Prep football: Pacheco, Capital rout Sundevils in 2AAAA opener

James Barron | The New Mexican

10/10/2008 - 10/11/08

Niko Pacheco wasn't so much forgotten as he was invisible.

The senior wideout on the Capital High football team was supposed to be the all-around threat that his predecessor, Dominic Medrano, had been. But he slumbered through the nondistrict portion of the season.

Perhaps it was District 2AAAA play that aroused his senses, but Pacheco finally re-emerged.

Even though he had just 29 yards of total offense, it was the two touchdowns he had in the Jaguars' 49-0 win over Española Valley in the district opener at Jaguar Field that mattered. They were the first two for Pacheco this season.

"I guess that's good," Pacheco said. "I would like to get the ball more because I feel like I can make plays, but in the long run, if we're winning and putting points on the board, I don't mind blocking."

Pacheco's problem has been numbers — as in too many players who can do what he does.

The Jaguars also need the ball in the hands of running backs Nate Garcia and Dominic Romero; receiver Mark Maes; and tight end Gary Chavez. It makes game-planning a little tough for the coaching staff.

"It's nice to have all that diversity," Jaguars head coach Steve Castille said. "But I'm kind of used to giving the ball to one guy 20, 25 times a game. I look at Nate's stats, and he's hasn't had more than 15 carries in a game."

Capital (3-4 overall) focused on getting Pacheco the ball against Española, and his first carry came on the first play of the game. On the next drive, he ran the ball twice, including a 6-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0 at the 3-minute, 1-second mark of the first quarter.

His second score came late in the first half, on a 10-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Marcus Barela for 35-0 at the 2:10 mark.

"I was very appreciative of that," Pacheco said. "I got to touch the ball; I like that, especially for me. I need to get into a rhythm to get me going. Every now and then,
I will bust one open, but I feel cold if I don't get the ball."

Cold could have described the Jaguars' start, and it gave the Sundevils (2-5) a slight hint of hope. Capital committed 10 first-half penalties — including seven in the first quarter.

It looked like the deficit would only be 7-0 heading into the second quarter, but an errant pitch from quarterback Michael Aragon was recovered by Pacheco at the Española 24-yard line with 1:25 to go.

It took two plays before Marcus Barela hit Gary Chavez for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 41 seconds left for 14-0.

That was just the start as Capital scored 28 points in the second quarter, capped by lineman Beau Graham's first carry of his varsity career. He took a lateral pass from Barela and barreled into the end zone from 18 yards out for a 42-point cushion.

Española measured its success in small gains. Like Shawn Atencio's coverage on Chavez's score, as he was in stride with the receiver, but Chavez out-jumped him for the ball.

"The great coach that I am, I gave (Atencio) some great advice," Española head coach Bill Moon said. "I told him to get taller."

There also was Estevan Borrego's 48-yard kickoff return when it was 28-0 that put Española in range for a score, but even that small measure of success was muted.

The Sundevils reached the Capital 16, which set Sean Salazar up for a 33-yard field goal, but an illegal procedure penalty put the ball out of the kicker's range and Española then turned the ball over on downs.