CLOVIS, NM--Clovis came away with a hard-fought 28-14 win over visiting Eldorado in both teams’ District 2-6A opener.
“In our district, every week’s a hard game,” said Clovis head coach Eric Roanhaus. “You've got to come ready to play every week.”
The Wildcats (4-2, 1-0) and Eagles (3-3, 0-1) combined to score 14 points in the first half before scoring 28 total points in the second.
Eldorado got on the board first with a 10-yard pass from quarterback Matt Denis to wide receiver Dominic Sandoval at the end of the first quarter. Clovis then tied the score at seven with 41 seconds left in the half on a two-yard run by Micah Gray.
Gray scored again on a one-yard run midway through the third quarter to give Clovis a 14-7 lead, which he then extended to 21-7 with a 58-yard pass play from quarterback Sebastian Roanhaus.
Eldorado closed the lead to seven points with a six-yard run by Elijah Gudelj-Cox with 3:32 remaining in the game, and the Eagles recovered a fumble to regain possession. However, a series of incompletions caused Eldorado to turn the ball over on downs, and Gray soon regained the Wildcats’ 14-point lead with a 17-yard touchdown run with 1:53 left.
The senior contributed to all four Clovis touchdowns, three of which came in the second half.
While Coach Roanhaus was pleased that his team was able to pull away in the last two quarters, he doesn't want to be forced to rely on a strong finish every game.
“That isn't going to be there every week,” he said. “We've got to start playing better in the first half.”
Eldorado coach Charlie Dotson was also unhappy with his team’s start to district play. The Eagles finished the night with four fumbles and well over 10 dropped passes.
“You can't turn the ball over to Clovis and expect to win,” Dotson said.
The Eagles will look to pick up their first district win in their homecoming game against Sandia on Friday, Oct. 14. The Wildcats will travel to Wilson Stadium to face Manzano on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 2 p.m.
