Thursday Throwdown: Big Win For A Small School (Video/Recap)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ALBUQUERQUE </strong>– You rarely see a Class 3A team mercy rule a 6A team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It happened last night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Powered by a nearly flawless offense, Hope Christian trounced Atrisco Heritage, 50-0, Thursday night at Community Stadium, improving to 3-0 heading into the start of district play next weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hope Christian travels to Ruidoso to face the Warriors in the District 3A-2 opener next Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Freshman quarterback <strong>Nick Miller</strong> and the Huskies offense set the tone early, taking the opening kickoff and steadily driving 80 yards for the first touchdown of the night. Hope Christian drained seven minutes off the clock as Miller mixed short and intermediate passes to speedy wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1605990' first='Darrien' last='Williams']</strong> and 6-foot-4 tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1827328' first='Landon' last='Cochran']</strong> around some runs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore running back <strong>Jeremiah Roybal</strong> scored on a 3-yard run to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead with five minutes left in the first quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hope Christian got the ball back to their offense when they stopped the Atrisco Heritage offense on fourth-and-7 at the HC 40-yard line. It was one of the few times all night the Jaguars crossed midfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Atrisco moved the ball to the AH 45-yard line. From there, Hope Christian scored on the second snap of the second quarter when Miller found a wide open Williams over the middle for a 30-yard TD pass to boost the Huskies' lead to 14-0.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unofficially, Miller was 26-of-33 passing for 316 yards and 5 TD.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“They were playing two safeties high, so we needed to bring those guys down so we could throw over the top,” Salinas said. “Nick is just 14 years old, but he's&nbsp; leader. He's very mature. He's not making mistakes and he's handling the pressure well. Our offensive line helps him out. And Darrien, with what he can do, helps him out, as does Landon.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williams' superb speed and elite athleticism, which was on display all summer throughout the camp circuit, caused problems for the Atrisco secondary all night long.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When Hope Christian got the ball back midway through the second quarter, Miller fired his second TD pass to Williams over the middle. The senior receiver again got behind the secondary, caught the pass in stride and raced into the end zone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Late in the second quarter, Miller rolled right, spun and lofted a pass to <strong>Kane Otero</strong>, who was all alone in the left flat. With no defender near him, Otero caught the ball and strolled into the end zone for Hope's fourth TD of the first half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hope Christian led, 26-0, at halftime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second half was more of the same. After Williams was tackled at the 1-yard line on a sweep, Otero ran for the score with 7:30 left in the third quarter to give the Huskies a 33-0 lead. Williams' third TD catch of the night made it 40-0, jumpstarting the running clock.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Miller's fifth TD pass of the night early in the fourth quarter made it 47-0. The game ended midway through the fourth quarter when Hope, shortly after recovering a fumble inside the 5-yard line, booted a short field goal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“This game showed how good out off-season program is,” Salinas said. “With our strength and conditioning, we're at a place now we've never been in my seven years with the program. We're doing things the right way. WE just have to stay healthy &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If there was one negative from Hope's otherwise impressive performance, it was penalties. The Huskies were called for holding several times and Williams' punt return for a TD in the second quarter was nullified by a penalty.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 1: First Quarter (Hope Christian Opening Drive For TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/lcvZb4x3ppY?si=jCjrHrC78vMKUVxa","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/lcvZb4x3ppY?si=jCjrHrC78vMKUVxa </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 2: Late First Quarter/Early Second Quarter (Hope Christian TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/wczFUlIewDc?si=TJ1UWnsk9h2leX9d","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/wczFUlIewDc?si=TJ1UWnsk9h2leX9d </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 3: Late Second Quarter (Hope Christian TD) </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/HDhR8IztqAI?si=seOFa7TNwcN0uff5","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/HDhR8IztqAI?si=seOFa7TNwcN0uff5 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 4: Third Quarter (Hope Christian TD)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/r67wauh9SGE?si=UyV7djvXmIbuyOHb","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/r67wauh9SGE?si=UyV7djvXmIbuyOHb </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>THURSDAY NIGHT SCOREBOARD (Sept. 3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Centennial 37, Artesia 14</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hope Christian 50, Atrisco Heritage 0</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Albuquerque High 12, Cibola 7</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Capitan 19, Socorro 12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cobre 28, Anthony (TX) 22</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Crownpoint 18, Shiprock 6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/TriCityRecordNM/status/2095935046955696479","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/TriCityRecordNM/status/2095935046955696479 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->