PREP FOOTBALL
Bernalillo stuns Academy on fumble return
Teo Martinez y Marr returned a late fumble for a touchdown as Bernalillo beat Class 4A No. 3 Albuquerque Academy 12-7.
BERNALILLO 鈥� As legend has it, a former player coined the term 鈥淕oon Squad鈥� to define the gritty mentality of the Bernalillo football program under coach John Cobos shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Friday night, the legend of the 鈥淕oon Squad鈥� lived on, delivered when the Spartans (1-1) needed it most. With Albuquerque Academy (1-1) perhaps one first down away from running out the clock, junior linebacker Teo Martinez y Marr scooped up a Chargers fumble and raced some 45 yards for a touchdown to give Bernalillo a dramatic 12-7 victory on its home field.
鈥淪o that鈥檚 kind of what our identity is,鈥� Cobos said of the moniker, which can be found on the side of the hats worn by the coaching staff. 鈥淚t's our defense. It's what we pride ourselves on.
We yell a whole bunch, 鈥楪oon Squad, Goon Squad.鈥� And the guys have taken to it, and that's what we're known for. So we're going to run with it.鈥�
Martinez y Marr certainly did. Moments before those heroics, things looked quite dire for the Spartans. Academy鈥檚 Logan Hague picked off a desperation heave by Bernalillo quarterback Ulisses Castro, giving the Chargers the ball at their 44 with 2:35 to play. Then, facing a 3rd-and-1 in Bernalillo territory, Academy appeared to make an unforced error on the center-quarterback exchange. Thanks to a blitz call, Martinez y Marr was right there to capitalize.
鈥淚 came off the edge and the ball came out. I saw the ball and just took it house,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t didn't feel real.鈥�
Academy had one last chance, and the Chargers moved the ball to the Bernalillo 33 before quarterback William Braun fumbled after being sacked. On that occasion, senior linebacker Dusty Debeer appeared to have another scoop-and-score recovery, but Cobos revealed that the officials inadvertently blew the play dead upon the recovery.
Ultimately, it was little more than a footnote in what was an emotional victory for a Spartan team that embraced its underdog status.
鈥淲e went through a pretty tough game last week with Belen. And to be able to come back against the No. 3 team (in Class 4A) in the state, nobody gave us a chance tonight,鈥� Cobos said. 鈥淲e knew what we could do.鈥�
Most of that revolved around the defense. Castro gave Bernalillo an early 6-0 lead with a 25-yard TD run in the first quarter. Academy answered with a one-yard plunge by Braun with 10:05 to play before halftime. From there, the game settled into something of an ugly, defensive struggle. While Hague had the most impressive statline of anyone in the game 鈥� 10 receptions for 153 yards 鈥� much of his work was done between the 20s. Two botched field goals didn鈥檛 help the Chargers鈥� cause, either. Ironically, the kicking game looked like it was going to be the unfortunate difference for Bernalillo prior to Martinez y Marr鈥檚 game-winning score. Starting kicker Ryan Mortensen, who also plays defense, suffered a broken collarbone during a practice drill this past week. With no one capable of handling PAT duties, the Spartans failed on that early two-point conversion.
But as Cobos proudly pointed out in his post-game speech, the team kept battling through what could have been a frustrating night. That attitude is the embodiment of Bernalillo鈥檚 present-day Goon Squad.
鈥淲e always know how to come back from adversity, and coaches know how to calm us down and get us back into that mode where we got to dominate,鈥� Martinez y Marr said. 鈥淐oach sets that standard, and we meet it every time.鈥�
