Bloomfield again smacks Taoswinning 62-20 to reach title game

TAOS — A lot rode on quarterback Evan Salazar’s shouldersbut he didn’t mind.

The Taos Tigers rode Salazar’s right arm and his legs to reach the Class 4A semifinalsso asking him to do the impossible — beat the top-seeded and defending state champion Bloomfield Bobcats — was just par for the course.

Sowhen he and the Tigers fell short of shocking the state as Bloomfield advanced to its third state championship game in four years after a 62-20 win Saturday at Anaya FieldSalazar didn’t lament the missed opportunities he and his team had.

Insteadhe expressed his sadness at the end of a special seasonbut glad he rode it out with his fellow Tigers.

“I’m sadbut ... It’s a great moment to be with your boys,” Salazar said. “Just enjoy it and cherish the momentreally.”

For a team that lost its first three games before righting the ship and winning seven of its next eight games coming into the matchup with the Bobcatsgetting to the semifinals felt almost as good as making it to the final week of the season.

To a playerthe Tigers (7-5) knew what it would take to beat Bloomfield — perfection. And for 40 secondsperfection seemed possible. When Bobcats quarterback Manual Chavarria tried to hit Kaleb Huchens on an out route near midfieldHuchens bobbled the ball and it landed in the hands of Tigers cornerback Roman Quintana. The senior ran unabated down the left sideline for a 54-yard interception return and a 7-0 Taos lead.

It was the first of five turnovers the Tigers forced — it was a game that had 11 in all — and there was life. Taos head coach Johnny Olguin was confident his team could make big plays coming into the game.

“I’m like the weatherman,” Olguin said. “If I’m not confident coming out herethen they can’t be either.”

The confidence was still there even after the Bobcats (11-1) responded with a five-play drive that resulted in an 11-yard touchdown by Peyton Duncanwho took Chavarria’s shovel pass and swept around the left end to tie the score at 7-all with 9:19 left.

That was the start of a 55-point onslaught that decided the outcome of the gamebut Taos still had hope.

What the Tigers didn’t need was mistakesand the next two drives provided the Bobcats just that. Salazar threw interceptions each timeand both turned into touchdowns for the opposition.

Bloomfield safety Tayetum Callado picked off both of them in Taos territory. Both timesthe Bobcats turned them into Chavarria-to-Huchens touchdown connections. The first one was a 6-yard strike that made the score 14-7Bloomfieldwith 7:58 left in the opening quarter.

Callado’s second pick transformed into a 13-yard score for Huchensand the margin was 20-7 with 5:29 remaining in the opening quarter.

Salazar finished the game connecting on just 12 of 34 passes for 169 yards and four interceptions. Of Taos’ 233 yards of offenseSalazar was responsible for 223 of them (he led the team with 54 yards on 15 carries).

The only saving grace was Taos’ opportunistic defense. Lineman Chris Fresquez corralled a fumble by Chavarria on an errant pitch at the Bloomfield 40 with 1:15 left in the opening periodbut the Tigers went three-and-out.

On the next playXavier Duran had the first of two interceptions when he jumped a crossing route to Duncan for an interception at the Bloomfield 39. The reprieve was short-livedas Salazar fumbled on a sack and Bobcats lineman Devon Garcia rumbled 54 yards to the Taos 1. That set up a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Chavarria for 27-7 with 29 seconds leftand the air went out of any Tigers comeback.

“We didn’t make as many mistakes [as in a 65-13 loss to the Bobcats on Sept. 26],” Olguin said. “But you can’t make any mistakes against that team. And that’s where we went.”

Bloomfield scored on its next four driveswith Chavarria throwing for three touchdowns. He finished the afternoon completing 20 of 29 passes for 238 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions. When he hit Deasyl Priddy for a 27-yard touchdown pass with 5:44 left in the third for a 55-7 advantageit appeared the Bobcats would invoke the 50-point mercy rule on the Tigers yet again.

But amid all the mistakes and the Bobcats’ dominance was a defiant attitude by the host team. Salazar connected on two of three passes on the ensuing drivecapped by connectin with Duran for his last touchdown pass as a Tiger — a 17-yard strike on a fade route for 55-14 with 4:26 left.

With the score 62-14 early in the fourthCallado’s third pick of the day set Bloomfield up for the game-ending score at the Taos 24. But Vargas picked off Chavarria in the end zone and returned it to the Taos 16 to thwart the attempt.

Bloomfield had one last chance to force an early end to the gamemoving the ball to the Taos 20 with less than 4 minutes left. But Quintana recorded his second pick-six of the gamejumping a Chavarria slant pass to Huchens for an 85-yard interception return with 3:18 left that capped the scoring.

“Seeing the scorewe knew we weren’t going to win the game,” Quintana said. “But there’s no reason not to leave everything out on the fieldso that’s what we did.”

Olguin congratulated his team on its effortif not its execution. While he loses 16 seniors to graduationOlguin has the bulk of his offensive line returning. He hopes this taste of coming close to the title game will fuel a fire for 2026.

“We gotta have these young kids experience this,” Olguin said. “At any time during the seasonthese guys could have quitand they never did. What you saw today was exactly the kind of spirit they have.”