The miner football team continued their league dominance in a 38-17 win on Friday night. Both teams were coming off of victories last time out, Springs beating Douglas on a game-winning field goal and the miners dominating Reed 49-17 for senior night.

Manogue had scored 94 combined points the last two outings against Douglas and Reed respectively, with 42 coming in the first half against the raiders. Spanish Springs was coming in at a 4-4 record overall with a 2-1 record in league play. The miners came in with a 3-5 record but 2-1 league record as well. The game ended up tied at 17 at half with a game-tying field goal at the end of the first half by Springs. The cougars, though, became stagnant in the second half. It didn’t help that the cougars lost their star wide receiver Deacon Buddy who had 154 yards before his injury early in the third quarter. The miners scored 21 unanswered to run away with the victory, first over Spanish Springs since 2024. Colton Dearborn, a senior at Manogue, exclaimed, “Finally! We’re 1-5!” in the context of that most the seniors had not beaten the cougars at any high school level of football.

The top performers for the miners came in running back Evan Escovedo with 22 carries on the ground for 145 yards and four, yes four, touchdowns. Pair that ground game with incredible performances on defense from safety Guy Burnetti and defensive end Zeke Peterson. Peterson went off with three sacks and two tackles for loss while Burnetti had two interceptions plus a receiving touchdown on offense. The miners only allowed 31 rushing yards total for the cougars.

Manogue now has secured at least one home playoff game with the second seed. They can improve to the first seed and home for all of regionals with a win in their last regular season game at Damonte on Thursday. But also need help with a banged-up McQueen loss when they host Spanish Springs. Bishop Manogue is now eyeing to be the top of the north once more.