Magdalena Falls; Reserve Hangs On To Win On Road

Mountain Mail Reports

The Magdalena football team opened its season with a long trip to the Chama area. It was not the ideal start as thunderstorms delayed part of the game. And then playing on a muddy field, the Steers, who had only been in pads for a week, fell to Escalante 62-6 Saturday afternoon.
“They were a good team,” Magdalena coach Manny Marquez said.”It was tough. We played in the rain and there were weather delays.”
The Steers got their only score on a 50-yard run by Dan Hand. “He made a nice run,” Marquez said. “He got in the open and nobody could catch him.”
In practice, though, on Tuesday, Hand injured his knee making a tackle and Marquez said he will be out for a couple of weeks.
“Dan made the tackle and pulled the guy on top of him and twisted his knee,” Marquez said.
It was not all bad news for the Steers. Marquez said they will get some help from three new players this week when they line up at home against Ramah Friday night.
“The kids are working hard and we are going to do all we can to try and get better,” Marquez said.
The Magdalena coach said there are now 22 players on the roster. “The kids are fired up. We are going to practice under the lights Wednesday, have a regular practice Thursday and be ready to play Friday.”
Reserve
It’s only the season opener but Reserve coach Don Cole was feeling pretty good after the Mountaineers escaped with a 20-14 victory against Menaul in Albuquerque Friday night.
Menaul was on Reserve’s 5-yard line when time expired and it could not get another play off.
“That’s the first time with assistant coach Jeff Fisher and I have won a close game with our team,” Cole said. “They showed a lot of heart. We had a great defensive stand at the end.”
It was the defense that carried the Mountaineers as they scored two touchdowns – one on a fumble recovery by Mark Estrada and an interception return by Trevor Kaber.
Kaber’s interception return for a touchdown came in the third quarter and it gave the Mountaineers a 20-14 lead.
“I chewed on them a little bit at halftime and we played much better in the second half,” Cole said.
Cole said offensively the Mountaineers were a little stale.
In practice on Monday, Cole said, “We worked a lot on run blocking. That bothered me the most Friday night. We kept hitting it and they finally figured out that you have to work hard if you want to succeed.”
Reserve’s other touchdown came in the first half on a 10-yard run by Tanner Lengsdorf.
The fourth-ranked Mountaineers will take on Floyd at home on Friday at 3 p.m.
Floyd opened its season with a 46-20 loss to No. 2 Springer.

Magdalena Falls; Reserve Hangs On To Win On Road