Sep. 2—La Cueva arrived home from Flagstaff in the early hours of Sunday morning, and the Bears unpacked from a memorable trip.
Now let’s do some unpacking of our own.
And there is much to sort through in the wake of La Cueva’s remarkable triumph on Saturday night in northern Arizona, a 39-32 double-overtime victory over Phoenix Pinnacle.
“It’s not just us, it’s other teams as well,” senior quarterback Cam Dyer said. “So we’re glad to be able to represent our state with great honor.”
Let’s start right at the top, with the most pressing and obvious question:
What kind of meaning do we assign to this result?
It’s not out of the realm to suggest that La Cueva’s win might have done at least as much to bolster New Mexico’s prep football reputation as a whole as it did for the Bears program itself.
This topic has been a sore point for decades. How many times has a New Mexico prep athlete, regardless of gender or sport, spoken about of the lack of respect the state receives on a national scale?. Even a regional scale. UNM and New Mexico State’s football programs have faced this very thing on a college level for who knows how long.
So through that lens, La Cueva scored a huge victory for all of New Mexico’s high school sports, not just the football teams.
“They were talking a lot all game,” said La Cueva junior wide receiver Tanner Montano, who caught a TD pass in the first overtime and also a crucial 2-point toss with 25 seconds to go in regulation that tied the game and forced OT in the first place. “We were underdogs, everyone had us losing this game, and we just found a way.”
Rarely has La Cueva football ever been asked to find such a way. Especially not in this setting, with the Bears playing their first-ever game outside New Mexico.
The Bears scored 10 points in the first 38 minutes of regulation (there were only 40 in this game, down from the usual 48), then 15 points in the last two minutes to stunningly spring off the deck. And then touchdowns on both overtime possessions.
La Cueva overcame, on a grand scale.
“I think for me, it’s winning the game the way we did and never giving up,” La Cueva coach Brandon Back said, asked for his takeaway. “That means more than who our opponent was. … What I loved the most is the fight the entire time, even down as much as we were with as little time as there was. The right guys making plays and that bodes well for us moving forward.”
There was only one minor blip, which occurred after the game, when Back yelled ferociously at his team, many of whom had jogged over to the Pinnacle side of the field and taunted the Pinnacle student fan base. (This seemed to tie in to what Montano said). Back was livid, angrier than I’ve ever seen him.
Now, as for how meaningful this result was for the Bears individually, within the context of their 2024 season, this is a tad more complicated since La Cueva will largely be rated and ranked based on matchups against New Mexico opponents.
But let’s acknowledge the obvious: this was a tremendous victory, by just about any measure. La Cueva never once led in regulation — including a second half that saw both the final two quarters reduced from 12 minutes to eight because of weather-related concerns. The Bears didn’t lead until Dyer scored on a 4-yard touchdown run in the second OT.
La Cueva endured a horrible opening five minutes, when the Bears fell into a 12-0 hole and, by their standards, oddly looked overwhelmed and discombobulated. And for almost the entire game, there wasn’t much offensive success against Pinnacle, a strong Division 6A program in Arizona and a team, Back said, with no weaknesses.
But La Cueva grinded through adversity, and kept this game close almost the entire way because the Bears defense — led by ridiculously high-motored linebacker Mason Posa, who was as close to unblockable as a linebacker can be; “one of a kind,” Dyer marveled of his teammate — was outstanding. Eventually, and under the most extreme pressure, the offense caught up.
Seeing as how Pinnacle played for an Arizona state title just two years ago, and given their state quarterfinal berth last fall, this La Cueva win, psychologically, counts for a great deal.
Can anything more substantive be attached?
No, not yet. The scope of the Bears’ victory will largely depend on Pinnacle and what kind of season it has. If the Pioneers win 10 games and make a run in the playoffs, then Saturday night’s victory certainly gains in stature. If Pinnacle wins four games and struggles, some of the luster comes off. (If Pinnacle wins its district, La Cueva will not receive any credit for this in terms of seeding and selection, as that particular criteria item was removed earlier this year.)
The game itself was meh for three quarters. It was penalty-plagued — Pinnacle was especially undisciplined — and aesthetically, this game, most of the way, did not match the pre-game hype.
Having said that, the last several minutes of the fourth quarter, and both overtimes, cranked up the drama quotient considerably. And the last 30 real-time minutes of this game consisted of spectacular stuff. Unpredictable and massively entertaining. And these two will do it again in 2025.
La Cueva has this week off, then plays Sandia in a district opener next week. This victory had them basking in the moment at Coconino High in Flagstaff, where this matchup was staged.
“I’m just proud of the guys,” Dyer said. “We made the plays when they were there.”
This game even saw La Cueva get the ball into Posa’s hands, for a short touchdown run in the fourth quarter that made the score 25-23. On defense, his name was frequently on the lips of the broadcast crew Saturday night. He was everywhere, relentless.
“This is huge,” Posa said of the win. “Pinnacle is a big-time program, and we put New Mexico on the map for sure. We had a great performance, and this is huge for New Mexico and for La Cueva.”
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Publish date : 2024-09-02 16:01:00
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