Jenn Najjar is making up for lost time.

In just her second match of the season, and restricted to 40 minutes, the St. Michael's High School senior was the wrecking ball on a condemned building Saturday morning in the Class A-AAA 2008 Girls State Soccer Championships.

Najjar scored two first-half goals and assisted on the final score as the Lady Horsemen defeated the Lady Rams of Portales 6-1 to capture Pool C at the Santa Ana Complex.

The victory sends St. Michael's (16-6), the reigning state champion, into a Thursday semifinal against Bosque School (15-7), the Pool B champion. First touch is 11 a.m. at Santa Ana.

"We scouted them a bit today before our match and they looked beatable to us," Ed Velie, St. Michael's head coach, said of the Lady Bobcats. "We have been playing better."

Najjar, who missed the regular season while recovering from knee surgery, isn't the only reason why.

Michelle Bustamante didn't record a single stat against Portales. Still, her name was one of the first mentioned by Velie.

"She kept the ball in the offensive third for everyone else to get the glory," he said of his sophomore forward.

No one was happier about that fact than Sally Feldewert. The sophomore got her first start in goal in place of Margaret Hickey, who was second-team All-State a year ago. Hickey was unable to reschedule her SAT.

The defense also was missing Griffin Cullen, sidelined with an ankle injury. Liana Coppola was pulled out of the midfield after seven minutes to rest a sore hip.

Alexa Ortiz and Derrian Medina helped anchor the defense that allowed one shot, while Bridgette Butler was Bridgette Butler in the midfield.

"She's always steady, always gives you a great game," Velie said of the junior.

St. Michael's finished with 33 shots. Four found the back of the net in the first half. Najjar sandwiched goals in the 19th and 35th minute around a Carolyn Atterbury score in the 27th minute.

Jamie Palermo scored in the 40th minute off a 40-yard direct kick.

"I was telling one of the coaches that if this goes in, it will give her some confidence, but I thought it was a little far out," Velie said. "I guess it wasn't."

Palermo added goals in the 53rd and 80th minutes. Kate Ayala, Kate Vadurro and Jami Hogan collected assists.

"Our goal was to get to the semis," Velie said. "We're looking forward to playing Bosque again."

The second-seeded Lady Bobcats defeated the third-seeded Lady Horsemen 2-0 during the regular season.

"They are very skilled, but we did not play a good game against them," Velie said.

FOOTBALL

McCurdy School 56, Escalante 26

Kevin Redman scored five touchdowns as McCurdy captured the District 1A title.

The Bobcats' senior receiver had TD completions of 20, 20 and 15 yards, and added a 5-yard TD run plus a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Bobcats quarterback Louie Martinez had a 2-yard touchdown run and Anthony Lowe added a 30-yard touchdown reception.

Not to be outdone, Tony Gonzales recovered an Escalante fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.

McCurdy improved to 7-3 overall, 3-1 in 1A.

That earned the Bobcats a No. 4 seed in the Class A state playoffs. They will play host to No. 5 Jal on Saturday at 1 p.m. Jal is 3-6.

VOLLEYBALL

St. Michael's 3, West Las Vegas 2

The Lady Horsemen finished the District 2AAA regular season with a tough 25-18, 23-25, 25-27, 25-15, 15-8 win over the Lady Dons in Gillie Lopez Gymnasium.

St. Michael's (15-5 overall, 8-2 2AAA) started off strong in Game 1, but a weak block at the net and 11 service errors allowed West Las Vegas to drag the match into a fifth game.

"We haven't had double figures in service errors in five or six matches," Lady Horsemen head coach Chela Butler said. "I don't know if that had to do with us pressing little bit, or if it was a residual effect from Pojoaque (a loss on Thursday)."

Aimee Geyer led St. Michael's with 15 kills, and Maya Cordova recorded 11.

St. Michael's is the second seed for the 2AAA tournament. Match time and date will be determined at Monday's district meeting.

Pojoaque 3, Raton 0

The Elkettes have a lot to live up to.

They also have to make up for something.

A 25-19, 25-19, 25-15 win over the Lady Tigers capped a third straight perfect regular season in District 2AAA.

That's a 32-1 record over that time against district teams. The one loss — to St. Michael's for the 2007 district title — precipitated a meltdown in the Class AAA State Tournament. That has been all the motivation Pojoaque (18-2 overall, 10-0 2AAA) has needed this year.

The Elkettes will be the host for Saturday's 2AAA championship for the third straight year.

"We're more mentally tough this year," Pojoaque head coach Brian Ainsworth said. "Last year, we had a lot of issues coming down the stretch. This year, they have created this circle of trust, a circle of work ethic, and they've just been busting their butts."

Janelle Roybal led a balanced hitting attack with nine kills, and Ellen Cruz had eight.

District 2A Tournament
Desert Academy 3, Victory Christian 0

Failure on the basketball court in March became motivation in volleyball in November for the Lady Wildcats.

It culminated in a 25-20, 26-24, 25-22 win over the Lady Centurions to win the District 2A title in Larson Gymnasium on the New Mexico School for the Deaf campus.

Desert Academy (11-8) will have a home match against the District 1 runner-up, either Roy or Des Moines, for the first round of the Class A State Tournament. Starting time and place have not been determined.

Corine Garcia had 19 kills, Estrella Flores hammered out six aces and Maredith Davis recorded six digs on defense. They all were a part of the girls basketball team that was the top seed in 2A in March but lost to To'Hajiilee.

"They knew how it felt last year," Lady Wildcats head coach Natalie Passalacqua said. "They stepped it up. They weren't going to let it happen this year."

District 4AA Tournament
Mora 3, Santa Fe Preparatory 0

The Blue Griffins' nerves combined with the Rangerettes' cool efficiency to produce a 25-17, 25-23, 25-11 Mora win for the District 4AA title in Joseph M. Montoya Gymnasium.

Mora will play host to a first-round match in the Class AA State Volleyball Tournament against District 3AA runner-up Questa next week. The Lady Wildcats were swept by Peñasco, 25-19, 25-18, 25-23, in the 3AA championship. Prep (11-11) will travel to play the Lady Panthers for its first-round opponent.

"We could never really find our rhythm or our pulse for a sustained period of time," Blue Griffins head coach Chris Chakeres said. "Mora kept us off-balanced, though. They mixed their shots, served well and played well consistently."

Ellee Cook led the Blue Griffins with eight kills.