GRANTS, N.M. – The Pirates won a district away game in a crucial 4A District 1 matchup last Friday as they defeated district rival the Taos Tigers by a score of 42-14.
“The kids played well— everybody played hard,’ said an enthusiastic Grants HS head football coach Gene Riedinger of the Taos game. “The offensive lines opened up and we ran through them.”
The Pirates' charge was led by sophomore running back Julian “JuJu” Fernandez who rushed for 286 yards and 4 touchdowns in that game.
“They are electrifying– getting in the red zone is an accomplishment,” said Fernandez of his performance. “I couldn’t have done it without our amazing blocks.”
The Pirates scored 8 points in the first quarter followed by 14 in the second quarter for a halftime score of 22-7.
At halftime Coach Riedinger told the players to “control” the ball and “hold it” for as long as possible to control the tempo.
The Pirates took the half-time talk to heart and went on and scored 20 in the third quarter to the Tigers 7. The fourth quarter was scoreless.
Freshman quarterback Atanacio Gallegos had 1 touchdown and 3 of 7 completions for 39 yards. “It was a much-needed win and our morale is way up,” said Gallegos of the game.
Rounding off the scoring, senior wide receiver Ryan Rael had a 20-yard touchdown for the Pirates.
“Taos is a good team— they have some ups and downs like any team,” said Riedinger.
Next up for the Pirates is what you could call the most challenging team in the state and district, the number 1 ranked Bloomfield Bobcats (6-1,5-0) on Friday, October 16 at the Port of the Pirates.
“They are always a tough team,” said Riedinger. “They are hard hitting and have a lot of depth—they can put in fresh players.”
Grants High School Volleyball
The GHS volleyball team coming off a 4-game winning streak lost their last two matches last week. They lost to Hope Christian in a home game on October 6, 30 and then lost to Belen on October 8 on the road also by 3-0.
“We pulled through and worked hard together,” said GHS head volleyball coach Kateri Chino of the 4 game winning streak prior to last weeks games. On the subject of the Hope Christian and Belen games, coach Chino said, “We know what we are looking at when we see them again.” The Lady Pirates play Valencia on October 13 on the road.
Grants High School Soccer
The GHS boys’ soccer team is currently 1-11-4 after dropping their last two district games.
They lost to a powerful Hope Christian team by a score of 4-0 on October 8. They also lost to Miyamura on October 10 by a score of 5-0. “In the Hope game we battled for 65 minutes to 0-0 then after they scored a goal the floodgates opened,” said GHS head boys soccer coach John Malcolm. “I am proud of the guys battling in that game.”
Next up for the Pirates is Belen on October 13 at home. In their last meeting in September the Pirates played Belen to a 0-0 tie. Currently the Pirates are 111-4 and 0-3-1.
“Considering where we were before we are right there – on the 9 ties – on 3 of those ties we battled back from being down 1 to tie it up, “ said Malcom of his team's record.
The Lady Pirates soccer team is currently 2-13, 0-4 after losing to a top ranked Hope Christian team by a score of 18-0 on October 8. They lost 4-0 to Miyamura on October 10. Next up is Belen on October 13. In a previous matchup in September they lost to Belen 21.