Thursday Night Throwdown: Volcano Vista-La Cueva (Video/Story)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ALBUQUERQUE – New Volcano Vista quarterback <strong>Spirit Penn-Cook</strong> didn't take long to display the elite dual threat skills that helped him earn the confidence of the Hawks coaching staff.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Less than 90 seconds into the game, Penn-Cook faked a handoff, broke through the middle of the defense and sprinted down the left sideline for a 61-yard TD scamper on the fourth play of Thursday night's season-opening clash against La Cueva, fueling the Hawk's thrilling 21-20 victory over the Bears in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd at Wilson Stadium.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Early in the second quarter, Penn-Cook directed a 5-play, 76-yard drive that ended with a laser beam 4-yard TD pass to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1245683' first='Ismael' last='Mendez']</strong> in the right corner of the end zone. The score gave Volcano Vista a 14-0 lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Doubtful Penn-Cook, his coaches or Hawk fans envisioned a better start to the 2025 season. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trailing by two touchdowns and its offense looking largely ineffective, La Cueva flipped the script by scoring 17 points in the final 8 minutes to take a 17-14 halftime lead. Two short yardage scores, including a 1-yard TD pass by QB [player_tooltip player_id='1183085' first='Monty' last='Melendez'] with just 8 seconds left before halftime, and an impressive 41-yard FG by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137412' first='Chance' last='Whitmire']</strong>, propelled the Bears.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, La Cueva could have had more. On third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, the shotgun snap sailed over Melendez's head, forcing him to fall on the football at the VV 23. The strong-legged Whitmire trotted onto the field and boomed the ball through the uprights to make it a 14-10 game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bears RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1272737' first='James' last='Barreras']</strong> gave La Cueva its first points of the game by capping a 6-play, 66-yard drive with a 2-yard run midway through the second quarter. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volcano Vista regained the lead for good at 21-17 in the third quarter with a 10-play, 56-yard drive culminated by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1423739' first='D'Angelo' last='Mitchell']</strong>'s 3-yard run over the left side. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volcano Vista led, 21-17, at the conclusion of the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When La Cueva was stymied at the 2-yard line, Whitmire booted a 20-yard field goal for La Cueva with 7:52 left in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to one point at 21-20. The ensuing kickoff ricocheted off a Hawk player inside the 5-yard line. But an alert Volcano Vista teammate pounced on the loose football. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mitchell had a big run for a first down with just over 2 minutes remaining to allow the Hawks to drain precious time off the clock. After a pooch punt by Volcano Vista, La Cueva got the ball back at its 16 with 1:05 left needing to go 60+ yards to get into field goal range for Whitmire. However, the Hawks defense held firm as the clock ran out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Three other games were played Thursday on the opening night of the 2025 New Mexico high school football season:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Highland 20, Manzano 12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bernalillo 16, Valley 14</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Santa Fe Indian 14, Cuba 8 &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 1: Early First Quarter (TD Run By VV QB)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/St5Wni0hT2k?si=yx61wO3c4O6LpB86","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/St5Wni0hT2k?si=yx61wO3c4O6LpB86 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 2: First Quarter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/2eq3DDDYG6c?si=xaekq_Gwf9_ZhrdF","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/2eq3DDDYG6c?si=xaekq_Gwf9_ZhrdF </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 3: Early Second Quarter (Volcano Vista Passing TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/A13UVpU9CEM?si=EoTEfpjPI1PR27Yc","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/A13UVpU9CEM?si=EoTEfpjPI1PR27Yc </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 4: Middle Second Quarter (La Cueva TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/YxuaoY9J_hc?si=1NEgY2XgcAs8haCD","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/YxuaoY9J_hc?si=1NEgY2XgcAs8haCD </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 5: Late Second Quarter (La Cueva FG)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/h0fvjzOOlHQ?si=xmopuCAjt_HNquYx","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/h0fvjzOOlHQ?si=xmopuCAjt_HNquYx </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 6: Late Second Quarter (La Cueva Passing TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/ypfsICU3Se4?si=3HEVpcyB7vVUfsM4","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/ypfsICU3Se4?si=3HEVpcyB7vVUfsM4 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 7: Third Quarter</strong> <strong>(Volcano Vista TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/_kLw-hE6s0Y?si=oDuKQsC_qC-kkPWr","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/_kLw-hE6s0Y?si=oDuKQsC_qC-kkPWr </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA</strong>:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here are some photos from Thursday night&#039;s game between La Cueva and Volcano Vista.<a href="https://twitter.com/vvhsfootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@vvhsfootball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/VVHSHawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VVHSHawks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LaCuevaFootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LaCuevaFootball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrincipalLCHS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrincipalLCHS</a> <a href="https://t.co/9Scw5dzXNm">pic.twitter.com/9Scw5dzXNm</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1958911803481854271?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FOOTBALL: Volcano Vista beat La Cueva 21-20 on Thursday night. Here are some of the highlights. <a href="https://twitter.com/vvhsfootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@vvhsfootball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/VVHSHawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VVHSHawks</a> <a href="https://t.co/1FrnwXpN0z">pic.twitter.com/1FrnwXpN0z</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1958897097694224800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">Final: Volcano Vista 21, La Cueva 20.<br><br>Huge win for the Hawks. <a href="https://t.co/ykvJnbPYXP">pic.twitter.com/ykvJnbPYXP</a></p>&mdash; Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1958738857291391331?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We&#039;re underway!! <a href="https://t.co/WQaQYdFJBu">pic.twitter.com/WQaQYdFJBu</a></p>&mdash; Prep Redzone New Mexico (@PrepRedzoneNM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1958700954909315406?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->