ALAMOSA – The Alamosa High School football team played at home for the first time this season when it hosted Pueblo Central Friday at the AHS stadium.

The Mean Moose gave the Wildcats all they could handle, but when it was all said and done, Alamosa ended up on the losing ends of a 21-14 decision.

The Mean Moose had opportunities but came up short on a couple of them.

“In the red zone, we had two opportunities to punch it in and could quite get it done tonight,” said Alamosa coach Drew Sandlin.

The game was delayed for a little more than 30 minutes, but not because of the weather. The Pueblo Central bus broke down just short of La Veta pass, and the Wildcats got to Alamosa at about 6:15 p.m.

Alamosa had the ball first, but was put in a punting situation, the snap from center was low and the Mean Moose turned the ball over on downs on their own 25.

The Wildcats took advantage of their good field position and they put the ball into the end zone just seven plays later as Dayton Blok scored on a 1-yard plunge. Bear Styduhar kicked the extra point and Pueblo Central led 7-0 with 5:39 left in the first quarter.

The Mean Moose got their offense rolling on their second possession as Tony Griego threw two passes to Brennan Maez for significant gains. Alamosa got as far as the Pueblo Central 10, but a holding penalty and two quarterback sacks put the Mean Moose out of scoring position and they turned the ball over on downs.

The Wildcats drove to the Alamosa 21 on their next possession but could proceed no further and they also turned the ball over on downs.

The Mean Moose went three-and-out on their next possession, and punted. The Wildcats took over at the Alamosa 46, and once again they took advantage of good field position. Pueblo Central scored seven plays later on a 3-yard touchdown run by Jayden Valerio. Styduhar again booted in the conversion and Pueblo Central had a 14-0 lead.

The Mean Moose finally got on the scoreboard on their next possession. Griego got the offense going in the right direction with a 43-yard run to get onto the Wildcats’ side of the field. A.J. Baker scored on a 1-yard run, and Christian Hernandez made the point after to cut the deficit to 14-7.

Pueblo Central scored one more time in the first half on a 4-yard run by Blok. Styduhar’s point-after was successful and the Wildcats led 21-7 at halftime.

Pueblo Central had the ball first in the second half and drove to the Alamosa 16. But the Wildcats were pushed back by a holding penalty and eventually turned the ball over on downs.

The Mean Moose also went on a potential scoring drive on their first possession of the second half. They got as far at the Wildcats’ 7, but another quarterback sack put Alamosa further back and they again turned the ball over on downs.

Pueblo Central got another drive going on its next possession as they advanced to the Alamosa 10. But the Mean Moose defense stiffened and forced the Wildcats to again turn the ball over on downs.

Baker got the Mean Moose out of the shadow of their own end zone with a 31-yard run, and Griego put Alamosa into Pueblo Central territory with a 17-yard run. Two plays later, Griego threw to Victor Zepeda who went 41 yards to the end zone. Hernandez’s extra point was good to close the margin to 21-14 with 6:31 left in the game.

Pueblo Central drove to the Alamosa 23, but again turned the ball over on downs. But the drive ate up almost the rest of the time on the clock, giving Alamosa just five seconds left.

Alamosa had 276 yards of total offense. Griego led the offense as he completed six of 10 passes for 100 yards. He also led the ground game with 113 yards on 15 carries, while Baker ran for 63 yards on 11 carries.

Maez was the leading receiver with three catches for 56 yards. Nelson Arambula had two receptions for three yards, and Zepeda had one for 41 yards.

Pueblo Central had 410 yards – all on the ground. Blok ran for 221 yards on 30 carries, followed by Valerio with 75 yards on 14 carries.

Alamosa (2-1) will have this week off before hosting seventh-ranked Delta on Sept. 26.

“First time in five years that we’ve played them that we get them at home,” Sandlin said. “So we’re excited to have them here in the valley.”

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Pueblo Central 21, Alamosa 14

Pueblo Central 7 14 0 0 – 21

Alamosa 0 7 0 7 – 14

First quarter

PC – Blok 1 run (Styduhar kick), 5:39

Second quarter

PC – Valerio 3 run (Styduhar kick), 5:13

A – Baker 1 run (Hernandez kick), 2:33

PC – Blok 4 run (Styduhar kick), 0:16

Fourth quarter

A – Zepeda 41 pass from Griego (Hernandez kick), 6:31