Seldom has a missed dunk turned out so well.
Ignacio senior Trace Crane’s try for a two-handed breakaway flush late in the Bobcats’ 2025-26 opener Tuesday night against Mancos was impressive, but sophomore reserve Joseph Atencio’s alert pursuit and putback was even more so as it illustrated every white-clad player’s desire to contribute before an appreciative home crowd.
All the of the Bobcats’ contributions led to a dominant 76-30 win.
“We’ve got so much to improve on,” a grinning Crane said. “But I’m glad that the younger guys had a chance to play; they’re getting smarter and just need to develop more – our team is not as deep as last year’s, but we’ve been conditioning and it was a great game for us.”
With the outcome never in doubt after a dominant first quarter inside IHS Gymnasium, the Bobcats closed the show in fine fashion. Junior Shaun Sanderson gained control of a defensive rebound, and advanced it across midcourt to a teammate who then passed it to senior reserve Zaine Velasquez-Hight at the top of the 3-point perimeter.
The ball was thrown somewhat behind its recipient, but Velasquez-Hight calmly used his right hand to follow the ball and execute a perfect behind-the-back pass to freshman reserve Keyon Alston. Catching the ball in the far corner across from IHS’ bench, Alston didn’t hesitate in draining a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to polish off the conquest.
“We’ve been training, running a lot – we’ve been waiting for this,” said senior Rance Rathjen. “Didn’t have a game last week and we’d been craving it. So we’re ready for the season … and I feel like we’ll size up to some good teams and win the ones we should.”
After Crane won the initial jump ball, Ignacio (1-0 overall) struck quickly with close-range conversions by senior Ambrose Valdez and Crane, assisted by Valdez. Rathjen added a basket and junior Thunder Windy Boy sank a free throw, and the Blue Jays (1-2 overall) would get no closer the rest of the game than 7-3 thanks to a 3-pointer by senior Miguel Derizotis.
Windy Boy answered with a three, triggering a 10-0 burst at last interrupted by MHS junior A.J. Simmons’ successful old fashioned 3-point play through the fast-moving quarter. Valdez then promptly drained a trey from straight away, rebuilding IHS’ lead to 20-6 with 3:44 still remaining,
The Bobcats got another inside hoop from Crane and a Rathjen tip-in just before time expired and thus went into the second quarter leading 24-11.
“We were disciplined out there, went out and had a good game,” Valdez said. “We all worked together as a team, and showed that we can fight as a team. We have a pretty deep bag this year, can go deep into our bench if we need to.”
MHS’ play improved during the second quarter, and produced four Simmons points inside. Derizotis added three free throws after being fouled on an attempt from the far wing, but the guests still went into halftime down 39-23 as Ignacio ably kept pace.
The ’Cats then increased it beginning the third quarter, and Mancos head coach Rudy Archuleta called a timeout after two Windy Boy baskets and one by Crane inflated IHS’ lead to 45-23 with 6:47 left. Windy Boy totaled nine points in the quarter and Crane eight, and the final frame commenced with IHS in full control, 58-30.
Crane racked up a game-high 25 points and Windy Boy (3-6 FT) 14. Valdez finished with 14, and also tallied (unofficially) 10 assists and as many steals.
“We’d made so many mistakes over the summer, and recently in scrimmages, so we built upon those mistakes as we’re going to continue to do,” said Crane, “and we’re just going to keep getting better and more open looks.”
Simmons (3-5 FT) totaled nine points in defeat.
Ignacio will next travel out to Center for the C-Town Showdown on Friday and Saturday, while Mancos will take part in Cedaredge’s Grand Mesa Classic on the same days.
