MONTE VISTA — The Monte Vista High School team defeated Ignacio 42-7 Friday at Harvey Sullivan Field. But according to Pirates coach Manny Wasinger, it was not an easy victory.

“We really had to work,” Wasinger said. “We knew this was a much-improved Ignacio team. They have a lot of seniors and they’ve been getting better progressively the last couple of years. They came out with a lot of confidence, and they’ve been winning big. We knew we had to play four quarters and it wasn’t going to be easy.”

The Bobcats had the ball first and D.J. Hendren had a 50-yard run. However, he was stripped of the ball and the Pirates recovered.

Monte Vista then went on a 15-play, 70-yard drive with Jacob Pacheco capping off the possession with a 2-yard touchdown run. Kevin Cisneros ran in the two-point conversion and the Pirates led 8-0.

Monte Vista scored again early in the second quarter as Jon Enderle ran into the end zone from one yard out. Pacheco scored the two-point conversion for a 16-0 advantage.

The Pirates extended the lead as Kaden Madrid tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Azariah Hurtado. The two-point conversion attempt was no good and the lead stood at 22-0.

Ignacio scored its only touchdown later in the quarter as Zane Pontine had a 1-yard run on the quarterback sneak. He also kicked in the extra point to cut the deficit to 22-7.

The Pirates scored one more touchdown late in the quarter as Pacheco got his second touchdown, this time on a 28-yard run. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, and Monte Vista led 28-7 at halftime.

The Pirates had the ball first in the second half and they scored another touchdown. Pacheco had his third score of the game on a 7-yard run. He also scored the two-point conversion for a 36-7 lead.

Pacheco found the end zone for the fourth time as he ran in from two yards out. The two-point attempt was unsuccessful.

The Bobcats made one last attempt to score but fumbled the ball away early in the fourth quarter.

Monte Vista had 400 yards of total offense with 371 coming on the ground. Pacheco led the running game with 266 yards on 30 carries. Cicneros had 55 yards on 10 carries.

Madrid completed two of four passes for 29 yards. Ismael Medina had one catch for 15 yards and Hurtado had one for 14.

Ignacio accumulated 202 yards of total offense – 104 rushing and 98 passing. Hendren was the Bobcats’ leading rusher with 51 yards on five carries.

Pontine completed five of 13 passes for 98 yards. Devante Montoya was the leading receiver with four catches for 91 yards.

Monte Vista (5-2, 3-0) will travel to Center this coming Friday.

“On the road is always tough in our league and Center’s got tough kids,” Wasinger said. “Our goal is to be 1-0 next week.”