Three Homecomings were celebrated over the weekend and one more remains this Friday night, Oct. 13. Dolores County and Mancos celebrated while Montezuma-Cortez High School did not. Dolores hosts Mancos in a San Juan Basin League football game at 7 p.m. this Friday at Dolores Field.

The game got started with an inauspecious start on Friday night, Oct. 6, at Panther Stadium. Troye Floyd took an option flick on the first play from scrimmage and raced right up the middle for a touchdown with 11:48 on the clock in the first quarter. The run failed.

Cortez went three-and-out on its first possession. It only took Delta three plays to put the ball over the end zone line. The play was highlighted with a 36-yard TD reception by Ramon Jackson on a pass from Richard Englehart. Jacob Schmaltz made the run on a reverse for the two-point conversion. That’s the way the score would remain when the quarter ended.

Cortez, though, answered back early in the second with a score. A couple of screen passes and a bootleg run by quarterback Kevin Wayman put the Panthers in scoring position. Wayman passed to Josh Knapp coming out of the back field for a play that covered 34 yards. Knapp booted the point-after for a 14-7 score.

Delta fumbled the ball on the next play giving MCHS the ball on the Delta 19. But Cortez handed the ball right back with a fumble. The two teams traded possessions. Cortez fumbled on a fake punt attempt at the D41. Delta marched to the C37 when Schmaltz took the ball on an option pitch and went up the middle to paydirt with 3:37 left. Justin Loy kicked the PAT for a 21-7 lead.

A short punt late in the quarter gave Delta the ball on the Cortez 40. A couple short passes got Delta in scoring position. With 25 seconds left, Schmaltz bulled his way, broke several tackles and scored. Loy booted the PAT for a 27-7 lead at the half.

Delta took advantage of a fumble at the C42 early in the third quarter. Jordon Floyd actually stripped the ball and kept going. Everyone, including players and fans, though the play was dead. But when Floyd crossed into the end zone, the officials raised their arms upward. Loy made the kick for a 34-7 lead.

The Panthers had a golden opportunity to score when they recovered a fumble but they couldn’t move the ball. Delta couldn’t move the ball on its next possession. Cortez fumbled the punt reception. But on the next play Delta fumbled. Cortez had the ball at its own 36 but did not move it very far. Delta led 34-7 at the end of the quarter.

MCHS scored twice in the fourth quarter. They marched from their own 9 all the way to paydirt. The goal was set up by a nice reverse by Richard Yake that covered 23 yards. Wayman also made several nice passes. Dan O’Neal bulled his way over from the 1 with 6:36 on the clock. The run failed. Delta led 34-13.

Following on on-side kick, Delta had the ball in good field position, but the Panther defense stiffened. Delta turned the ball over on downs at the C44. Wayman, on a broken play, made a nice open-field run to the D1. Three plays later 0’Neal carried the ball in with 43 seconds left. The pass failed. Delta then ran out the clock following on-side kickoff attempt.

"I’m proud of our kids’ effort," MCHS head coach Karl McGee said following the game. "The biggest thing in the ball game was the defensive mistakes we made in the first half. That first play from scrimmage was mistake that hurt us. But we also did some good things tonight. We came up with a couple different offensive schemes and we ran them well. Without Josh Lee in the game (out with a back injury), I thought we did a good job on offense. We moved the ball well at times."

The Panthers visit Palisade at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, at Lincoln Park in Grand Junction.

Dolores County football players celebrated their Homecoming Saturday afternoon, Oct. 7, with a San Juan Basin League win over Dolores at Weber Park Field.

Defense was the name of the game for the undefeated and fifth ranked Bulldogs. Dove Creek limited Dolores to 52 net yards rushing and 39 passing. They actually rushed for many more yards but had -78 yards thanks to a bunch of sacks.

The Bulldogs scored first on a 29-yard pass from Keith Pierce to Chris Kail. Kail kicked the PAT. DCHS made it 15-0 when Dallas Daves zipped in from 4 yards out. Daves also ran the ball in for the conversion.

