Thursday Night Throwdown: Bernalillo-Highland (Video/Recap)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ALBUQUERQUE – Somehow, some way, Bernalillo finds a way.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seven days after rallying past Valley for a 16-14 victory by scoring a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter and blocking a late field goal attempt, the Spartans delivered another tension-filled nail-biter Thursday night as they scored an improbable 85-yrd TD pass with just over a minute left in regulation before a walk-off TD pass in overtime lifted Bernalillo to a 14-8 victory over Highland in a defensive-dominated contest at Milne Stadium.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bernalillo improved to 2-0 while Highland fell to 1-1. The first two games for both teams have gone down to the wire.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both defenses were locked in early as both offenses struggled to move the football for the first 46-1/2 minutes of the game. The tone was set early when Highland held the ball for the first 10 minutes of the game but had its time-consuming drive stall out at the Bernalillo 32 when the Spartans stopped the Hornets on fourth down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was the first of several fourth-down denials by the Bernalillo defense. Highland averaged just 3.0 yards per carry (142 yards on 47 carries) against the Spartans' ‘Goon Squad' defense after averaging 5.5 yards per attempt in the Week 1 win over Manzano.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bernalillo also struggled to run the football, totaling just 38 yards on 15 carries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The only points of the first three-plus quarters came midway through the second quarter when Highland QB <strong>George Salzano</strong> fumbled a snap and was tackled about a foot inside the end zone for a Bernalillo safety.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Spartans had an opportunity to expand the lead shortly before halftime but missed a 25-yard field goal after recovering a fumble at the Highland 11-yard line. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2-0 score held up until the frantic and frenzied final 97 seconds of the fourth quarter. Facing fourth down from the 47-yard line, Salzano fired a 47-yard TD pass to senior WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751053' first='Isaiah' last='Cheromiah']</strong>, who slipped behind the Bernalillo secondary, caught the pass and raced down the left sideline into the end zone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1688720' first='William' last='Anchondo']</strong>, who was limited to 57 yards rushing on 20 carries a week after gaining 141 yards against Manzano, ran for the two-point conversion to give Highland an 8-2 lead with 1:37 left.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Considering the Bernalillo offense had been kept off the scoreboard for the entire night, some fans probably thought Highland would close the game out with a defensive stand. If so, they were wrong.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853757' first='Ulisses' last='Castro']</strong>, one of three signal callers utilized by Bernalillo during the game, lofted a high pass down the middle of the field. Dynamic WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1599893' first='Joseph' last='Duran']</strong> (3 receptions, 87 yards) outjumped a couple of Highland defenders for the ball around the Highland 40-yard line and raced into the end zone for the tying touchdown with 1:05 left.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bernalillo had a chance to take the lead but a 15-yard celebration penalty pushed the PAT attempt back and the kick sailed wide.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The late fourth quarter action wasn't done. Highland punted with 40 seconds left. Bernalillo got penetration and the kick was blocked. The ball was recovered at the Highland 7-yard line, putting Bernalillo in prime position to win the game at the end of regulation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But the Spartans were flagged for delay of game and eventually had to rush the field goal unit onto the field for a 29-yard field goal attempt with a few seconds remaining in regulation. Highland blocked the kick to force overtime. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Highland got the ball first in OT. The Spartans defense came up big again when they intercepted a pass on third down. Seconds later, Castro lofted a first-down pass towards the left-corner of the end zone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1599962' first='Ivan' last='Ruiz']</strong> got inside position on the Highland defender and caught the ball as he tumbled to the ground to give Bernalillo the hard-fought win despite totaling just 148 yards in total offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bernalillo travels to Portales next Friday night for the third of four road games to begin the 2025 schedule. Highland goes to Taos in Week 3.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>More Scores From Thursday Night</strong>:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Las Cruces 38, Volcano Vista 20 </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cibola 46, Sandia 24 </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Espanola Valley 67, Cuba 0 </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Los Alamos 42, Taos 13 </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Navajo Prep 48, Wingate 0</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 1: First Quarter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/dO0TXc78CoQ?si=gO0Ny7VPKrXPYsU6","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/dO0TXc78CoQ?si=gO0Ny7VPKrXPYsU6 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 2: Second Quarter (Bernalillo Safety)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/fwqSGRgTqQg?si=Li1xdKN8U7YRmWJN","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/fwqSGRgTqQg?si=Li1xdKN8U7YRmWJN </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 3: Fourth Quarter (Highland TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/9wrs9AfT-EM?si=pk59YOPo-KqKJt2q","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/9wrs9AfT-EM?si=pk59YOPo-KqKJt2q </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 4: Late Fourth Quarter (Blocked Punt &amp; Blocked FGA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/C8UQN7fJdIk?si=HP1mSCtrLTISCdaS","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/C8UQN7fJdIk?si=HP1mSCtrLTISCdaS </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 5: Overtime (Highland Possession</strong>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/O2s8sqPWV3w?si=j0YUQJXjleHmVYjd","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/O2s8sqPWV3w?si=j0YUQJXjleHmVYjd </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 6: Overtime (Bernalillo TD Pass) </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/0lfjqhU23Jk?si=BcwZi2hS5qgjVtoB","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/0lfjqhU23Jk?si=BcwZi2hS5qgjVtoB </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Video: Taos at Los Alamos</strong> <strong>(Thur. Night)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FOOTBALL: Los Alamos beat Taos 42-13 on Thursday night. The Hilltoppers are 2-0 and host Pojoaque next week. (video courtesy NFHS network) <a href="https://twitter.com/Topperspts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Topperspts</a> <a href="https://t.co/gmjfgBTecM">pic.twitter.com/gmjfgBTecM</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1961512248100475157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>         </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->