Although the final score may not have reflected it, the Mancos Bluejays' football team was much improved in their second game of the season.
Playing against the Sierra Grande Panthers on Sept. 7 in Blanca, Colo., the Bluejays played hard, eventually falling to the home team, 44-12.
According to head coach Adam Priestley, the Bluejays hung tough until midway through the second quarter, trailing 14-6.
Scoring the first touchdown for the Bluejays was junior tight-end Brandon Hood-Farley, who, after a solid play action fake by sophomore quarterback Drew Morgan, caught a nicely thrown pass from Morgan for the score. For Hood-Farley, the touchdown reception marked his second in as many games.
Taking advantage of multiple turnovers by the Mancos offense following Hood-Farley's score, the Panthers began to pull away, scoring several touchdowns in the last half of the second quarter.
The Bluejays hung tough, however, and found the end zone for the second time when Morgan took a snap and swept around the corner for a score. Entering halftime, the Bluejays trailed 36-12.
"The last six minutes in the second quarter hurt us," said Priestley. "(Sierra Grande) had two guys over 6'5" and they just started throwing the ball up. Our defensive backs had difficulty stopping those big guys."
Although the Bluejays yielded one touchdown and were unable to score after halftime, leaving the final score at 44-12, Priestley was not altogether disappointed with his team's effort.
"Defensively, I was very happy," said Priestley. "We changed some defensive schemes and the boys bought in. Our defensive backs have some work to do. Offensively, we're still finding it."
Among the players who especially stood out to Priestley were Ty Koppenhafer, Everett Strazza-Whalen and Adrian Hernandez.
"(Strazza-Whalen) and Koppenhafer did a great job," said Priestley. "Hernandez also played well. He's probably one of our hardest workers and he made a couple good catches."
Next up for the Bluejays is a home game with Sanford scheduled for Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