DCHS scored again on a 48-yard run by Terence Gardner. The kick failed. Dolores’ defensive end Aeson Reed picked up a fumble and ran 45 yards to paydirt. But a few minutes later Kail kicked a 20-yard field goal with 1 second left. The TD was set up by a long fumble recover and run by Kyle Krafka. DCHS led 24-7 at the half.

The Bulldogs opened the third quarter with a score when Gardner slipped in from 6 yards out. Kail kicked the PAT. Kail made a 34-yard field goal when a DCHS drive stalled. Their final score came in the fourth quarter when Pierce called his own number from 2 yards out. Kail kicked the PAT.

"We are still making stupid mistakes," DCHS head coach Ken Soper commented. "We made some on both sides of the ball that could have hurt us. At times I was pleased with our defense and at other times I wasn’t."

Dolores first-year coach Don Story said he was pleased with the play of some of players despite the loss.

"We blocked a punt, and forced them to try field goals. They just plain outplayed us. Dolores County has a great team. But I thought Aeson played a really good game at defensive end. Derek Thompson and Sean Boone both had outstanding games. We’re young and it shows. We hit well on and I think Dolores County knows we are around now."

Dove Creek finished with 181 rushing and 198 passing for 379 yards in total offense. Gardner led the way with 169 yards on 17 attempts and two TDs. Pierce completed 11 passes for 198 yards and a TD. Kail caught eight passes for 129 yards and a TD.

Defensively, Daves had 12 tackles while Bru Meyer and Joe Buffington added nine each. Pierce had two interceptions from his linebacker spot.

Dolores County, 6-0 and 1-0, hosts Norwood, which fell to league-leading Nucla 7-6 Friday night, at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14. The Bears, 1-5 and 0-1, will hold their Homecoming Friday night against the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays sent the message early they were ready to play, but they had to hang on for dear life at the end of the game on Saturday afternoon at Mancos Field. The Jays not only had to battle the young Broncos but they elected to battle themselves as well by making a bunch of mental and physical mistakes. The bottom line was they won and which is always nice for Homecoming.

"Oh yes, we like to play against ourselves," MHS head coach Terry Newlin said following the game. "All season long we have been our own worst enemy. Anything we can cut our own throats at, we’ve been doing it. That has been our earmark this year. I have been very disgusted with our on field performance lately. But the good part is that we won and we got a win under our belt. I think the kids needed that because we have been struggling so far this season. Philip had a breakaway day (278 yards rushing). We have some confidence now."

The Jays, 1-5 overall and 0-1, scored on the first play from scrimmage in the first quarter when Philip Wilson took a pitch and went down the far sideline 60 yards with 11:09 showing. The pass failed.

San Juan went out quickly. The Jays took the ball on their own 40 and marched all the way down to the SJ34 but turned the ball over on downs. During that drive they were whistled for a holding, clip, and off-sides. Neither the Broncos nor the Blue Jays did much with the ball after that. Mancos led 6-0 when the quarter ended.

Early in the second quarter, the Jays scored when the defense held on downs at the SJ43. Wilson was the workhorse and made some nice gains. He carried the ball into the end zone from 9 yards out with 9:59 left. Kelly Smith passed to Jakob Tallent for the conversion. Mancos led 14-0 and seemed to be set on cruise control.

But a breakdown on the ensuing kickoff gave the Broncos a touchdown. Keith Turner, on a reverse, ran down the far side 90 yards for the kickoff return with 9:42 showing. The run failed. Mancos led 14-6.

San Juan moved the ball to the M25 before giving the ball over on downs. From their own 31, they marched to the SJ30. There, Wilson made a good run and a final block by Kelly Mitchell, sprang him and Wilson slipped into the corner of the end zone. The kick was good by Travis Clark. Mancos led 21-6. The Jays had an opporunity to score but could not capitalize on a fumble recovery.

Both teams traded possessions early in the fourth quarter. Mancos drove down to the SJ28 and was forced to hand the ball over. San Juan moved to the M45. At that point, quarterback Jens Nielson completed a quick pass over the middle to Cody Webb who ran the ball down field to paydirt. The play covered 55 yards. The Jays recovered an on-side kick and held the ball. But with a few seconds left, San Juan still had a chance to score but could not move the ball.