ALAMOSA — Keenen Ballage and the Falcon Falcons were playing their first afternoon game of the season.
Plus, their bus had a flat tire on the way to Al Bennett Field and they were pressed to make the scheduled kickoff time.
Then they quickly found themselves trailing by two touchdowns.
Panic, however, wasn’t in their plans.
The Falcons continue to rise. Nearing their first playoff berth since 1992, they rallied against Alamosa, the Class 3A defending state champion, and took a 38-14 decision Friday in The Denver Post game of the week.
Falcon, ranked No. 2 in The Denver Post/9News 3A poll, improved to 7-0 overall, 4-0 in the South Metro League. No. 8 Alamosa, which had its 19-game winning streak snapped two weeks ago, fell to 5-2, 1-2.
“We were just dealing with it,” said Ballage, who ran for 180 yards and a touchdown. “We hadn’t played an afternoon game. But once we got through a couple of series, we were all right.”
Brian Ford’s 22-yard scoring pass from Donovan Marquez capped the game’s opening drive, then the Mean Moose took advantage of a botched exchange on a punt attempt to make it 14-0 on a 6-yard jaunt by Cody Yohn.
That was it for Alamosa as Falcon gradually dominated. The Falcons scored in every quarter, took control of the line of scrimmage, used their series of running backs to keep the chains moving and kept Alamosa off the scoreboard.
It was a gradual turnaround that Falcons coach Jason Catron wanted to see from his team, which also was coming off a defeat of previously top-ranked Pueblo County.
“We were flat, completely dead in that first quarter,” he said. “I think (Alamosa’s two TDs in less than eight minutes) kind of woke us up.”
So did a fake punt by Vahn Plambeck that went for a touchdown, but was called back because of a penalty. It sparked the Falcons, who scored five plays later as they climbed within 14-7.
With Ballage doing most of the previous work, Plambeck ran one in from 22 yards to tie it, then Falcon took the lead for good in the third on Ballage’s 42-yard run. He appeared stopped for a short gain, but kept his legs pumping, broke free and scored easily.
The defending 4A 100-meter champion also helped set up a field goal, then two big plays by Eric Perez, including a 52-yard reception on fourth-and-1, put it out of reach.
“That’s a very good football team,” Alamosa coach Manny Wasinger said. “They have a lot of three-year starters who have taken their lumps. They’re talented and playing with a lot of confidence, and that’s a lethal combination.”
Said Catron: “Our kids responded very well.”
Falcon 7 7 7 17 – 38
Alamosa 14 0 0 0 – 14
A – Ford 22 pass from Marquez (Marquez kick). A – Yohn 6 run (Marquez kick). F – Weaver 3 run (Franco kick). F – Plambeck 22 run (Franco kick). F – Ballage 42 run (Franco kick). F – FG Franco 38. F – Perez 5 pass from Schulze (Franco kick). F – Roscoe 1 run (Franco kick).
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
