Thursday Throwdown: Capital City Clash (Video/Recap)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SANTA FE –</strong> When Capital fell behind Highland, 21-0, early in the second period of Thursday night's District 5A-1&nbsp; showdown at Jaguars Stadium, it look like Capital's postseason chances were fading fast.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Looks, though, can be deceiving.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jaguars quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604951' first='Ace' last='Bachicha']</strong> fired a touchdown pass to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1751383' first='Raymond' last='Salazar'] </strong>with 17 seconds remaining to cap a furious rally over the final 2-1/2 quarters as Capital stunned Highland, 23-21, to snap a two-game losing streak and boost its chances of qualifying for the Class 5A playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Capital improved to 3-6 overall, 3-3 in District 5A-1. The Jaguars are now tied for fifth in the district standings with Highland (5-4, 3-3). However, the Hornets face struggling Del Norte in Week 11. That means Capital must beat Belen on the road in order to avoid falling into the dreaded sixth place position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Why? District 5A-2 is likely to get seven teams into the playoffs. Even though Deming is 1-7, MaxPreps has the Wildcats ranked No. 8 in Class 5A. So, Deming looks like they'll get in. Strength of schedule enhances Deming's chances.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If seven teams from District 5A-2 get in, only five from District 5A-2 will get in. Thus, the team that finishes in sixth place is out, along with Santa Teresa, Del Norte and Rio Grande. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ahead, 21-17, Highland got possession of the ball with 10:27 left in the fourth quarter with an opportunity to put the game away. The Hornets drained over six minutes off the clock as they steadily drove into Capital territory. Highland gambled on fourth-and-4 from the Capital 39 with just over four minutes remaining.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jaguars defense denied Highland, causing a game-changing turnover on downs. The Jaguars drove past midfield with Bachicha gaining valuable yardage on a couple of runs. Highland was also flagged for defensive pass interference, putting the ball on the Highland 26.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Capital took advantage as Bachicha dropped back and connected with Salazar with the game-winning TD on a screen pass to the flat. Salazar caught the ball, found a hole, and raced into the end zone.             </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After falling behind 21-0 early in the second quarter, Capital took its first steps towards the come-from-behind win by scoring two touchdowns in the final five minutes to trim the halftime deficit to 21-14. The first score came on a flea flicker in the red zone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jaguars took the second half kickoff and held the ball for about 8-1/2 minutes. They ran 16 plays on the drive that produced a field goal to make it 21-17 with 3:25 left in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Highland dominated the first 15 minutes of the game. They took the opening kickoff and drove 70 yards to the game's first TD on a run by sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1613656' first='Andres' last='Acosta']</strong>, who finished with 166 yards rushing and 2 TD on 20 carries. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1688720' first='William' last='Anchondo']</strong> had 69 yards on 13 carries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After the Hornets defense intercepted a pass, Acosta broke free for a long run to put the ball inside the red zone. From there, the Hornets scored with 4:16 left in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Capital fumbled on its first play of the ensuing possession. Highland converted that turnover into another TD for a 21-0 lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shortly thereafter, Capital's 23-point surge began.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Thursday Scoreboard (Oct. 23)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hobbs 51, Organ Mountain 12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eldorado 31, West Mesa 18</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Capital 23, Highland 21</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Belen 50, Rio Grande 12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Zuni 24, Shiprock 23</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Highland at Capital</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Video 1: Early First Quarter (Highland TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/_dUb7Cfk2-0?si=q54-oK50RVZJnfDe","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/_dUb7Cfk2-0?si=q54-oK50RVZJnfDe </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Video 2: Mid First Quarter (Highland TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/1eejg5uRSoE?si=TcGPXhDD4LLjt5P5","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/1eejg5uRSoE?si=TcGPXhDD4LLjt5P5 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Video 3: Late First Quarter/Early Second Quarter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/qpTt2ndP_hM?si=AZq3e5lwdSNfJrjo","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/qpTt2ndP_hM?si=AZq3e5lwdSNfJrjo </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Video 4: Mid Second Quarter (Capital TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/7I7t8Zxs05w?si=_H85fdWfc56WQqtW","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/7I7t8Zxs05w?si=_H85fdWfc56WQqtW </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Video 5: Late Second Quarter (Capital TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/IeQQEZEf_g4?si=1RZYrIAtorF229HY","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/IeQQEZEf_g4?si=1RZYrIAtorF229HY </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Video 6: Third Quarter (Capital FG)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/x7FwcFrrvFY?si=8_NEpDBF3fulGVhu","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/x7FwcFrrvFY?si=8_NEpDBF3fulGVhu </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Video 7: Fourth Quarter (Capital Game-Winning TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/AuN7jANiLUo?si=WwaFBPMnvMP7H8xf","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/AuN7jANiLUo?si=WwaFBPMnvMP7H8xf </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DISTRICT 5A-1 STANDINGS</strong> <strong>(After Thursday's Results):</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1975593,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-24-at-09-45-04-5A-District-1-District-Football-Standings.png?w=683" alt="" class="wp-image-1975593" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->