Catalina Foothills senior Liam Justice got to live out every defensive lineman’s dream Friday night at Pueblo High School.
Midway through the first quarter of a 19-0 victory, the Falcons bull rushed Pueblo punter Adrian Espinosa with an all-out block attempt and found their mark. The ball ricocheted behind Espinosa and skipped right into Justice’s grasp. He took off, his teammates beside him cheering him on. The dash only lasted 14 yards, but it seemed like an eternity for the senior, as he gave his team a lead it never relinquished.
“It’s my first touchdown. Two weeks ago, I got an interception and tripped over the quarterback who was laying on the ground,” Justice said. “So everybody was kind of making fun of me, because I didn’t get that touchdown. So I had to score.
“Right when I saw it, I picked it up and pushed the punter out of the way and just ran. I didn’t realize it until after the run that I had actually scored. It was the craziest thing. It means a lot.”
He wasn’t the only defensive player to lend the offense a hand.
Quarterback Conner Alubowicz left the game with a right ankle injury in the third quarter and did not return. Linebacker Will Parker stepped in his place and guided the offense on a 14-play, 68-yard touchdown drive to seal the win, making it 19-0. While Parker spent most of the evening running out of a wildcat-type formation, he delivered a perfectly-thrown 9-yard touchdown pass to receiver Derrick Williams in the corner of the end zone to finish that long touchdown drive.
“We’ve been working with him,” Parker said. “We had two weeks off and we knew we needed to find a backup quarterback. And when we’re looking for the smartest guy in any situation, it’s like put [Parker] in. He’s a true football player.”
Energized by Justice’s early score, the defense never wavered.
Pueblo quarterback Marcelio Vega, who led the Warriors to an emotional 22-21 win at rival Sunnyside last week, completed just 3 of 10 passes for 15 yards. He didn’t get much help from his receivers as Pueblo had some uncharacteristic drops that had potential for big gains.
“It was a pot of gumbo of miscues, mistakes and lack of energy tonight,” Pueblo coach Brandon Sanders said. “I wouldn’t take anything away from Catalina Foothills, but for whatever reason, we didn’t seem to show up tonight.”
While Pueblo’s memorable 4-0 start came to a close, a new streak started in the bowels of the high school, kicked off by chants of “It’s great to be a Cat-Foot Falcon” echoing from inside the visitor’s locker room. The Falcons feel like they’re back on track after a rough start to their season, and with the momentum they stole from the Warriors Friday night, it’s hard to place a ceiling on where they could go.
Catalina Foothills (2-3) returns home to face another undefeated team in Canyon del Oro while Pueblo (4-1) goes on the road to face Douglas.
