Daniel Amaro caught a punt return and knew exactly what he wanted.
“I wanted three touchdowns,” Amaro said with a smile. “I just couldn’t let anyone tackle me on that one. I wanted three.”
A third touchdown is exactly what Amaro got. Las Cruces’ junior running back bobbed, weaved and finessed his way past Mayfield’s players for another Bulldawgs’ touchdown. That 58-yard punt return was Las Cruces’ (1-0) seventh and final touchdown in a 50-7 victory over the Trojans (0-1) on Friday evening at the Field of Dreams.
Amaro made sure the game wasn’t a competition. The Bulldawgs’ offense ran through him for most of the game and it paid off with two first half rushing touchdowns. Amaro found the end zone on his third touch of the game with a 39-yard rush to open the scoring, and again for Las Cruces’ second touchdown after walking into the end zone from two yards out.
The Trojans didn’t have an answer for him. Bulldawgs coach Mark Lopez knew he could run the offense through Amaro, who more than delivered.
“He’s a stud,” Lopez said. “He does everything for us and he’s such a good kid. I just love that dude.”
Amaro made sure to credit his offensive line, but is savoring his performance. Feeling “called out” by Mayfield to play the Trojans in week one, his hat trick of scores made a victory sweeter.
“They called us out for the first game,” Amaro said. “They wanted it, and they got it. We showed them what Bulldawg football is all about.”
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Las Cruces defense smothers Mayfield, scores twice
Las Cruces’ defense certainly made its presence felt.
The Bulldawgs nearly pitched a shutout, allowing a consolation score for Mayfield in the fourth quarter. The Trojans could’ve had more than seven if not for two pick-6s from two junior defensive backs.
First, Devin Alba earned one with 2:54 in the second quarter to make the score 21-0. Isaac Gomez produced the second after intercepting Mayfield quarterback Luke Linnan’s pass inside the 20-yard line to extend Las Cruces’ lead to 40-0 in the third quarter.
Gomez didn’t think he’d be in position for an interception. But once he had the ball, he found a convoy of blockers and green grass ahead for six points.
“I was just trying to make a tackle,” said Gomez, who also recorded a sack against the Trojans. “But once I caught the ball, I was just trying to make everyone miss and take it to the house.”
Lopez has two goals for his defense — play physical and earn takeaways. Las Cruces more than achieved both.
“We put so much work into our defense this offseason,” Lopez said. “We really pride ourselves and takeaways and things like that, so those were really big moments for us.”
Guardiola adds passing contributions
The Bulldawgs’ offense started with runs and short screen plays to guys like Amaro. As the game progressed, Las Cruces gradually opened up its air attack.
Junior quarterback Gunnar Guardiola threw an interception to Mayfield’s Zaiden Salcido when the score was 7-0, but bounced back. He ended with two passing touchdowns, one to senior wide receiver Nate Libby and the other to junior wide receiver Francisco Winnikoff.
Lopez believes Guardiola became more aggressive with his passes after the interception, as both his scoring tosses were over 20 yards.
“That was uncharacteristic from Gunnar, but he responded right away,” Lopez said. “We know what he can do, and he executed really well after that.”
Amaro believes the Bulldawgs’ showed their versatility after pounding Mayfield on the ground and through the air.
“We can run the ball, we can throw it, we can do whatever,” Amaro said. “That’s our game plan.”
Next: Las Cruces travels to play Volcano Vista (0-1) while the Trojans face West Mesa at home. Both games are at 7 p.m. on Aug. 30.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Las Cruces uses three Daniel Amaro scores, two pick-6s to rout Mayfield
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