Melrose moves on quickly

MELROSE — Suffice it to say, the Melrose Buffaloes were ready for the start of the 8-man state playoffs.

To say they made short work of the youthful, undermanned Magdalena Steers on Friday night would be an understatement. Melrose scored four first-quarter touchdowns, added two more in the first minute of the second stanza and cruised to a 60-8 quarterfinal victory that ended at halftime on the 50-point mercy rule.

The game started at 6 p.m. and was over by 7:10 p.m.

Senior Tristan Sena rushed for 178 yards and six touchdowns on just nine carries. Meantime, he had two of the team’s three pass interceptions on defense, and he recovered Melrose’s squib kick on the opening kickoff to set the stage for the rout.

The sixth-seeded Steers (6-5) pulled to 14-8 midway through the first quarter on freshman quarterback Josh Baca’s 27-yard run and a 2-point conversion, but it was all Buffs after that.

“We kind of knew what they were going to try to do to us,” Sena said. “It was just a matter of executing. We didn’t come out totally focused, but we got it going.”

Only one of Melrose’s eight scoring possessions lasted more than three plays.

The third-seeded Buffs (9-1), who face second-seeded Menaul (9-0) in a 6 p.m. semifinal game on Friday in Albuquerque, needed only nine plays to score their first-quarter TDs. Moreover, they had fourth-and-goal on the Magdalena 3 when the period ended, and Sena punched it in on the first play of the second stanza.

On the second play after the kickoff, Sena intercepted a pass to set up a two-play, 29-yard scoring drive which he capped with a 19-yard run.

“This week, we tried to focus on fixing little mistakes, and we did a pretty good job of that,” Buffs coach Caleb King said. “We’ll have to play better than this to beat the teams we’ll have to play, but we’re back to being healthy. We’re as healthy as we’ve been since about the third week of the season.”

Melrose quarterback Michael Cardonita, an eighth-grader, threw a 45-yard scoring pass to senior Dylan Valentine in the first quarter and ran for the game’s final touchdown.

Late in the half, Magdalena was flagged for a couple of personal-foul penalties.

“They got frustrated,” King said of the Steers. “We told our kids that we have to keep our heads and not get emotional.”

On defense, the Buffs forced four Magdalena turnovers and held the Steers to just eight rushing yards and 37 yards total.

It was the seventh time this season that Melrose has won by the mercy rule, but Sena said he’s looking forward to the challenge against Menaul.

“It’s always exciting when the other team is good,” he said. “They’re a good team and have some weapons.

“You just have to get ready for the next team you play.”