SANTA FE – Two-time defending state champ Bloomfield started their quest for a three-peat Friday night, turning away a stubborn Clovis team with a 45-36 win in a high-scoring shootout at Santa Fe High School.
The Bobcats, winners of the Class 4A state title in each of the last two seasons, opened their season against the Wildcats, the first of two Class 6A rivals they will face before opening their district slate next month.
With a new quarterback under center in sophomore Wyatt Babcock, as well as a handful of new starters at skill positions, Bloomfield appeared to be up to the task of chasing their third straight state championship, capitalizing on mistakes and scoring on special teams as well as both through the air and on the ground offensively.
“I think we did some things right, but there’s definitely some things we need to get to work on,” said Bloomfield head coach Mike Kovacs. “We got to see some things we can do and I was real proud with how we stepped up tonight.”
Babcock scampered for a pair of touchdown runs and also tossed a pair of scoring passes while completing 11 of 19 passes for more than 220 yards. Babcock’s rushing totals surpassed 100 yards on 17 attempts.
On the flipside, Babcock, making his first start at quarterback in his prep career, also tossed a couple of interceptions in the victory.
“Even though he had a couple of picks, it’s anxiety,” Kovacs said. “He’s young. This game, I’m hoping made him a better person. All around his performance over the night was good. Short memory, and he picked it up, and moved forward.”
The Bobcats defense had a strong showing as well. Markeith Childress, Joey Gutierrez and Tayetum Callado each picked off a pass from Wildcats quarterback Beau Clements, who found himself under siege for much of the contest, completing 12 of 25 passes for nearly 200 yards and a touchdown.
Callado’s interception in the first quarter of the game was significant. His injury in the Class 4A semifinal game against Taos last season came in the final moments of a three-interception performance before he’d be forced to miss the Bobcats title game victory last November against St. Pius.
“It meant a lot to me,” Callado said. “After the injury, I had a recovery and all that, but it just feels great to be back on the field. It was pretty hard this week; we had a couple of bad practices, but we picked it up tonight.“
The Bobcats, looking to defend their two-time, back-to-back Class 4A titles, were efficient on both sides of the ball. Cable Carruth scored three times, including a 73-yard kickoff return to start the second half.
Childress and Carruth both were on the receiving end of touchdown passes on the night.
“There was a lot of emotion coming into the game,” Carruth said. But just prepping in practice all week, keeping my mind clear, and just going out and playing our game the way we know how was good enough.“
Both teams had drives stalled because of procedure penalties and a handful of personal fouls. The teams combined for nearly 30 penalties at a cost of more than 200 yards.
Bloomfield entered the fourth quarter with a 33-14 advantage and appeared to have control of the contest, getting efficient yards on the ground and running valuable time off the clock.
Babcock’s second interception resulted in a Wildcats touchdown midway through the fourth quarter that closed the deficit to 39-28.
On Bloomfield’s ensuing drive, Julius Dixon’s 3-yard scoring run with 5:30 left to play in the fourth quarter put the Bobcats up 45-28, essentially putting the contest out of reach.
The Wildcats offense was able to move the ball effectively in the final minutes but clearly were too far behind to make a significant rally despite a late touchdown which narrowed the deficit before Bloomfield was able to run out the clock and preserve the win.
Bloomfield has won 25 of their last 26 games, their only loss during that time coming at the hands of Piedra Vista in the second week of last season.
“There at the end, I thought we kind of let down a little,” Kovacs said. “I always hate the flags from the kids, but I thought overall team effort was good.”
The Bobcats will finish their non-district campaign Friday night at home against Class 6A Farmington, coming off a tough season opening loss against Piedra Vista.