GRANTS, N.M. - The Grants High School Pirates came up one touchdown short at the 2026 homecoming game last Saturday at the port of the Pirates.
“It was a good game, we played well,” said GHS head football coach Gene Riedinger.
Junior running back Daniel Garcia ran the ball 20 yards in the second quarter for a touchdown to put the Pirates up 7-6 at halftime after the extra point attempt.
The third quarter started out with energy and enthusiasm as juniors Antonio De-Vargas and Mathew Coykendall blocked an Espanola punt and recovered the ball at the 6-yard line. The blocked punt was overturned and the Pirates lost a crucial red zone scoring opportunity early in the third quarter.
“We feel it was a misinterpretation of the rules,” said Riedinger of the blocked punt attempt that was overturned. “However, we need to learn to overcome obstacles and find a way to win.”
Espanola went on to score two touchdowns and the extra points in the third quarter to lead the Pirates 20-7.
The Pirates were not done yet. Off a quarterback sneak, freshman quarterback Atanacio Gallegos ran 4 yards for the second Pirate TD of the night,however, the Pirates did not score after that.
“I didn’t think I could score –I was just glad I did score and helped out my team,” said Gallegos of his TD. Gallegos said of the game overall, “Playing in the homecoming game was a surreal feeling because it feels like you wait so long to be playing for the Pirates.”
Riedinger felt it was a winnable game as the two teams matched up well personal wise as both have similar numbers in seniors and both teams are smaller making players play both sides, offense and defense.
“We are still in the hunt,” said Riedinger of the Pirates playoff prospects. “We control our future.”
The Pirates drop to 2-4, 1-3 and are 7th out of 9 teams in District 1-4A. Espanola improves to 4th in district 14A with a record of 4-2, 3-1.
Next up for the Pirates is another tough northern team, the Taos Tigers (2-5, 2-3). The Tigers are sixth in District 1-4A just ahead of the Pirates. The game is in Taos at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 9.
“Once again a game we certainly can win–we added new things and I think we can win, “ said Riedinger of the upcoming game with Taos.
Cibola Sports Roundup The Laguna-Acoma Hawks football team is currently 1-6, 0-1 after a 56-19 loss to Tohatchi (3-3, 1-0) on October 2. Next up for the Hawks is Crownpoint ( 2-5, 0-1) on October 16 on the road. The Hawks are in 4th place in District 1-2A.
The lady Pirates volleyball team is on a 4-0 run after defeating Bloomfield 3-1 and Espanola 3-0 last week. Next up is a tough Hope Christian (11-3, 0-0) at home on October 6 then a district game at Belen ( 9-4,0-0) on October 8.
The Laguna-Acoma volleyball team is (4-7, 0-1) after a 3-0 loss to Ramah on October 3. They will play Newcomb on October 6 at home then Dulce on the road on October 8.
The GHS girls soccer team is 2-11, 0-3 after a 10-0 loss to district rival Albuquerque Academy (9-3-1, 20) on October 1. The next district games are equally tough games as they will play top ranked Hope Christian (12-0, 1-0) on October 8 at home then go on to play Miyamura (9-3-1, 4-0) at home on October 8.
The GHS boys soccer team 1-9-4, 0-2-1 had a tough 10-0 loss to Albuquerque Academy (6-5, 1-0) on October 1. Next up will be Hope Christian (8-4, 2-0) October 8 on the road then Miyamura (10-5, 3-1) October 10 at home.