ALBUQUERQUE — The hour-long trip on Interstate 25 to the Duke City has never been a prosperous one for the Santa Fe High football program.

A new chapter to that long, sad history was written Friday at Wilson Stadium.

The Demons were thumped 55-12 by Albuquerque Highland, but that's not the real story.

Santa Fe High didn't arrive at the stadium until about 45 minutes before the scheduled 7 p.m. kickoff.

That's because of a flat tire on the team bus, a commuting hiccup that cost the Demons about an hour's preparation time before the game.

"I think it did have an effect, yeah," Demons receiver Moses Montoya said. "It kind of takes you out of your focus. Instead of thinking about the game or what you're supposed to be doing, you're thinking about a flat tire."

The team was forced into an unscheduled pit stop at the San Felipe exit halfway to Albuquerque.

Officials from Albuquerque Public Schools said there was some discussion about moving the game to this afternoon, but scheduling conflicts prevented the game from being suspended.

The only compromise was pushing the opening kickoff back about 20 minutes.

For a few brief moments, the late start seemed to do some good for the Demons. Montoya made a highlight-reel catch on the game's first play. Adjusting to a Jason Fitzpatrick pass down the far sideline, he caught the ball one-handed for a 50-yard gain.

From there, however, it was pretty much all Highland. Santa Fe High stalled on each of its first seven possessions as the Hornets (1-1) rolled to a 41-0 lead late in the first half.

Of the Hive's initial 10 offensive plays, five resulted in touchdowns. Two of those came after Fitzpatrick threw incomplete on fake punt attempts deep inside Demons territory.

"Right there we're just trying to get something going," Fitzpatrick said. "It's about execution and we didn't get it done."

Fitzpatrick had a solid outing, nonetheless. He finished 17-for-33 with 235 yards and a touchdown. He was never picked off but was sacked four times.

He also engineered Santa Fe High's lone scoring drives by turning in a number of big plays. The Demons' first score came in the final minute of the first half when he threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to older brother Ryan Fitzpatrick, a play that capped an 80-yard drive.

Santa Fe's other score came when Montoya took a reverse and ran it in for a 9-yard touchdown to close out the scoring midway through the fourth quarter.

By then Highland had enjoyed the benefit of the running clock. Had it not been for a missed extra point by Hornets kicker Jesse Ortega in the first quarter, the game would have actually ended early in the fourth when David Brown's 13-yard touchdown run would have given Highland a 50-point lead rather than a 49-point cushion (55-6).

Regardless of the outcome, Montoya said he thinks the days of the "streak" are nearly over. The Demons have now dropped 14 games in a row.

"I think this team is close to turning it around," Montoya said. "The passing game, the offense can get the job done. All we need is for the line to hold for just a second or two longer on some plays and we'll be right there."

Those extra seconds were in high demand against the Hornets. Time and again Fitzpatrick was flushed from the pocket or hit as he threw.

After Highland built a 27-0 lead in the first, Santa Fe High all but abandoned the run. That put an even bigger target on Fitzpatrick's back.

"That's an athletic team," Fitzpatrick said of Highland. "The good thing is we've played two of the best teams we're going to see all year in the first two weeks. I think we've learned something from it, but I think we still believe we can do this."

The Demons' offense generated 292 yards. Fitzpatrick
was the leading rusher with
46 yards on 14 tries. Montoya had five catches for 99 yards while Ryan Fitzpatrick had four catches for 107 yards.

Highland quarterback Dylan Chavez was 12-for-17 with 189 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 43 yards as the Hornets had 234 yards on the ground.

Contact Will Webber at wwebber@sfnewmexican.com or 986-3045.