PREP FOOTBALL
Sartans go big early, rout West Mesa in opener
ABQ Academy QB Braun accounts for six scores in win over Manzano
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The St. Pius Sartans didn鈥檛 put the ball into the hands of Hershul Olloway Jr. a whole lot on Saturday.
Which ought to be a warning alarm for future teams who line up against St. Pius, considering the damage he鈥檚 able to inflict even with limited opportunities.
The plan, Sartans coach Curtis Flakes II said in the preseason, was to limit Olloway鈥檚 touches over the first half of the season, and to make sure he鈥檒l be plenty fresh into late October and November.
Saturday, Olloway Jr., only had his hands on the ball 10 times as the Sartans opened the 2026 season against West Mesa.
He scored touchdowns on three of those touches, and Class 4A St. Pius 鈥� scoring all its points before halftime 鈥� rolled the 6A Mustangs 44-14 at Nusenda Community Stadium.
鈥�(We) fired on all cylinders, being able to get the run game going as well as putting the ball in the air,鈥� said Olloway, the University of New Mexico commit who only rushed for 58 yards on seven carries but also scored twice on a pair of screen passes.
St. Pius scored 16 points in the first four minutes.
On a fourth down from the West Mesa 20, Olloway took a screen pass and went 20 yards for a touchdown just 72 seconds into the game.
On the Sartans鈥� second possession, Olloway scored on a 4-yard run.
And sandwiched between those two TDs was a safety; a punt snap sailed over the head of the punter and through the back of the end zone.
St. Pius got several of its weapons involved as the Sartans renew their pursuit of an elusive state title.
Quarterback Isaiah Carpenter hit Ezra Ocampo on a finely thrown ball along the far side, which turned into a 51-yard touchdown early in the second quarter and a 23-0 lead. Carpenter threw a 26-yard TD pass to Christian Morales, who authored a terrific catch on the near side for a 30-point bulge.
Moments later, another screen toss to Olloway resulted in a 47-yard touchdown.
鈥淭hey were being aggressive, so we ran a slip screen, and of course, once you give Hershul the ball, he鈥檚 off to the races,鈥� Flakes said.
Olloway, who scored 28 touchdowns while rushing for nearly 2,000 yards as a junior, is perfectly content to have his touches reduced early on as St. Pius eyes bigger things in November.
鈥淎t the end of the day,鈥� he said, 鈥�... I just want to do what I can to help this team win and make a run at a blue trophy.鈥�
Freshman Cy Saenz, a player Flakes has said is further along at his age than even Olloway was at the same age, capped the monster first half. He turned a short throw into a 70-yard score, sprinting through the back end of the West Mesa defense.
It was 44-7 at halftime, only because of the Mustangs special teams, where Isaiah Cazares returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown after it was 30-0.
St. Pius is at Holtville, Calif., on Friday night. West Mesa plays Valley next Saturday.
ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY 40, MANZANO 12: At the Academy, senior quarterback William Braun had a huge day for the Chargers, throwing for 371 yards and five touchdowns, and rushing for a sixth as Academy beat the Monarchs in coach Michael Holguin鈥檚 debut for Manzano.
The first three of Braun鈥檚 five scoring passes all went to Logan Hague, who was already coming off a monster junior season.
That duo connected on a 90-yarder 2 minutes and 20 seconds into the game. Braun threw TD passes of 4 and 27 yards to Hague 鈥� the latter coming on the first play of the second quarter 鈥� for a 19-0 lead.
Braun added TD passes of 7 yards to Emilio Houghton and 17 yards to Timothy Peterson in the second half. And he scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
Broden Price had both Manzano touchdowns, on scoring runs of 5 and 52 yards.
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at .
