Photos by Aaron Parrill— Alamosa junior Brendon Madril (5) made an impact out of the backfield in Friday’s 30-19 conference win over Pagosa Springs after spending part of the season at quarterback. Here he encounters Pirate Paden Bailey, a force on both offense and defense.

ALAMOSA– Inspired by senior night in the last regular season tilt, Alamosa whooped up on league rival Pagosa Springs, 30-19, and now wait the possibly dreaded RPI rankings to see if the Mean Moose will continue into the post-season.
“It’s going to be close,” AHS head coach Dillion McNamee said concerning the playoffs. “We were 19th going into tonight and I think we’ll finish between 15th and 17th.” The top 16 continue play.
Alamosa (4-4) used a balanced attack, paced by the 18 seniors on the 35-man varsity roster, to build a 30-7 halftime lead and staved off the visiting Pirates (3-6) comeback attempts in the second half. Pagosa was an overtime loser to league leading Bayfield last week and is credited with having the toughest schedule in Class 2A.
Led by senior quarterback John Lujan, who has missed much of the season due to injury, The Moose scored early and often, capitalizing on several Pagosa turnovers and untimely penalties. A flurry of activity in the final minute of the second stanza saw three turnovers in a matter of seconds, AHS recovering two fumbles sandwiched around a Pirate interception.
A six-yard Lujan pass to fellow senior Jose Manriquez opened the scoring just five minutes into the game and a second TD pass to senior Chad Jackson at the 8:30 mark of the second quarter made it 14-0 with a two-point conversion.
Pagosa scored a minute later and following an interception appeared to be marking for the tying score. The Moose thwarted the drive on a 4th and 23 and took over at their own 24.
A long Chad Jackson run followed by a 25-yard completion by Lujan to Manriquez, aided by a 15-yard pass interference penalty and an ensuing unsportsmanlike call on the Pirates put AHS in business on the 12-yard line. Ian Jackson took the pitch on a sweep on the next play and hit paydirt, with a two-pointer added by senior Kody Brubacher making it 22-7 with 2:36 left in the first half.
On Pagosa’s ensuing possession, the Pirates quarterback was stripped of the ball by Kane Absmeier who raced 62 yards to the endzone. A Lujan to Brendon Madril conversion pass made the score 30-7 with 47 seconds left in the half.
Pagosa possessed the ball much of the third quarter but couldn’t change the score until 11 seconds remained on a 12-yard run by Pirate workhorse Paden Bailey (8). The two-point run failed and left it, 30-13.
The Moose enjoyed a three-possession lead heading into the final period, but Bailey struck again on a 13-yard scamper at the eight-minute mark and contributed most of the yardage on that 95-yard drive that began with a Moose punt to the five-yard line, but again the conversion failed to leave the score 30-19.
The excitement wouldn’t end there however, as Pagosa attempted an onsides kick which was grabbed in mid-air by a Moose player and returned to the visitor’s 22. A missed field goal ended the Alamosa drive.
Junior Ian Jackson snagged an interception on a long pass to end the last Pirate drive and put the Moose in victory formation.
McNamee told his players following the game that he was so proud of them for not giving up when things looked bleak a few weeks ago.
“Our seniors were pumped up tonight,” he said. “I think it was partially because they thought it might be our last game, so they came out with their guns a blazing.”
The Moose should find out in the next few days if their season is extended.

Photo by Aaron Parrill
Returning under center after a frustrating season of injuries, senior John Lujan (12) made an impact through the air and on the ground in Alamosa’s victory over Pagosa Springs.