PUEBLO — Dutch Clark Stadium has been a house of horrors for the Holy Family Tigers.
It really had nothing to to with the stadium itself, rather more that the Pueblo teams were always just a little tougher on that given day.
On Friday night in the season opener of the 2021 season, the Class 3A No. 4-ranked Tigers exorcised some Pueblo demons and earned their first victory at the hallowed stadium with a riveting 34-27 comeback win over No. 6 Pueblo South.
“Pueblo South always has a good team, so we knew we were going to have to bring it,” said Tigers senior linebacker Jared Delgado, whose name was called by the public address announcer a lot on Friday night. “It means a lot to win here. I’ve been coming here as a ball boy when my (older) brother (Matthew) was playing, so it’s nice to get a win here.”
Early on, it looked like the home-standing Colts might run away and hide. They jumped out to a 20-7 lead on the strength of an offense that was clicking with quarterback Jace Bellah and running back Elijah Aguilar.
But Bellah, arguably the best player in the Steel City this season, left the game late in the second quarter with an injury and never returned to the back field. Not only did it stall the Colts offense, it allowed the Tigers to pin their ears back against backup Kaleb Ortiz.
“We knew we had a chance from the beginning and we just knew we had to be the more physical team,” said Delgado, whose team welcomes in No. 1 Roosevelt next Friday night. “It mattered a little bit, but we still had to make the plays.”
After a slow start offensively, the Tigers started to get things rolling. Senior quarterback Tyler Stevens hooked up with Dominic Mazzulla in the first quarter for a 73 yard score and did it again in the for 74 yards in the second quarter to cut the lead to 20-13.
After a much needed defensive stop, the Tigers got one last possession before the half and took full advantage. Mazzulla, who finished with 190 yards on just four catches, made a big 37 yard catch to get Holy Family into the red zone. Two plays later, Stevens hooked up with Jacob Lawver, and the senior running back did the rest, going in from 18 yards out to tie the score with 16 seconds in the half.
The score would remain 20-20 until late in the third quarter. Holy Family grabbed its first lead of the game, when Lawver found pay dirt again, this one from 1-yard out.
Pueblo South, still without Aguilar and Bellah in the second half, rallied midway through the fourth quarter and equalized on a Joseph Wolfe run from 2-yards out with 7:27 to play.
The Tigers turned to sophomore Rylan Cooney at quarterback and the he delivered on a final drive — which included a 31-yard scamper — that was capped when he hit Matt McCarthy in the back of the end zone for an 11-yard score.
The defense did the rest, and despite giving up a 4th and long conversion to the Colts from inside their own 10 yard line, were able to hold on for the victory.
“(We) have a lot of grit, a lot of it, but we have a lot of work to do and a long way to go,” Tigers coach Mike D. Gabriel said. “We will take a look at the film and we should have plenty to show them.”
Lawver finished with 114 yards on 13 carries and Stevens threw for 220 yard on 7-of-16 passing with one interception.
Aguilar finished with 73 yards on 21 carries for the Colts, who travel to Discovery Canyon in Week 2.