Farmington blasts Española Valley 48-20

FARMINGTON — Farmington proved seeding doesn’t matter in the 5A football playoffs.

The No. 12 Scorps went into Española this afternoon and imposed their will on No. 5 Española Valley to pick up a 48-20 victory in the first round of the playoffs.

Throughout the game, the Sundevils hardly put any pressure on Farmington quarterback Kody Becenti and didn't break through Farmington’s offensive line. As a result, Becenti and running back Axel Fowler dissected Española's defense.

“Our (offensive)-line was dominant and really set the tone for today,” Farmington head coach Jeff Dalton said. “We had a scheme in place, and they executed it. Hats off to the o-line.”

The Sundevils (9-2) took the opening kick and quickly found the end zone, mixing up the play calling to keep the Scorps off balance and take an 8-0 lead. But after the opening drive score, Farmington’s defense clamped down.

“That first drive, their coaching staff did a great job catching us off guard. They came out in some formations that we didn’t see on film. They outcoached us early on, but we settled down and got back to the basics," Dalton said. "Sometimes, we try to do too much, but when we simplify things, the defense really settled in.”

The Scorps (8-3) needed only two plays to find the end zone when Fowler scored on a 61-yard play.

On Española Valley’s next possession, the Scorps forced and recovered a fumble and were back in the end zone on another Fowler touchdown.

Becenti ran it in from 5 yards out to give Farmington a 21-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Farmington scored on its next two possessions, making it five possessions with five touchdowns to start the game.

The Sundevils scored in the final seconds of the first half to send the game to halftime with Farmington leading 35-14.

Farmington added another touchdown midway through the third quarter to extend its lead to 42-14 and then scored with 4:17 remaining in the game to make it 48-14.

The Sundevils connected on a 60-yard catch and run for the final score of the game with 1:55 remaining.

Farmington will travel to Moriarty to take on the Fighting Pintos next week. Moriarty (8-2) received a bye into the quarterfinals after being awarded the No. 4 seed.

“The good thing about this game is it gets us ready for that one,” Dalton said. “They (Moriarty) run a similar offense and have a good physical team from another blue-collar town. It’s going to be similar to what we saw today.”

Karl Schneider is the sports editor for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4648.