eNewMexican

Slow start sinks Jaguars against Belen

Coach takes blame as Capital scores late after game had been decided

By Will Webber wwebber@sfnewmexican.com

Joaquin Garcia has a groundbreaking thought bouncing around in his head, one that would rewrite the book on child psychology.

There’s just one problem: implementation.

The Capital football coach would like to take his lifelong passion for the sport he’s enjoyed for all of his 50 years and put it into the hearts of his players. On Friday night against visiting Belen, that passion didn’t show itself until it was far too late.

The Jaguars (2-3) scored 16 points in the final 2½ minutes, but it was far too little, far too late as Belen blew town with a 47-30 nondistrict win.

Afterward, Garcia laid all the blame on himself and the coaching staff, not the players. The accountability is with the adults who have to find the magic button that gets players amped up to play the game.

“I’ve been teaching kids forever but, you know, they’re just a different species,” Garcia said. “As a coach, I’m still trying to get it out of them without being negative. That’s my thing this year is I told them I was changing the culture by not being negative with them.”

There was certainly a lot for the Jaguars staff to find negatives in. Capital spotted the Eagles (2-3) a 6-0 lead just three plays into the game and found itself trailing 14-0 midway through the first quarter.

Belen’s lead was 20 at the half as the Jaguars went the first half without a completed pass. Playing on homecoming night with all the pomp and circumstance it includes, the Jaguars didn’t show the fight Garcia wanted until the outcome was already decided.

“For me I guess it’s easy because I’m such an intense person, and sometimes I just have to try to understand how I can bring it out of them,” Garcia said. “At at the end of the day, they’ve got to find it in themselves.”

Jaguars quarterback Julian Muñoz completed all six of his passes late in the game, connecting on a pair of touchdowns in the waning moments to Javier Martinez. Before then it was all Eagles.

Getting 185 yards rushing and two touchdowns from running back Sam Tibbs, the Eagles erased any doubt about Friday’s game by answering Capital’s 85-yard, 15-play marathon drive to open the third quarter with a five-play, 54 yard drive of their own. It was capped by a Tibbs 24-yard touchdown run to open a 34-14 lead.

Tibbs then slammed the door on the Jaguars’ homecoming with a 42-yard touchdown run on his next carry to make it 40-14.

Munoz finished with 21 rushing yards on 16 carries.

As a team, Capital had only 44 yards on the ground and 132 total offense —80 of it coming in the final two drives after Belen opened a 33-point cushion in the fourth quarter.

“I’m still waiting for them to find that passion and aggression to make plays and to tackle and to wrap up,” Garcia said. “We’re there, it’s just we’re not doing what we’re supposed to do.”

Francisco Diaz had 14 yards rushing on 10 carries for Capital while Martinez had an interception to go along with his two late receiving touchdowns.

The Jaguars head to Albuquerque next week for their final nondistrict game of the regular season against Rio Grande. A week later its the district opener at home against Piedra Vista.

“We had two weeks to get ready for this game and, yeah, it’s not a district game, but after an extra week to get ready, I’m not happy with the way we played,” Garcia said. “They way I look at is this: Football has given me a lot of opportunities in my life, things that have made me who I am. It can be the same thing for these guys if they find the joy in it that I did. It’s on us as coaches to bring that out of them.”

And if he ever finds the method for doing that? A bestselling textbook, perhaps?

“I’d just be happy if we played better,” Garcia said with a laugh.

NOTES

Belen’s first drive took just 96 seconds, covering 59 yards in three straight rushing plays . ... Tibbs actually went over 200 yards but had the majority of a 60-yard touchdown run in the second half called back due to an illegal block in the back. He got credit for 14 yards on the run since the penalty occurred as he cut back around a defender and ran free down the sideline . ... The Eagles also had another touchdown waved off due to a flag . ... The play of the night might well have been by Belen’s Brody Jaquez, a 6-foot-6 tight end, who made a highlight-reel catch in the back of the end zone over Capital’s Martinez. Martinez guarded him perfectly but the pass from Eagles quarterback Diego Espinoza sailed well over Martinez’s reach and into the outstretched hands of Jaquez for the touchdown.

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2021-09-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://enewmexican.com/article/281831466882159

Santa Fe New Mexican