It was a rough Friday night for the Ignacio football team, which fell 38-14 to Montezuma-Cortez on the Bobcats’ homecoming.
Ignacio had a good start to the game, with quarterback Trace Lovelace throwing a 68-yard touchdown to Colton Jackson late in the first quarter.
The quarterback exited the game later in the first half with an ankle injury and never returned.
Following the Ignacio touchdown, Cortez answered with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Ike Dennison to Cole Herrmann early in the second quarter that tied the game at 6-6.
Midway through the second quarter, Dennison and Herrmann hooked up for another TD, this one from 33 yards out. Matthew Barker ran in the 2-point conversion to give the Panthers a 14-6 lead.
Cortez added to its lead and capped a 67-yard drive with another Dennison touchdown toss, this one going to Vincent Conklin that gave the Panthers a 20-6 halftime lead.
Cortez (1-2) hit the Bobcats (1-2) for two safeties in the second half. The first was credited to Ezequiel Vargas, who sacked Ignacio backup QB Marcus Chapman midway through the third quarter. The next Bobcat possession also ended in a safety when the snap sailed over Chapman’s head and into the end zone, where Ethan Root tackled Chapman for the second safety and gave Cortez a 24-6 lead.
Cortez took advantage of the free kick after the second safety and started at the Ignacio 46-yard line. The Panthers capped off the drive with 17-yard TD pass from Dennison to Conklin with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
After an Ignacio fumble in the fourth quarter, Cortez completed a 76-yard, 11-play drive with an 11-yard run from Valentino Rodriguez that pushed the Panthers’ lead to 38-6.
Ignacio got the final score of the game when Chapman hit Jackson for a 15-yard score. Chapman ran in the 2-point conversion on a faked point after attempt. Lovelace finished the night 2-for-8 passing for 74 yards and 1 touchdown. A bright spot for Lovelace in an otherwise rough night was he was named homecoming king. Despite severe pain, Lovelace walked out onto the field for the ceremony. Chapman was 1-for-8 passing for 15 yards and a TD with one interception.
Ignacio will play at Pagosa Springs (1-2) next week. Cortez will have a bye next week and will play at Alamosa (3-1) on Sept 29.