Clutch kicking leads Coronado past Cimarron-Memorail

Coronado football coach Terry Riddle said he and the Cougars hear the snickering all the time — that the best player on his team is a place-kicker.

Friday night at Cimarron-Memorial, the Cougars had no problem showcasing him.

After blasting a key 43-yard field goal in the second quarter, Gavin Wale booted extra points near the end of regulation and in the first overtime to help lead Coronado to a 17-16 road win over the Spartans.

Semaj Bolin scored Coronado’s touchdown in overtime.

“Gavin is the best kicker in the state. He may be one of the best kickers in the entire country,” Riddle said. “My best player is a kicker, and we love him. He’s the best kicker I’ve ever been around.”

After being dominated the entire game by Cimarron running back Jordan Norwood — who used Greg Spencer Field as his playground to rush for 206 yards on 34 carries and one touchdown — the Cougars came up with a key stop on fourth down, and took over on the Spartans’ 46-yard line with 5 minutes, 21 seconds left in the game.

Aided by an offsides penalty on fourth down midway through the drive, the Cougars got back-to-back plays from Andrew Montez, who hauled in a 16-yard reception from Keegan Tharp, then ran for 13 more yards to move the Cougars inside the red zone.

Tharp hit Adam DiMaio with a 9-yard touchdown strike with 1:19 left in regulation, and Wale’s extra point tied the game at 10-all.

Cimarron quarterback Branden Smith scored from 10 yards out on the first play of overtime, but place-kicker Jesus Ornelas’ extra-point attempt sailed wide left.

The Cougars got short-yardage gains up the middle from Vinny Gelsone, Bolin and Matt Orlando to give the Cougars a fourth-and-goal on the 3-yard-line. Bolin took the handoff from Tharp and raced untouched around the left side for the touchdown to set up Wale for the game-winner.

“I hit thousands of reps and every single rep, when I step back, is like I’m trying to win the game,” said Wale, who was looking to avenge a missed opportunity last week. “It’s to the point that every time I go on to the field, I feel like I’ve been there before, even though I really haven’t.”

Wale and Bolin said the team was still stinging after last Friday’s loss to Class 3A Democracy Prep, which played at the Class 2A level last season.

“We know this team had a lot of potential,” Bolin said. “This team has a big senior class. A lot of us are trying to get to the next level, and I told them we weren’t going to be losing like this again. Ever.”