Pueblo East won a second-straight 3A championship on Saturday. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
PUEBLO — Make it two in a row for the Eagles.
Pueblo East won its second consecutive Class 3A state football title on Saturday, dominating Roosevelt 57-31 at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo.
This game was the Eagles’ from the get-go. Their first drive led to a punt, pinning the Roughriders at their own 8. On fourth down, the Eagles got to Roosevelt punter Dalton Hulbert, blocking his attempt. Kyle Bloms grabbed it in the air and ran it in untouched for the nine to give the Eagles to momentum.
They scored touchdowns on their next three drives, going up 28-0 before Roosevelt was finally able to get on the board.
East built a 35-10 halftime lead, spreading the wealth on the ground between running back Bryson Torres, who had 87 first-half yards, and quarterback Daniel Martin, who ran for 105 and two touchdowns.
The Eagles were so dominating, in fact, that when Martin, playing defensive back, intercepted a pass and returned it for his fourth touchdown of the day, the running clock went into effect.
Martin ran for 114 yards and passed for another 111 and one touchdown. Torres capped off the day by rushing for 137 yards.
While the offense kept piling up yardage, it was the Eagles’ defense that may have shone even more, holding Riders quarterback Cameron Hurtado in check with 57 yards rushing and three completions in 12 attempts.
To its credit, Roosevelt would not give up. The Roughriders scored a pair of touchdowns after the running clock was instituted.
Martin said he and Torres run the offense on the buddy system.
“We do what we have to,” he said of taking turns carrying based on what the defense was showing.
Martin said although last season’s 30-14 victory over Rifle in last year’s state title game was a challenge, this season’s repeat effort was, in some ways, more challenging.
“It’s very hard,” he said of winning consecutive titles. “You have a mark on your back.”
Martin, a senior, said he is entertaining a couple of college offers and has a good idea of where he wants to go next fall, but he isn’t announcing until the signing period.
The win was Pueblo East’s 13th victory in a row after losing its season opener 48-27 to Longmont in Week 1. Roosevelt, meanwhile, had its own 11-game win streak snapped. The Riders’ other loss came in a Week 2 nonconference defeat to eventual 4A champion Windsor.