DOLORES – With Halloween just a month away, the Bluejays are brewing a concoction of speed and strength that makes them a frightful proposition for every opponent across the 8-man Mountain League.
Dolores witnessed firsthand just how potent that Mancos combination has become, as the Jays scored on each of their first five offensive possessions and added a defensive score in the 48-0 victory.
Mancos forced five turnovers and scored their first points on a Tilden Begay pick-six, while senior Kaiden Wyatt scored two of his three touchdowns in the decisive first half as the Jays jumped in front 32-0 after one quarter.
Begay, the senior defensive back and former Bear, stepped in front of Dolores senior quarterback Tray Traweek’s missile and returned it untouched 40 yards for a score three minutes deep into the game.
“We had our game plan set up for ‘cover three,’ and so we were focused on our assignments,” said Begay, “and as soon as I saw the ball was flying my way, I was able to make a play on it.”
Mancos (3-1, 1-0 Mountain League) forced their second turnover of the night moments later, scooping up a fumble to set up a short field. Junior Jonah Ritter swept around the right end blocking of juniors Adam Martinez and Colten Vannest into the end zone, and the Bluejays doubled their advantage to 16-0.
Sophomore defensive back Michael Resner added to the takeaway party with the second interception for the Jays, and Wyatt followed behind the forceful offensive front from 10 yards out for his first trip across the goal line. A strong kickout block from junior Ethan Wyatt opened the hole and Mancos led 24-0.
“We wanted to run the ball hard tonight,” said senior quarterback Brandon Vannest, “and the guys up front did a great job, and so did our backs.”
Martinez credited the intensity of the Bluejays in the offseason for their strong ground attack. “It’s started since April with the workouts – and we love to hit hard and play on the fringe,” shared the junior offensive lineman.
The Bears (2-3, 0-1 Mountain League) enjoyed several strong sequences on offense, picking up a pair of first downs on their first possession of the game, before Begay’s interception return snuffed out the threat. In his second game back from injury, Traweek showed both his mobility and arm, including on a nice connection to junior Jacob Stepp, and some effective screen passes to junior Michael Rantz and sophomore Darren Hicks.
Mancos, however, posed too many threats for the Bears, as the Jays took advantage of another short field by engineering a drive that resulted in a 6-yard keeper from Brandon Vannest. Then, after a strong punt from Dolores junior Deven Winter, the Jays manufactured their longest drive of the night – 90 yards – before Vannest found Wyatt in the back of the end zone for a 21-yard aerial strike to send the game to running clock.
Wyatt added one more score in the third quarter to cap the Bluejays first win of the league slate.
Meanwhile, the defense more than held up their end of the bargain, keeping the Bears hemmed on their side of midfield most of the night. Martinez has increased his reps on defense this year, lined up in the middle of a vaunted defensive front that includes high-motor edge rusher Jacob Martin. “We’ve been wanting to work some different looks in, so with me at tackle, it allows Jacob to play on the end with his speed,” said Martinez.
“We’re able to rely on our defense up front,” added Begay of a unit that enjoyed two interceptions and three fumble recoveries on the night, “and that allows the DBs to be able to take care of the covering everything on the outside.”
Mancos gets ready for their showdown with Dove Creek, which also serves as the Bluejays home opener, on Friday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. Dolores will hit the road for a 6 p.m. meeting with Sargent on Friday. The Mancos-Dove Creek clash can be heard on radio station KRTZ 98.7 FM and krtzradio.com.
