Alamosa – Myles Martinez kept things in perspective.
After his Pueblo County Hornets took a 47-14 thumping by Alamosa on Saturday in the Class 3A state title game, Martinez was all smiles and no regrets.
The Hornets made an improbable turnaround from a 1-9 season a year ago to the school’s first state championship appearance. Pueblo County set a school record for victories in a season and shocked the state by upsetting Florence, the 2005 3A state champion, and ending its 15-game winning streak.
At the beginning of the season, nobody expected Pueblo County to get this far or to do it with such style.
“We thought we were going to punish them, but it didn’t turn out our way. That’s all right. We made the playoffs. We made history. It’s cool,” Martinez said.
Martinez led the Hornets with 80 yards on 16 carries, and he punched in two 4-yard touchdown runs late in the game to put his team on the scoreboard.
The worst-case scenario unfolded in a hurry for Pueblo County, a hard-hitting team that likes to grind out yards on the ground and eat up the clock. But after falling behind 20-0 less than a minute into the second quarter, the Hornets were out of their element.
Still, Pueblo County played even with Alamosa in the second half, with both teams scoring 14 points, and the Hornets’ running backs put up 217 yards in the game. Joe Pullara had 79 of those yards, and Zach Martinez finished with 76.
“It was tough, but Coach (Jeff Wilson) told us not to give up. We just kept going,” Myles Martinez said.
