BLOOMFIELD — First-year head coach Karl McGee said it was perhaps the best called defensive game he had seen in his six years.

He credited his defensive coordinator Bob Archibeque for keeping the Panthers in the game against Bloomfield here Friday Night, Sept. 1. However, the defense broke just a little bit, enough for the Bobcats to improve to 2-0 on the season and beat Montezuma-Cortez High School 7-0 in the 2000 season opener.

"I thought the defense did an outstanding job," McGee said following the game. "Coach Archibeque called an unbelievable game and the kids followed it. The defense gave several opportunities but the offense could not take advantage of them."

McGee, though, was disappointed with the mistakes. The referees threw the flag 18 times, with most of those going against the Panthers for major infractions.

"What hurt us the most was making all those mistakes inside the Red Zone (20-yard line to goal). We made too many mistakes. We can’t make those kind of mistakes in the Red Zone and expect to win very many games," he added.

The tone was set early when the Panthers were called for illegal use of the hands and unsportsmanlike conduct on the opening kickoff.

Perhaps the most disheartening march only to die inside the Bobcats’ 20 came early in the first quarter. The Panther defense stopped the Bobcats cold, three and out. Starting from their own 45-yard line in good field position, the Panthers began the drive. The workhorse was senior Josh Lee, who carried the ball several times and made a nice catch coming out of the backfield. Quarterback Kevin Wayman also made some nice runs. The Panthers would make some gains only to have them called back, though, throughout the drive. They got whistled for two holding calls and an off-sides during the drive. They got as far as the B-17 only to turn the ball over on downs.

The first quarter ended with no score.

Another disappointment came early in the second quarter. An interception gave the Panthers great field position at the B12. A pass play took the ball down to the B3 but a fumble handed the ball back to the Bobcats.

The second quarter also ended with no score.

The Panthers had several opportunities in the third quarter. After an interception which put the ball at their own 43, a Panther fumbled on the next play. Bloomfield tried a field goal but that went wide. The Panthers marched from their own 20 all the way to the B-29 only to see the drive die.

After three quarters, the game was still knotted at 0-0.

A fumble at their own 20 gave the Bobcats excellent field position early in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats were stopped and Mitch Goins tried a field goal that missed the mark. But a roughing the kicker call gave the Bobcats new life. Three plays later quarterback Alex Cummins called his own number and carried the ball into the end zone with 6:46 in the fourth quarter. Following Goins’ point-after, the Bobcats led 7-0. The Panthers got two more chances to move the ball but drives stalled at their own 35 and 29, respectively.

"I thought we played a good game. We executed on offense at times. We played well except for the final outcome," McGee remarked.

Offensively, the Panthers could rack up only 64 yards rushing, net 17 by Lee. Wayman passed for 53 yards.

The Panthers, 0-1, host a very good Piedra Vista team from Farmington (ranked fourth in Class 4A in New Mexico), at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, at Panther Stadium.

IGNACIO — Although it is not back to the drawing board for the Blue Jays, but it may be back to basics this week. The first game of the season certainly didn’t go as planned for head coach Terry Newlin and his staff. The Jays were easily defeated in their opener against the Bobcats, who won their annual opener this past Friday Night against Mancos for the first time in the past six years.

Ignacio’s tailback Rodney Hocker showed his potential as he dashed for a 38-yard run in the middle of the first quarter to score the Bobcats’ first touchdown. By the end of the game, Hocker had run up 75 yards on 16 carries. He might have scored two more times if it hadn’t been for some untimely penalties.

Quarterback Chris Phillips, who replaced graduated Lawrence Cloud, also showed what he could do. He hurt the Blue Jays with a 34-yard pass on just his second throw of the game hit tight end Laramie Miller. After catching the two-point conversion pass in the end zone, Mancos double teamed Miller – a costly mistake for the Blue Jays. By covering Miller, the Jays left receiver Lorenzo Rodriguez wide open. Rodriguez finished the night with 138 yards on six catches. He also scored the Bobcats with their third touchdown eight minutes into the second quarter with a 17-yard reception, making the score 20-0. Rodriguez would also score just seven plays later when he faked out Mancos’ Jeremiah Muniz and glided 15 yards into the end zone for the score.

The Jays were without the services of tailback Phillip Wilson and guard Glen Jones, both out with injures.

Ignacio running back Lupe Huerta carried for 75 yards on 11 carries and bulled his way into the end zone for three of Ignacio’s touchdowns. His first came early in the second when he bowled past Mancos defenders. His second came in the third quarter when he scored from 6 yards out. Huerta also zipped past several Mancos defenders and ran 33 yards to score early in the fourth. Huerta also booted in the extra point to make the score 39-0.

Mancos scored its only touchdown in the final stanza. A Bobcat punter had his kick blocked by Mancos junior Jakob Tallent, who then fell on the ball in the end zone for the touchdown.

The Blue Jays, 0-1, will host Sargent at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8.

The Bulldogs have another good team. They opened the season on Saturday, Sept. 2, by hosting Grand Valley, which made the playoffs a year ago.

Dove Creek, under the guidance of longtime coach Ken Soper, scored 25 points in the first quarter, 13 in the second, and 7 in the third.

Terence Gardner showed why he is one of the better football players in Class A. He scored three of the first four scores by the Bulldogs. He slipped into the end zone from 4 yards out, made a nice 24-yard run, and scored from 5 yards out. He later made a 24-yard run. He finished with 87 yards rushing.

Dallas Daves carried for 102 yards on only seven carries. He raced 63 yards for a TD and later scored from 6 yards out.

Chris Kail caught a 44-yard pass from Keith Pierce for a TD. He had six receptions for 113 yards. He also booted three point-afters.

Pierce, who was moved from end to quarterback this year, had a good day. He connected on 10 of 14 attempts for 166 yards. The Bulldogs finished with 393 yards in total offense.

Defensively, the Bulldogs dominated the Cardinals. They held them to 112 yards total offense, 65 rushing and 47 passing. Gardner led the headhunters with nine tackles. Bru Meyer and Joe Buffington led the team with seven tackles each. Gardner and Kail both had two interceptions each.

"This was a good way to start the season," Soper said. "It give us a lot of confidence. The next two weeks will be tough (at Bayfield this Friday night and home to Ignacio the following week). These two games will really give us an indication on what kind of team we have this year. But overall, I was proud of them."

PAGOSA SPRINGS — Despite losing, first-year Dolores head coach Don Story was upbeat.

"We stayed right with the 10th ranked (Class 2A) team for three quarters plus a little more," Story said. "But with eight minutes to play they scored twice right at the end."

The Pirates got on the scoreboard first early in the first quarter but the Bears came right back when Casey Garvin took the ball over from 1 yard out. The TD was set up by a pair of nice catches by Justin Schmitt and Garvin from quarterback Cullen Zion. Then the Pirates scored late in the second quarter.

But the key play of the game, which could have turned the whole game around for the Bears came when Derek Thompson blocked a field goal with seven seconds left in the first half. Story said an inadvertent whistle blew the play dead. It was a wrong call because Thompson could have continued to run with "nothing but grass ahead of him. The officials came over to me and apologized but it was too late."

The Pirates scored two TD late in the fourth quarter which made the score look like it was a different game. The final score came with a little over a minute left on a deep pass play.

Offensively, the Bears could only managed 100 yards in total offense. Defensively, the Bears played a great game. Thompson was in on a bunch of tackles and Garvin as well. Garvin also made two sacks. Kevin Fane made a pass interception. Dustin Russell made a fumble recovery.

"I saw a lot of good things," Story said. "It may take us a little while to get over the hump, but we certainly have a lot to build on."