 16 yard line, Academy stalls and settles for field goal attempt, which sails wide. Academy still leads 6-0 with 6:57 left in first.

7:14 p.m. -- Bobcats get the opening kickoff but start slow as quarterback Ryan Sharpe throws an interception, taken back by Kellen Gehres. Chargers start their first drive at the Bloomfield 40 but three straight incomplete passes to start their drive. Bloomfield called for late hit keeps Academy on the the field. A.J Rivera finds Gehres with a deep pass inside the 2-yard line. Cole Conway scores on the next play up the middle. PAT is no good and Academy leads 6-0 early in the first.

6:37 p.m. -- The weather outlook calls for a slight chance (20-30 percent) of showers in the Albuquerque area later tonight. We'll keep an eye on the forecast and the skies.

Meantime, some updates on other games happening for teams around San Juan County.

Boys Soccer

LOS ALAMOS 7, Farmington 0

The Los Alamos High School boys soccer team scored four times in the first half on their way to a 7-0 win over Farmington Friday afternoon during tournament play.

The loss is the second straight for the Scorpions (4-3), who will be back in action Saturday against their crosstown rival Piedra Vista.

Girls Soccer

ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY 2, Farmington 0

The Albuquerque Academy girls soccer team advanced to the next round of their own tournament, scoring twice in the second half and shutting out Farmington Friday afternoon by a final of 2-0.

The loss is the first of the season for the Lady Scorpions, who came into the match having won four straight. The Chargers (3-2-2) will face Hope Christian Saturday at 9:30 a.m.

HOPE CHRISTIAN 6, Piedra Vista 0

Freshman Mason Ricker was one of five scorers for the Hope Christian girls soccer team as they shut out Piedra Vista by a final of 6-0 Friday in the second round of the Albuquerque Academy tournament.

Senior Ashlyn Salas also scored for the Lady Huskies, along with Seana Amaya, Bryson Fankam and Savanah Sanchez.

Hope Christian is off to a 7-0 start to the season, having outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 50-5. The Lady Panthers (4-2-1) saw their four game unbeaten streak come to an end with the loss.

Volleyball

Aztec 3, Grants 0

The Aztec High School volleyball team advanced to the second round of tournament action at Santa Fe High School, after sweeping Grants three games to none on Friday afternoon.

The Lady Tigers won the match with scores of 25-16, 25-12 and 25-17. They will play again on Saturday at 11 a.m.

ALBUQUERQUE − For only the second time in school history, the Albuquerque Academy Chargers will play under the lights when they host Bloomfield in a battle of two of the top-ranked football teams in the state.

The Bobcats and the Chargers come into tonight's contest with identical 3-0 records to start the season. According to the most recent coaches poll, Bloomfield comes in with the top-ranked Class 4A team in the state while the Chargers come in ranked fourth, behind Bloomfield, Portales and Silver.

We'll have updates throughout the night right here, as well as reports from other games happening around the state for teams from San Juan County, including Aztec hosting Durango, as well as Kirtland Central at home facing Montezuma-Cortez.

And don't forget, there's a pair of games happening Saturday, including Farmington's homecoming game, beginning at 1 p.m. when they face Cibola. Also, Navajo Prep plays on the road for the first time this season when they visit Crownpoint.

Shine the lights

Albuquerque Academy installed temporary lights for a Saturday night game against Bernalillo last year. The stadium the Chargers call home, the Richard Harper Memorial Field, predominantly is used for afternoon games.

A look at the polls

The latest polls from both MaxPreps and the New Mexico High School football coaches have the Chargers and Bobcats listed at the top of the Class 4A rankings, with both teams coming into the contest with identical 3-0 records. Bloomfield (third ranked according to MaxPreps) is coming into the game off a 43-0 rout at home over Grants and having surrendered only 26 points this season.