Gateway Christian edges Dora Coyotes

STAFF REPORT

ROSWELL — The Dora Coyotes (2-2) gave 8-man No. 1 Gateway Christian everything they had on Friday night, only to come up short in a 30-26 loss to the state’s No. 1-ranked 8-man team.

The Coyotes matched the Warriors (4-0) score for score in the game. The difference? Two-point conversions.

“We scored the same amount of times,” Dora coach Mason McBee said. “They converted more than we did. In all honesty, we felt like we were the better team.

“We were able to move the ball, I’m not saying easily, but we moved the ball well throughout the game. Two of their scores came off us being at the wrong place at the wrong time. But this shows us where we are and where we need to be for the postseason.”

Quarterback Hayden Skinner paced the Coyotes with 245 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He threw for 48 yards but had two interceptions.

Dylan Roberts had 117 rushing yards and the other Coyotes score. Kaull Burton added 73 rushing yards and 30 receiving yards.

Bovina 50, Hale Center 41 — Senior quarterback David Lara threw for 281 yards and four touchdowns, all to Andres Loera and the host Mustangs remained unbeaten by outlasting the Owls.

Lara finished 17-for-36 through the air, hitting Loera on touchdown strikes of 18 and 35 yards in the first quarter, 34 yards in the second period and 56 yards in the third stanza. Loera finished with six catches for 156 yards, while Jadon Quintana caught five for 66 yards.

The Owls (3-2) put together a 28-point second quarter and led 28-21 at halftime. Tied 35-35 in the final period, the Mustangs (4-0) took the lead for good on Lara’s 4-yard TD run with 9:18 left.

Marco Sanchez had 21 carries for 161 yards for the Mustangs. Meantime, Emilio Espinoza had a pair of TD runs, including a 10-yarder with 2:12 to go to put the game out of reach.