Pirates Bag Bengals, 56-0

  • Noah Lundstrom,33, kicks a field goal last week in the homecoming football game against the Gallup Bengals (2-0). Lundstrom was six of six in field goals and extra point attempts this game. The Pirates are 1-1 currently and will play in a home game this Friday, September 1 at the Port of the Pirates against the Bloomfield Bobcats (2-0). Franklin Romero - CC
    Noah Lundstrom,33, kicks a field goal last week in the homecoming football game against the Gallup Bengals (2-0). Lundstrom was six of six in field goals and extra point attempts this game. The Pirates are 1-1 currently and will play in a home game this Friday, September 1 at the Port of the Pirates against the Bloomfield Bobcats (2-0). Franklin Romero - CC
  • Andres Lazos, a senior, shows off his footwork and speed as he weaves between Bengals this past Saturday in the 2023 Grants High School homecomeing football game. Lazos had123 yards and three touchdowns in that game. The Pirates are currently 1-1 and will face the number one ranked team in the state, the Bloomfield Bobcats (2-0) this upcoming Friday, September 1st in a home game. Franklin Romero - CC
    Andres Lazos, a senior, shows off his footwork and speed as he weaves between Bengals this past Saturday in the 2023 Grants High School homecomeing football game. Lazos had123 yards and three touchdowns in that game. The Pirates are currently 1-1 and will face the number one ranked team in the state, the Bloomfield Bobcats (2-0) this upcoming Friday, September 1st in a home game. Franklin Romero - CC
  • Outta my way! Douglas Mitchel, 33, a sophomore running back, breaks through the Gallup defense last week in the Grants High School homecoming game. The Pirates defeated the Gallup Bengals 56-0 and advance to a 1-1 record. Franklin Romero - CC
    Outta my way! Douglas Mitchel, 33, a sophomore running back, breaks through the Gallup defense last week in the Grants High School homecoming game. The Pirates defeated the Gallup Bengals 56-0 and advance to a 1-1 record. Franklin Romero - CC

The GHS homecoming game was cut in half as the Pirates completely shut down the Gallup Bengals by halftime by a score of 56-0.

“Nothing shocking. It was a great experience for our kids to go out and have success against our longtime rival and Route 66 neighbors—Look, it's very apparent that Gallup is in a rebuilding phase of their program, but so are we,” said GHS head coach Steve Brown of the win over Gallup. “So, for us to go out and dominate the way we did, was very exciting and good for our kids to get that experience under their belt.”

The Pirates dominated defensively, holding Gallup to only one first down in the game. The Pirates also used “The Two Headed Monster” with dual quarterbacks on offense as sophomore Deandre Chavez was five of eight for 80 yards with two touchdowns and senior Julian Padilla who had three carries for 40 yards and a touchdown.

“Both of them (quarterbacks) really support each other's efforts and are constantly pushing each other,” said Brown.

Scoring touchdowns for the Pirates were Andres Lazos, 3, and Manuel Gonzales, Julian Padilla, Isaiah Aldaz, Isaiah Ortega and Douglas Mitchell with one touchdown apiece.

Noah Lundtrom had an exceptional game hitting eight of eight extra point attempts and on a previous game had also hit a field goal. Currently he is nine out of 10 attempted field goals and extra point attempts for the season. “He (Noah) is really zooming in on his kicking abilities and is going to be a huge part of our success down the road,” said Brown.

Brown was pleased overall with the win and also with the community support and fan participation. In addition, Brown added, “It was awesome having the band and the Anchorette dance team out there with us on homecoming,” The Pirates will play against top ranked quarterback Blake Spencer and the number one ranked team in 4-A the Bloomfield Bobcats (2-0) at home next Friday in a home game. Brown, a firm believer in “No pressure, No diamonds” philosophy, is practicing hard this week in preparation for Bloomfield.

“Let’s not get anything twisted—-Bloomfield is ranked #1 in the state and there is a reason for that—Coach Kovacs has them rolling after winning the state title last year,” said Brown of that upcoming contest. “We will be putting hyper focus on the O-line and the play of our linebacker corp this week—-I have a lot of pressure on these young men–we are looking for a few diamonds to be made this week.”

Cibola County Sports Round-Up

The Laguna-Acoma Hawks football team is 11 after a 40-6 defeat of Newcomb High School on August 25 in their first home game of the season. Previously they had lost to Hatch Valley High School on August 8 by a score of a 50-0 on August 18.

The GHS volleyball team advances to 1-0 after defeating the Wingate Bears 3-0 (25-16, 25-10, 25-21) last week.