Foxes claim fourth straight 1A title

CLAYTON — Fort Sumner wanted to leave no doubt about who’s the kingpin of Class 1A, and the Foxes certainly did that.

Junior Braeden Dimitroff rushed for 204 yards on just 12 carries and senior Anthony Griffin added three touchdowns and 100 yards on the ground in a 48-0 rout of Clayton, giving the Foxes their fourth consecutive 1A title and ninth in the last 14 years.

Fort Sumner (11-1) scored on each of its first seven possessions, then ran out the clock on the eighth in rolling to the victory. The Foxes didn’t throw a pass in outgaining the Yellowjackets 413-217 overall.

“We wanted to establish ourselves physically, and we did that,” said Moyer, a 1992 Fort Sumner grad who took over the head coaching position this year after several seasons as an assistant.

“Our offensive line totally dominated, and our backs ran extremely hard.”

Griffin scored the first four touchdowns on runs of 7, 2 and 11 yards. He added a 25-yard TD run late in the third period, a score set up by a 63-yard run by Dimitroff.

On defense, the Foxes posted their seventh shutout of the season, coming up with four turnovers.

“The boys, especially these seniors, felt like they had something to prove tonight, and they did,” Moyer said.

Clayton had two chances to score late, but both ended on fumbles after the Yellowjackets got inside the Fort Sumner 15.

A 28-yard completion from Colby Trujillo to Aric Trujillo put the ball at the Fort Sumner 12, but Pacen Marez recovered a fumbled snap for the Foxes on the next play.

Late in the game, Clayton drove from its 25 to the Foxes’ 4, but on second-and-goal Colby Trujillo fumbled into the end zone and the Foxes' Gonzalo Martinez fell on it.