{"id":50784,"date":"2020-10-26T16:36:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T22:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bluejays-defense-shines-during-52-6-win-over-sargent\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:53:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:53:14","slug":"bluejays-defense-shines-during-52-6-win-over-sargent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bluejays-defense-shines-during-52-6-win-over-sargent\/","title":{"rendered":"Bluejays defense shines during 52-6 win over Sargent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n

While the Mancos High School football team\u2019s offense ranks as one of the most lethal in the state, the Bluejays\u2019 defense showed that it can be equally as effective during a 52-6 home win over Sargent on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Among the many key plays for the Mancos defense was an interception by Luika Cova early in the first quarter that came after the junior lineman deflected a pass by Sargent quarterback Burke Temple high into the air before adjusting his body to make an athletic catch.<\/p>\n

The play, which drew loud cheers from the ruckus home crowd and huge smiles from the Mancos coaching staff, sent a clear message early in the contest that the Bluejays had come to play.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just watching the ball and watching the quarterback to see what he was doing,\u201d Cova said. \u201cI just read his eyes and made the play.<\/p>\n

\"Lot
Lot Martin tackles and knocks the ball away from Sargent quarterback Burke Temple in the end zone for a Mancos safety Saturday.<\/span>Sam Green\/For The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Although the junior\u2019s interception was arguably the most impressive play of the day, a quarterback sack that resulted in a safety by senior Lot Martin and a blocked punt and an interception by freshman Kail Wayam also played a big role in the Bluejays\u2019 win.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a good effort for all of us,\u201d said Wayman, who also came through with several key tackles. \u201cEveryone (on our defense) did what they needed to, and that\u2019s why we were successful today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chase
Chase Moore is pulled down close to the goal line Saturday against Sargent. The Mancos High School junior scored a game-high six touchdowns.<\/span>Sam Green\/For The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

While the Mancos defense set the tone for the team\u2019s lopsided win, the Bluejays offense also came through with numerous big plays thanks in large part to running back Chase Moore, who scored a game-high six touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Among the star junior\u2019s impressive scores was a 30-yard touchdown run around the left side with 10:02 left in the first quarter to give the Bluejays a 6-0 lead. On his team\u2019s second possession, Moore raced through a hole off left tackle and scored from 59 yards out to make the score 12-0.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think today was another day at the office, honestly,\u201d said Moore, who also had touchdown runs of 28 yards, 5 yards and 2 yards, and returned a kickoff for a touchdown. \u201cWe just came out here fired up to do what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joining Moore as a multiple touchdown scorer for Mancos was Kruiz Wagoner, who caught touchdown passes of 30 yards and 26 yards from sophomore quarterback Ayden Mathews.<\/p>\n

Wagoner\u2019s second touchdown catch of the game was especially impressive as the junior receiver reeled in a deflected pass, pulled his leg free of a would-be tackler and rumbled into the end zone to put his team ahead 46-0 midway through the third quarter.<\/p>\n

The impressive score came after Mancos carried a 40-0 lead into halftime. After Temple plunged into the end zone from 1 yard out midway through the fourth quarter to give Sargent its only score, Moore scored the final touchdown of the contest on a long kickoff return with 4:00 left in the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of confidence, but we\u2019re going to stay humble because every (opponent) has things that they do well,\u201d Wayman said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be proud, but we\u2019re always going to be humble.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Luika
Luika Cova bats a pass from Sargent quarterback Burke Temple into the air and then catches it for a Mancos interception.<\/span>Sam Green\/For The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Although the Thunderbirds will enter Friday\u2019s contest with an 0-3 record, Bluejays players emphasized that they will not overlook their San Louis Valley opponents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to work hard all week like we usually do,\u201d Moore said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to overlook (Sangre de Cristo). \u201cWe\u2019re going to play hard like we always do and play for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interception by Bluejays\u2019 Cova sets the tone early; Moore scores six TDs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4845,28,37,29,346],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-50784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-american-football","tag-headlines","tag-mancos-high-school","tag-newsletter","tag-sports"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50784"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87827,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50784\/revisions\/87827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50784"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=50784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}