NMMI Sports Press
The New Mexico Military Institute Colt football team claimed the District 4/3A title with a lopsided 60-6 win at home against Tucumcari on Friday.
The NMMI offense ran just five plays in the first quarter, but four of those resulted in touchdowns.
Junior quarterback Cole Seidenberger got the first six points for the Colts, rushing in from 15-yards out on an outside option-keeper, the play after junior defensive back Cohen Tomasits picked off a Rattler pass on their first offensive series.
NMMI senior defensive tackle William Rosser then forced and recovered a Rattler fumble, once again giving the Colts a first-and-ten from the Rattler 15.
This time Tomasits took the ball into the endzone on a dive up the middle, and it was 14-0 NMMI, with less than two minutes expired in the first period of play.
After a Rattler punt on their next series on offense, NMMI needed just two plays to again hit paydirt: Tomasits had a three-yard carry before Seidenberger connected with freshman wide-out Fidel Mukeh on a 37-yard post for the touchdown.
Seidenberger had a nice 30-yard return down the left sideline on the next Tucumcari punt, down to the Rattler 11. He then hit senior tight end Matthew McCargish in the front of the end zone on a roll-out pass to make it 28-0, still with 3:58 left in the first.
The Institute struck yet again, five seconds into the second quarter on a nine-yard rush by sophomore running back Alejandro Piedras, set up by a great one-handed 39-yard reception by senior skill-back Steven Griego.
Griego got the Colts’ final score in the first half on an eight-yard rush, capping a seven-play, 48-yard drive, making it 40-0 going into the locker rooms.
The NMMI onslaught continued in the third, with Piedras taking the ball in for a 78-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff.
Tucumcari’s offense finally got on track – and on the board – with a 10-play, 59-yard TD drive; but with a running clock, less than two minutes remained in the stanza.
And the next play after the Rattler kickoff, Seidenberger got his second rushing TD – 79 yards on the keeper around the left side – and it was 54-6.
The Institute’s final plunge across the goal line ended the game by the mercy-rule with 5:39 remaining in the fourth. McCargish got the TD from 12 yards out.
NMMI’s defense was just as dominant during the game. In addition to the turnovers they created – two fumbles and one INT – the ‘Black Swarm’ engulfed the Rattler backfield, collecting eight tackles-for-losses, totaling 57 yards. The Colt’s big man in the middle, junior lineman Sam McCargish led the team with three of those TFLs.
“It definitely was a great feeling to get that final win,” said NMMI head coach John O’Mera about his team’s undefeated 4-0 run through district play. “Our kids have just played better and better every week. We thought the potential was there, but gotta take my hat off to our players stepping up, and also to our coaches. I haven’t given nearly enough credit to all of our assistant coaches, who have just done a great job.”
With the win, NMMI completes their regular season with an 8-2 mark and sit at No. 6 in the state for Class 3A according to last week’s MaxPreps computer ranking system. That’s just one of the criterion used by the New Mexico Activities Association as they calculate the seedings for this year’s 12-team playoff bracket.
That bracket is slated to be announced late tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 28. If the Colts can earn a four or higher seed, they’ll earn a bye into the quarterfinals. If not, they’ll be back on the gridiron next Friday or Saturday for the first round.
“We’ll see who they throw at us,” said coach O’Mera simply about the seeding process. “We’ve got a chance to make some noise if we continue to prepare well and get better every week.”