Weekend Leftovers

I covered the Farmington-Aztec football game, the district track meet and the FHS-Moriarty girls soccer game in an 18-hour period yesterday and today, so there's bound to be a few odds and ends that didn't make the paper.

Like Moriarty coach Larry Denniston, who appeared to be at least 65 years old and wore a sort of Abe Lincoln meets United Kingdom top hat. That guy had some style.

Oh, and Happy Halloween. I recommend eating an Act II popcorn ball -- they're pleasantly moist if not quite exquisite. Thanks to copy editor Brandon Sieben for that one.

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• I took a few extra stats from the FHS-Aztec football game. What a game, by the way.

Aztec QB Brycson King, at one point, completed 9-of-9 passes less than eight yards past the line of scrimmage (I may have miscategorized one or two plays but I did my best).

King completed 9-of-11 short passes, 2-of-6 intermediate (8-12 yards) and 4-of-8 long.

FHS QB Tyler Hough completed 2-of-3 short passes, 1-of-3 intermediate and 0-of-2 long.

Check out the Scorpions' third and fourth downs by distance in the second half.

Third-and-12: No first down.
Third-and-4: Yes.
Third-and-4: Yes.
Third-and-8: No.
Third-and-1: Yes.
Third-and-3: Yes.
Third-and-3: Yes.
Third-and-7: No.
Third-and-1: Yes.
Third-and-19: No.
Fourth-and-6: No.
Fourth-and-7: Yes.
Fourth-and-19: No.

Anything under four yards, FHS managed a first down. Anything over, they didn't.

There was one exception. Farmington drew up a halfback pass to Daniel Lacey during a time out and managed to convert a fourth-and-7 on their last drive. Curiously, FHS called for a pass on second-and-6 from the Tigers 14 and Hough got sacked, leading to the two plays with 19 yards to go.

Coach Gary Bradley said his players asked for a different play and blamed himself for calling a pass. Based on the numbers, FHS just needed two or three yards on second down, a number they got almost every time they ran the ball in the second half.

A running play there and the Scorps almost guarantee themselves a first-and-goal with less than a minute left.

• Another trend related to Farmington football: This team is starting to dominate fourth quarters.

They turned a 17-14 deficit into a 28-17 win over Piedra Vista, beat Aztec 6-0 in the period and nearly scored another one and beat Silver 6-0 in the period.

I suggested that the team may get tired in the fourth quarter by playing both ways, and Talon Spearman and Colton Curry balked. No, they said, they don't feel tired at all. And they've placed a big emphasis on finishing the game well.

It's worked. Of course, when you rush for 323 yards, as they did against the Tigers, it's easy to lean on the other team late.

• The Piedra Vista girls soccer team showed up to The Hutch today to watch -- nay, cheer -- for rival Farmington in the state playoffs. Classy move by the Lady Panthers, which were considered the district favorites to start the year and missed the playoffs after a loss to FHS ended their season.

They also sent a signed banner of support to the Bloomfield girls game, which hung on the fence in front of the bleachers at Bobcat Stadium.

• The district cross country meet at Riverview Golf Course was nothing like my old meets on golf courses in the Southeast.

I used to love golf course meets because of the soft grass (no pounding on asphalt), the views and the trees which shrouded every hole and limited my view to a few hundred meters.

The District 1-4A meet stayed on the cart path and I don't remember seeing a tree on the course. You could watch the entire race, just about, from the benches behind the driving range. This can be depressing as you look into the distance and realize just how far you have to go.

I asked girls district champion Myka Benally what she thought of her home course, and she had a different opinion: "I like it because you can see where everybody else is. I like to watch races, too, when I'm running. It's nice to look in the back and see everybody coming, and it helps out because the spectators can watch as well."