It was this time of the season last year, against the same opponent, when the Alamosa Mean Moose realized something needed to change.
The high-flying air attack of Alamosa and quarterback Clay Garcia was grounded by blustery winds and cold temperatures, and the Moose were handed a state semifinals loss by Florence, the eventual Class 3A state champion.
It was a tough loss and one that Alamosa coach Manny Wasinger would not take sitting down.
“The wind was blowing and we really couldn’t put the ball in the air effectively. We knew if we wanted to take the next step, we would need to improve the ground game,” Wasinger said. “We are still throwing the ball – we have to do that to run – but we feel like we can get up under center and run the ball if we need to.”
The catalyst for Alamosa’s offense is Garcia, who last week tied the all-time state record for touchdown passes in a season with 44. He will have at least one more game to break the record he shares with two fine prep passers: Grand Junction’s Doug Musgrave (1988) and Bear Creek’s Justin Holland (1998), who also is the all-time leader in career passing yards with 10,565.
But running backs Jason Espinoza and two-time state wrestling champion Sonny Yohn have provided a much-needed ground game. Both are averaging better than 8 yards per carry, and Yohn is nearing the 1,000-yard mark this season.
Those backs take some of the pressure off of Garcia, who has 3,364 yards passing and just eight interceptions, but it’s not numbers that are on the minds of these guys.
“Records and rankings and stuff like that are cool, but it’s not the measure of our season. The success of our season depends on how far we go and how well we play,” said Garcia, whose Mean Moose have been the top-ranked 3A team all season.
Alamosa beat Florence 21-0 in the regular season, but neither team expects to see the same opponent in Saturday’s semifinal game.
“We know a little bit more about them. We know how dangerous they are, for one,” Florence coach Mark Buderus said.
Buderus, whose team will host this weekend, said weather isn’t a factor, unless …
“The wind and cold, it really doesn’t matter. Unless the wind blows 100 miles an hour,” he said.
Florence had a few players with injuries who saw limited action in the earlier loss to Alamosa, but the Huskies’ true triple-option should be in full effect this week.
Quarterback Bryce Buderus has racked up 1,264 yards on the ground, and backs Garrett Wilson, Thomas Trujillo and Frank Morelli have combined for another 1,500 yards.
The difference for these South Metro League rivals – two of three teams from that league, along with Pueblo County, that are still playing – could depend on who responds better to change.
“We are not going to see the same team we played three weeks ago, and they won’t see the same team, either. It will be interesting to how both teams adjust,” Wasinger said.
CLASS 3A | SEMIFINALS
Alamosa (12-0) at Florence (10-2)
Florence quarterback Bryce Buderus plunged in for a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter last week against Palisade to cap a come-from-behind victory against a very familiar opponent. The Huskies will get another chance to take down a heated rival when they take on top-ranked Alamosa in the semifinals for the second year in a row. Florence won last season 26-12 and went on to win the 3A state title in one of the most dominating seasons in years. Alamosa, meanwhile, found itself in an ugly game against Rifle, a team that won it all in 2004 and played in the title game last season. The Mean Moose were penalized 16 times, most of those personal fouls, after averaging four or five flags a game. The defense faced its toughest challenge since Pueblo County nearly nipped Alamosa in the regular season as Rifle put up 26 points, 20 points over the average Alamosa had allowed in its previous 11 games. Florence was shut out on the road by Alamosa at the end of the regular season, and the Mean Moose did not give up a point on its home field all year. But the Huskies get to host this time around.
Summit (12-0) at Pueblo County (10-2)
The Summit Tigers are having fun and setting records at the same time. The surprise team of the season enters the semifinal round for the first time in school history against the other surprise team of the season, Pueblo County. The Tigers, who crushed the previous school record of seven victories in a season, are walking in uncharted territory and loving every minute of it. “I told the kids that there are only a few football teams in the United States that are still playing. The NFL, some college teams and a few high school teams,” Summit coach Dylan Hollingsworth said. The Tigers, who have never made it past the second round of the playoffs until now, forced turnovers and controlled the ball and the clock in their quarterfinal victory over Englewood, and Pueblo County erased any lingering doubts about its impressive run with a 41-7 blowout against a talented Steamboat Springs team. If Summit is going to slow the every- which-way running game of the Hornets, two-way linemen Logan Sharp and Zach Campbell will need big performances. “We need to have a tremendous game against their offensive line. They are absolutely huge,” Hollingsworth said.
