The Aztecs did not merely beat the Renegades on Sunday. They seized the game early, made every mistake hurt, and sent a 3-13 opponent home with one late touchdown as a consolation prize. The 37-10 finish gives Joseph Poore’s Aztecs a second straight win and closes their regular season at 12-4, with a playoff berth already clinched.

Andrés Santillana struck first, finding Rafael de la Vega for a 31-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The Renegades answered with a field goal, but even a David Foster fumble did not derail the Aztecs. They kept possession, and Santillana soon hit Foster for a 14-yard score to make it 14-3.

The Aztecs carried that authority into the second quarter. After Arturo Beltran recovered his own fumble near the goal line, Santillana connected with de la Vega for a seven-yard touchdown. George Cook’s extra point made it 21-3. De la Vega finished with 47 receiving yards and two touchdowns; Santillana completed 25 of 33 passes for 248 yards and three scores, with one interception.

Then came the play that turned a commanding lead into a rout. Early in the third, Aztecs defender Dennis McIntire sacked David Fleming, and Fleming fumbled. Esteban Nepomuceno scooped it up and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown. Cook’s kick pushed the margin to 28-3. The defense kept pouring on pressure: Juan Ohara intercepted Fleming minutes later, and a second Fleming interception followed in the fourth. The Aztecs finished with five sacks and two picks.

Cook’s 29-yard field goal made it 31-3, and Luis Vasquez ran in a six-yard touchdown in the fourth to stretch the lead to 37-3. Foster supplied another sturdy foundation, rushing for 99 yards and adding 36 receiving yards and a touchdown. The Aztecs totaled 166 rushing yards, while the Renegades managed just 42 on the ground.

Fleming threw for 234 yards, but the Renegades’ lone touchdown came late, on a one-yard pass to Chance Stabler. It trimmed the score to 37-10, no more than a footnote against an afternoon the Aztecs controlled at both ends. Renegades, eliminated and 0-6 in their division, leave with a fourth straight loss. The Aztecs leave with momentum—and no need to pretend this was close.