Pagosa Springs had to travel to play their first game of the season, but the final result was worth the trip. They took down the Kirtland Central Broncos 42-27 on Friday. The Pirates pushed the score to 35-14 by the end of the third, a deficit the Broncos cut but never quite recovered from.
Leading Pagosa Springs to victory were Colton Lucero and Creede Dozier. Lucero gained 144 total yards and five touchdowns, while Dozier rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries. The dominant performance gave him a new career- in total yards.
Pagosa Springs' defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Jaxten Schiel and Lucero. Lucero also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up a sack, forcing a fumble, and making 11 total tackles (1.0 for loss) in addition to snagging an interception which he returned one-yard for a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Pagosa Springs was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 232 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 194 rushing yards in four consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Several Broncos players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Bryle Matthews, who rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown. Payton Mike also helped out with an impressive 100 receiving yards.
Kirtland Central's defeat dropped their record down to 0-2.
Pagosa Springs will head out to take on Centauri at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Kirtland Central, they will challenge Shiprock at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Kirtland Central focused on turnovers this week as team gave up four on Friday.
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