Defense wins and offense scores is a common cliche. However, for the Pirate football team this past Saturday, defense wins and scores.
The Grants High School Pirates football made it past the first round of the Nusenda Credit Union NMAA 4A state football playoffs after a strong defensive game to win 22-16.
“We knew they would be a heavy run team–we forced them to pass and that’s exactly what happened,” said GHS head football coach Steve Brown. “Our defense rose to the occasion and played by far their best game of the season.”
The Pirates certainly did play well defensively, forcing the Colts quarterback to pass. The Pirates were ready for that passing game! Defense garnered seven interceptions and forced two fumbles that held the Colts junior quarterback Josiah Madrid to 95-yards passing.
The Pirates scored first with an interception by Cardenio Chavez who ran it for 20 yards and a Pirate touchdown in the first quarter. The extra point attempt was no good.
The Colts struck back with a 24-yard touchdown of their own, and a twopoint conversion in the second quarter to briefly lead in the second quarter, 8-6. In that second quarter, the Pirates pushed the Colts into their own end zone and junior Coudy Melonas sacked the quarterback for a safety tying the game up 8-8.
Colts come back late in the third quarter as they rotted up and scored a touchdown and made the two-point conversion to go up for the second time,168.
Everybody was ready to get hot chocolate for halftime. But hold up on your hot chocolate.
With four seconds left in the fourth quarter senior Boudy Melonas took the kickoff return and went the distance for a 98-yard Pirate touchdown. Andres Lazos used his speed for the two-point conversion to tie it all up 16-16 at the end of the third quarter.
Ok, now you can get your hot chocolate.
“Man I felt on top of the world,” said Melonas of that 98-yard kickoff return to tie the lead back up—'I could hear the crowd go wild–I knew I had the advantage because of my speed.”
Melonas later added, “That’s the best game I have ever had–I was locked in—just focused and I played my heart out knowing it was win or go home.”
Coach Brown would echo Melonas’s words by stating, “Boudy played a game of a lifetime!”
The Pirate defense kept up the pressure and in the middle of the fourth quarter Pirate senior Juaquine Rivera intercepted a shovel pass from Madrid and went 27-yards for a touchdown. The extra point attempt was no good. Pirates take a six-point lead, 22-16.
Needing a touchdown to score and an extra point to win the Colts hopes of tying or winning were dashed with 1:34 left on the clock in the fourth quarter as a Madrid pass was intercepted by Coudy Melonas to seal the game for the Pirates. The Pirates ran out the clock to win and to advance to the quarterfinals and will play the 2nd seeded St. Pius Sartans on Saturday, November 16th at 1:00pm at Milne Stadium in Albuquerque.
A defensive game not just for the Pirates but also for the Colts who held the Pirates to no offensive touchdowns. “Silver’s defense was stout,” said Brown. Junior Pirate quarterback Tristin Fernandez had 19 attempts and 10 completions for 115 yards.
“I played ok, there’s always space to improve,” said Fernandez.
Brown added, “If we clean up all of the penalties that game is not even close—the plays on offense that were called could have resulted in 116 yards and a TD,” said Brown.
According to Brown, the Pirates will continue to work hard in practice as they Prepare for St. Pius. “We played them earlier in the season and lost big (40–7) – but our kids have said all season that they hope to play them again in the playoffs–here is our opportunity–our kids will be ready.”