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Miyamura falls to Belen, 46-21

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Pats out of state 5A playoffs

BELEN, N.M. — The No. 7 seeded Miyamura Patriots looked good on offense and defense going into the locker room Nov. 18, with the score tied 14-14 against No. 2 and undefeated Belen High in the state quarterfinals of the 5A football playoffs.

But the Patriots (9-3) failed to muster that same enthusiasm and fell to the Eagles 46-21 before a rather large throng of travelling Patriots’ fans. The Eagles scored an unanswered 13 points in the third quarter.

“We had a bye game last week and I guess you could say we were trying to shake off some rust,” Eagles’ head coach Greg Henington said after the game. “We’re pleased with the win.”

Eagles senior quarterback Zach Halterman threw three touchdown passes in the second half and ran in two to end the game with 257 yards on offense. Belen is considered one of the best running teams in 5A.

Junior running back Diego Casillas of Belen rushed for 280 yards on 25 carries, which included TD runs of 12 and 25 yards. The Eagles finished the game with an eye-popping 609 total yards on offense.

Senior quarterback Matthew Chavez was again superb in the loss. The left-handed Chavez ended the game with 302 of the Patriots 353 total yards on offense. Chavez was sacked four times by the Eagles’ defense.

Belen got on the scoreboard first in the game with a 25-yard run by Casillas. The Patriots answered on a 26-yard pass to tie the score. A 5-yard pass to senior wideout Branon Vidal enabled the Patriots to tie the score at 14-14.

Belen (11-0) advanced to play Roswell (8-3), which beat Aztec 42-35 on Saturday. Miyamura head coach Wes Shank did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.

By Bernie Dotson 
For the Sun