Cormier’s change of heart helps Hawks

Officiating pool whittled to 18 after today’s schedule

The plan, David Cormier said in November, was to focus on his football career.

That was his thinking when he announced that he would bypass his senior season in basketball.

But he eventually had a change of heart and everyone involved with the Volcano Vista boys basketball program is glad he did because the Hawks would not be in the state semifinals without him.

“I’m blessed to be able to help,” said Cormier, who has committed to play football for the Air Force Academy. “I’m happy with the choice I made. I like playing the game, and it’s fun to be back for (my final) year.”

Cormier missed some time early, but his return immediately made the Hawks a challenger in Class 6A. And, now, a contender for a state championship, even as a 12 seed.

One thing Cormier wanted to make clear is that his coach, Greg Brown, did not push him to come back.

“He had nothing to do with it,” Cormier said, smiling. Sitting next to him, Brown simply looked to the heavens and gave thanks. — James Yodice FEWER OFFICIALS, BUT

THEY WILL BE BUSIER: The New Mexico Activities Association has a new policy this season: Half of the 36 officials assigned to work this week’s games will not make it past tonight.

The 36 will be cut in half to 18, as the NMAA has a small army —over a dozen — of officials’ evaluators at various sites to rank the top officials for the first three days of action this week.

Consequently, rather than have all 36 officials working one championship game apiece (three for each of the 12 championship games), this year the 18 remaining officials, as of Friday, will work two finals each.

“We want the best of the best to work the best games,”

NMAA Commissioner of Officials Dana Pappas said. — James Yodice

LET IT FLY: Confidence, check. Conscience, well …

Capital sophomore Matt Smith was ready and only too willing to take the big shots in Wednesday’ Class 5A quarterfinal against Alamogordo at the Pit. He made exactly two field goals —a buzzer-beating 3 pointer to end the third quarter and a long 3 in the closing seconds of the fourth.

The latter gave the Jaguars a 48-45 victory.

Asked about his range afterward, Smith broke into a wide grin. “Anywhere in the gym,” he said.

Smith admitted he was looking for a shot, perhaps any shot, on his team’s final possession. Jaguars coach Ben Gomez had something similar in mind.

“Matt inbounded the ball and was the trailer on the play,” Gomez said. “If the defense picked up Jeremy (Anaya), we wanted him to kick it back to Matt for the shot. That’s exactly how the play set up.”

The shot was a dagger to his team but Alamogordo coach Brian Shock was duly impressed.

“Hats off to Smith,” he said. “That’s a heroic way to win a game. Great shot.” — Ken Sickenger

THEY COME TRUE: Count Robertson girls coach Leroy Barela as one of those who just might be a believer in dreams.

“I don’t know what it was but in October, for a number of days in a row, I had a dream that we were playing Shiprock in the state tournament and they were wearing their whites and we were wearing our reds,” he said. “Now, here it is, the state tournament and we’ll be playing Shiprock (today) and they’ll be wearing their whites and we’ll be wearing red.”

As for the outcome in the dream, “I always wake up at the opening tip,” Barela said.

Third-seeded Robertson advanced Tuesday with a 57-52 victory over sixth-seeded and rival West Las Vegas at the Pit. No. 2 Shiprock advanced with a 65-52 victory over Navajo Prep.