It's playoff time, and Chaparral had no trouble coming through when it counted. In a tight game that could have gone either way, they made off with a 42-41 victory over the Moriarty Pintos. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Lobos.
Israel Nieto produced another solid performance rushing for 135 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries, while also throwing for 220 yards and three TDs while picking up 11.0 yards per attempt. His longest rush was for an impressive 65 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Chaparral's leading receiver Aaron Eliserio was Nieto's top target yet again, picking up 156 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Special teams also played a big role in the game for Chaparral, adding 18 points to the final score. All came from Nieto: he went 6-for-6 kicking field goals for 18 points.
Moriarty's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Mario Romero, who rushed for 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Romero's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 133 rushing yards. Another player making a difference was Mateo Manley-Griego, who rushed for 48 yards and two TDs.
Chaparral's win bumped their record up to 8-3. As for Moriarty, their loss was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 6-5.
Coming up, Chaparral will challenge St. Pius X at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Lobos will need to watch out since the Sartans have now posted at least 31 points in their last seven matchups. Moriarty does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
