Alamosa – The exciting offense of the Alamosa Mean Moose has drawn plenty of praise this season. Now it’s time the defense got its due.
Alamosa completed its first undefeated regular season since 2001 with a convincing 21-0 shutout of Florence in a Class 3A South Metro League game Friday at Al Bennett Field and, sure, quarterback Clay Garcia and his boys wowed the standing-room-only crowd with a few big plays.
But it was the Mean Moose defense, led by two-time state wrestling champion and tenacious linebacker Sonny Yohn, that did the real damage.
“I think our defense is what makes this team. Our offense is obviously pretty good, but we haven’t been scored on all year on this field,” Yohn said.
The Mean Moose (10-0 overall, 6-0 league), top-ranked in The Denver Post/9News poll, went 5-0 with five shutouts on their home field, and the defense gave up just 50 points all season. Against No. 4 Florence (8-2, 4-2), the defending 3A champions, Alamosa was as stingy as ever.
First, however, it was that celebrated offense that gave the Mean Moose a lead on their first drive. A 35-yard bomb from Garcia to Dustin Bolt put Alamosa within striking range, and Jason Espinoza punched in a 1-yard run to make the score 7-0.
The Huskies were forced to punt on their next two possessions before quarterback Bryce Buderus drove his team down the field on their third drive to put a loud knock on the door to the end zone. Adam Nish hauled in a twisting catch near the sideline, somehow touching a foot inbounds on Alamosa’s 17.
But the defense stiffened on the next three plays and Florence was left with a fourth-and-1 on the 8.
Buderus tried to lunge forward for the first down, but Yohn stood him up and turned the Huskies away.
“They are always tough defensively. They just got some great seniors. They line up before the game and they have, like, 80 of them,” Florence coach Mark Buderus said.
Not content with a one-score lead, Garcia went deep to Bolt for a 62-yard touchdown with a minute left in the first half.
Garcia completed 8-of-15 passing for 169 yards, and Bolt hauled in three of those throws for 113 yards.
Yohn didn’t stop punishing people when he switched to the offensive side, picking up 86 yards on eight carries.
The Mean Moose earned the top seed in the 16-team playoffs and will host a first-round game against a wild-card team, most likely Rock Canyon.
Buderus connected on 9-of- 21 passing for 147 yards, but the Huskies’ usually dominant ground game was held in check for just 76 yards on 31 rushes.
“Our offense has got a lot of publicity this year, and rightfully so. But our defense is fantastic,” Alamosa coach Manny Wasinger said. “As good as that defense has been, they will need to play even better for us to win a state championship.”
Florence 0 0 0 0 – 0
Alamosa 7 7 0 7 – 21
A – Espinoza 1 run (Espinoza kick). A – Bolt 62 pass from Garcia (Espinoza kick). A – Garcia 4 run (Espinoza kick).
