Ledes from the Land of Enchantment

Big hit helps Storm hold off Bears

Cleveland running back Josh Perry eludes La Cueva defenders line on his way to a score Friday at Wilson Stadium. The Storm beat the Bears, 33-29.
Roberto E. Rosales/

The dividing line Friday night between the prep football teams from Cleveland and La Cueva was razor thin.

And in a game with countless twists, turns and momentum swings, it was a defensive hit that provided the final margin for the defending Class 6A state champion Storm.

Safety Devonte Shendo’s blast of La Cueva receiver Jackson Hix in the final minute jarred the ball loose from Hix’s hands, created an incomplete pass, and prevented the Bears from having a first down at the Storm 10.

That play, a fourth-down throw by the Bears, turned the ball over on downs to the Storm and preserved Cleveland’s tense and exciting 33-29 victory on Friday night at Wilson Stadium.

Cleveland (1-1) came into the game ranked No. 2 by MaxPreps.com and No. 3 by the coaches in 6A. La Cueva (1-1) was ranked No. 1 by the coaches and no. 3 by MaxPreps.

And they were just as evenly matched as you might have expected.

“We weren’t planning on an easy one,” said Storm coach Robert Garza, after his first victory as Cleveland’s head man. “We knew these guys (La Cueva) were super talented, and it was gonna take our best game to knock them off.”

The Bears had a final chance to win, down four, when they got a stop on the other end against the Cleveland offense. La Cueva had just under 3 minutes and 73 yards to go for the go-ahead touchdown.

The Bears got to the Cleveland 28, where they faced fourth-and-4. La Cueva quarterback Aidan Armenta was flushed, moved right and made a strong throw to Hix, who was at the 10. But Shendo came up from behind and rattled the ball out of Hix’s hands with 52.9 seconds showing.

“Screaming hit,” Cleveland senior quarterback Evan Wysong said of Shendo’s play. The Storm put a knee on it to run out the clock and avoid a super-rare two-game losing skid.

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The teams went back and forth all night in front of a big crowd.

Wysong darted 68 yards for a TD less than two minutes into the game, but La Cueva came right back, with Armenta throwing 8 yards for a score to tight end Cruz Markham in the back of the end zone for a 7-6 lead.

Cleveland went right back down the field, with running back Josh Perry scoring on a 46-yard run, and he added a 2-point conversion run for a 14-7 Storm edge.

Mason Crowell of La Cueva kicked a 36-yard field goal on the Bears’ next possession, but Cleveland picked up an additional TD right before the end of the first quarter as Stratton Shufelt, the team’s top linebacker, entered in a heavy package and scored from the 1st Cleveland led 21-10 after the first quarter.

Armenta threw 48 yards to Ian Sanchez for a touchdown early in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 21-17, and La Cueva was driving for a go-ahead score near the end of the first half until Armenta overthrew a receiver and got intercepted .

That bit the Bears in a huge way, because Cleveland went the other way, and on a fourth-and-4 from the La Cueva 12, Wysong scrambled and ran for a touchdown with 11.6 seconds to go in the half. Another missed PAT left it 27-17 for the Storm at the half.

Myuh Robertson capped the opening drive of the second half for La Cueva with a 1-yard TD run, but there was yet another failed PAT, so the Bears were down 27-23.

On the second play of the fourth quarter, Wysong threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Andres Armijo. But another missed kick left the lead at 10, at 33-23. That scoring drive covered 95 yards.

La Cueva answered with its best drive of the night. The Bears covered 79 yards in 15 plays, with Armenta keeping it on a 1-yard score. However, yet again, there was a missed point-after, so La Cueva trailed by four rather than three.

“We knew coming in it would be a well-fought game,” said Wysong. “The defense had a rough start last week (a 38-35 home loss to Centennial), but they got the job done. They showed up on that last drive.”

Still, that final La Cueva drive had the Storm sideline in knots.

“It wasn’t a good feeling,” Garza said. “I started having flashbacks to last week, but I had a lot of confidence in our defense.”

Garza said his team showed up Monday “hungry” after the Centennial loss, which was the program’s first setback since 2019.

“They were hungry to get back on the field and get another shot at it,” he said. “We knew that wasn’t our best game last week. We made a lot of mistakes and we were eager to get back to work.”

La Cueva is home to Centennial next Friday. Cleveland visits Amarillo High.

“I can’t even describe it,” Garza said after his initial win as Cleveland’s head coach. “To beat La Cueva, the No. 1 team in the state, with all the adversity we faced last week…there’s no topping it.”

CLEVELAND 33, LA CUEVA 29

Cleveland 21 6 0 6 — 33

La Cueva 10 7 6 6 — 29

Scoring: C, Evan Wysong 68 run (kick failed); LC, Cruz Markham 8 pass from Aidan Armenta (Mason Crowell kick); C, Josh Perry 46 run (Perry run); LC, Crowell 36 FG; C, Strat Shufelt 1 run (Jeff Bem kick); LC, Ian Sanchez 48 pass from Armenta (Crowell kick); C, Wysong 12 run (kick failed); LC, Myuh Robertson 1 run (kick failed); C, Andres Armijo 43 pass from Wysong (kick failed); LC, Armenta 1 run (kick failed). Records: C1-1; LC 1-1.

First downs: C 16; LC 23. Rushing: C 41-272; LC 34-146. Passing: C 6-11-0-91; LC 20-38-2-313. Total offense: C 363; LC 459. Punts avg.: C 1-54.0; LC1-58.0. Fumbles lost: C 0; LC 0. Penalties yards: C 7-55; LC 3-45.

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