Small School Spotlight: Eunice-St. Michael’s (Video/Recap)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SANTA FE</strong> – St. Michael's won again.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That shouldn't be a surprise to anybody considering the Horsemen have now won 25 consecutive games, tying for the sixth-longest streak in state history, since the middle of the 2023 season. During that stretch, St. Michael's has captured two Class 3A state championships with close wins over Robertson (2023) and Dexter (2024).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The latest win came Saturday at the Christian Brothers Athletics Complex in east Santa Fe when the Horseman demolished Class 2A power Eunice, 47-8, on both sides of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Next up? St. Michael's hosts former district rival Raton Saturday at 1 p.m. If the Horsemen beat the Tigers, they'll solely own the sixth-longest winning streak in state history.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The margin of victory for St. Michael's over Eunice was definitely a surprise – and probably alarming to future 3A foes - as the Cardinals' high-powered offense led by quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='854273' first='Elijah' last='Melancon']</strong> (9,000+ career passing yards) and a fleet of talented receivers was expected to challenge &nbsp;the Horsemen's physical and fast defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Never happened.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eunice's offense never got going on a sunny day and struggled to move the ball until the late stages of the game when they scored their only touchdown. Before then, the Cardinals barely crossed midfield, let along penetrate the red zone. Sometimes, Eunice was its own worst enemy as well-thrown balls by Melancon, who certainly possesses a strong and accurate arm, were dropped by receivers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Melancon finished with fewer than 100 passing yards and a completion percentage well below 50 percent.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Michael's domination began early when quick running back/slot back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853063' first='Isaiah' last='Dominguez']</strong> scored on TD runs of 29 and 6 yards on the Horsemen's first two possessions as they took a 13-0 lead after the first quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Michael's added two more touchdowns late in the second quarter on a fourth-and-22 pass from QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1600843' first='Kamal' last='Stith']</strong> to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1826301' first='Victor' last='Corral']</strong> and a 2-yard run by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137830' first='Pete' last='Johnson']</strong>, one of the Horsemen's top defensive players, to take a 27-0 halftime lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The lead quickly grew to 33-0 about 2 minutes into the third quarter on a well-designed pass to Dominguez. Another score and St. Michael's led, 40-0, after the third quarter, igniting a running clock for the entire fourth quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The last time St. Michael's lost a game? Oct. 1, 2023 when West Las Vegas knocked off the Horsemen, 7-6, in a weather-delayed contest decided by a blocked extra point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Michael's is 49-8 in the post-Covid Era (2021-Present) and has advanced to four straight Class 3A state championship games, winning the last two. Frankly, if Saturday's dominant performance by the Horsemen is a preview of coming attractions, the rest of Class 3A will have a difficult time denying them from competing on Thanksgiving weekend for a fifth straight year.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 1st Quarter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/_56A5qtsKPQ?si=33xavpZLrzx0966g","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/_56A5qtsKPQ?si=33xavpZLrzx0966g </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 2: Second Quarter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/sssDhLtjmZ8?si=NAuazxKwCRRG1mdo","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/sssDhLtjmZ8?si=NAuazxKwCRRG1mdo </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 3: Late Second Quarter (St. Michael's TD</strong>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/afMeuabmRJc?si=svawxSp1a2fSwpoM","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/afMeuabmRJc?si=svawxSp1a2fSwpoM </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 4: Early Third Quarter (St. Michael's TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/G5Vehw__Tcs?si=vCe0B5f0ul8S9B-E","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/G5Vehw__Tcs?si=vCe0B5f0ul8S9B-E </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 5: Late Third Quarter (St. Michael's TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/3enNbMzV0dc?si=v4KJ46kr_DRg3Tkr","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/3enNbMzV0dc?si=v4KJ46kr_DRg3Tkr </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>                  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->