PREP FOOTBALL
Sandia gets to enjoy the spoils of a wild finish against Eldorado
Key 4th-down plays help Matadors leave with double-overtime win
When Sandia had finally gathered for its postgame huddle, Tylon Wilder decided he wouldn鈥檛 be the one to speak to the players.
Instead, the coach ceded the space at the center of the semicircle to the Matadors鈥 four captains 鈥 Jahleel Lewis, Mateo Hogan, Aiden Maldonado and Isaac Sullivan.
The four had earned the right to talk, one after the other, after Friday鈥檚 game against Eldorado.
鈥淵eah, that was a sloppy game, but what I loved was our heart,鈥 Maldonado said. 鈥淭hat game went into what, two overtimes? 鈥 Nobody gave up and I love every single one of you.鈥
Yes, it did go into a pair of extra periods. And no, Sandia didn鈥檛 quit.
The final? Matadors 42, Eldorado 36.
Matthew Rodriguez is ruled short of the goal line on 4th-and-goal from the 3.
— David Glovach (@DavidGlovach)
That ends the game.
Sandia 42, Eldorado 36 in double overtime.
But it was the last play Sandia (3-0) appreciated the most.
There was Eldorado facing a fourth-and-goal from the Matadors鈥 3-yard line. A must-have play for the game to continue. There was Matthew Rodriguez taking the handoff and attempting to reach the end zone through the middle of the Sandia defense. And then there was the wall he ran into.
Rodriguez was ruled short. The Matadors ran around the field. The Eagles (0-2-1) couldn鈥檛 believe it.
Wilder declined multiple requests from the Journal to talk after the win, scurrying off in the opposite direction instead. He also did not make his players available.
It was one of several notable fourth-down plays that all had a part in the final outcome. Certainly in the second overtime. The first one as well. Even with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, as distant as that seemed in the aftermath.
Gad Harris scored on a fourth-and-goal run from the 2 to give Sandia the lead in the second extra period. Five plays after his 10-yard rushing touchdown and Lewis鈥 2-point run that tied the score at 36-all to do away with the first overtime.
But it had been Eldorado receivers Jahari Morehead to Brodie Cochran who had forced the necessity of Harris鈥 10-yard run. The two connected on a fourth-and-goal from the 10 in the first overtime. A flea-flicker that went from quarterback Landon Smith to Morehead and then Cochran in along the left sideline of the end zone.
The game even went into overtime because of a fourth-down play when Lewis found Deon Session on a 6-yard pass with 2:42 left in regulation. Cochran had a game-winning 35-yard field goal attempt tipped as the clock ran out.
Harris finished with 12 carries for 84 yards and the two touchdowns, while Session logged five catches for 106 yards and two scores.
Morehead led Eldorado with 12 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown to go along with his 10-yard pass.
But none of that really mattered. The end result did.
And that meant it was the Sandia players鈥 night.
David Glovach covers New Mexico 近距离内射合集 and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X .