SANFORD – The Sanford High School football team had a daunting task ahead of it on Friday as it hosted second-ranked and defending state champion Mancos at the SHS field.

But the Mustangs were up for the challenge and gave the Bluejays a battle. However, Sanford fell just short as it was defeated 34-20.

“We knew we were going to have a battle,” said Sanford coach Cody Reynolds. “They’re always tough. But I’m proud of the boys and proud of the way they battled. They could have rolled over, but they came out tonight and played really hard.”

Mancos had the ball first and faced a fourth down in its own territory. The Bluejays went for it and the gamble paid off as Brandon Vannest threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Michael Resner. The two-point conversion attempt was no good and Mancos led 6-0.

The Mustangs tied the score on their first possession of the game. Trason Gartrell ran to the left side on the quarterback keeper and he went 42 yards for a touchdown. They also went for two but failed and the score was tied at 6-6.

Mancos looked to get back into the end zone on their next possession, but Brandon Vannest was intercepted by Jared McCarroll.

Sanford, however, punted on their next possession.

The Bluejays got another big play for a touchdown as Jonah Ritter ran 79 yards on the sweep. Kaiden Wyatt ran in the two-point conversion and Mancos had a 14-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Mustangs answered with a touchdown on its next drive as J.D. Faucette ran 17 yards up the middle for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful and Mancos maintained the lead at 14-12.

The Bluejays looked to get another touchdown as they drove to the Sanford 19. However, the Mustangs dodged another bullet as Mancos turned the ball over on downs.

The Bluejays got back into the end zone late in the first half as Brandon Vannest ran 43 yards for a touchdown. Colten Vannest scored on two-point conversion and Mancos had a 22-12 lead at halftime.

Sanford got two takeaways in the third quarter on an interception by J.D. Faucette and a fumble recovery. However, it was unable to take advantage of either one.

Mancos got another touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter as Brandon Vannest ran in from two yards out. The two-point conversion was no good and the Bluejays’ lead stood at 28-12.

Sanford got back into the game on its next possession as Gartrell ran seven yards for a touchdown. He also got the two-point conversion and the lead was cut to 28-20.

Mancos got an answer on its next drive as Brandon Vannest threw a 16-yard touchdown to Gavin Smith. The two-point conversion failed.

The Mustangs attempted to get back to the end zone as it drove all the way to the Mancos 2. However, Gartrell was sacked on third down, and Ben Faucette’s pass to Gartrell on fourth down was one yard short of the end zone.

Sanford had 276 yards of total offense with 255 coming on the ground. Gartrell led the running game with 131 yards on 14 carries. J.D. Faucette had 65 yards on 12 carries, and Rylan Mortensen had 61 yards on 11 carries.

Gartrell completed two of 11 passes for 17 yards. Ben Faucette had one catch for nine yards and William Malouff had one for eight yards.

Mancos had 469 total yards – 355 rushing and 114 passing. Brandon Vannest led the ground game with 139 yards on 21 carries, Ritter had 135 yards on nine carries, and Kaiden Wyatt had 61 on 11 carries.

Brandon Vannest also completed three of nine passes for 114 yards.

Sanford (4-3, 2-1) will close out the season with two road games. This coming Friday, the Mustangs will travel to Dolores and on Nov. 1, they will go to Dove Creek.

“We have to go over the hill the next two weeks,” Reynolds said. “So we’re going to get really familiar with Wolf Creek Pass again. We’ve been home a number of weeks now, so it’s back on the road.”

Mancos 34, Sanford 20

Mancos 14 8 0 12 – 34

Sanford 6 6 0 8 – 20

First quarter

M – Resner 70 pass from B. Vannest (run failed), 10:20

S – Gartrell 42 run (run failed), 9:03

M – Ritter 79 run (K. Wyatt run), 0:41

Second quarter

S – J.D. Faucette 17 run (run failed), 7:23

M – B. Vannest 43 run (C. Vannest run), 1:42

Fourth quarter

M – B. Vannest 2 run (pass failed), 11:23

S – Gartrell 7 run (Gartrell run), 8:21

M – Smith pass from B. Vannest (run failed), 3:02