DEVELOPING A BROTHERHOOD
Hilltoppers focus on intensity and effort
HILLTOPPERS FIELD A TEAM OF NEW FACES WHO ARE FOCUSING ON INTENSITY AND EFFORT IN A BID TO CREATE TEAM UNITY
It’s a numbers game for Los Alamos High School football and coach Garett Williams is liking what the numbers are saying.
“It’s probably one of the best turnouts since we’ve been here,” he said. “We had a great freshman, sophomore class coming in. They’re good numbers. They’ve been having a good summer.”
It’s a good thing because the Hilltoppers lost a lot of seniors due to graduation, so there are some holes to fill.
“It’s been huge for us,” Williams said. “We’ve been able to do a lot of character and leadership stuff with them every day. It’s definitely a step forward for us.”
With so many new faces expected to play leading roles, it’s hard to know how the Hilltoppers will perform, Williams said, but that’s not always the most important thing.
“Right now, our expectations are to come out, work hard, develop a brotherhood and develop some team unity,” he said. “The intensity and the effort is the thing we’re focusing on right now. If we put in the work, the rest is going to take care of itself.”
One area that Williams is expecting to take care of itself, with plenty of hard work, is the quarterback position, where junior Dylan Irish (5 foot, 9 inches, 180 pounds) is in place after moving over from fullback.
“In this offense, we run the triple option, the quarterback, the ball is going to be in his hands every play,” the coach said. “If we have to, we’ll take our best athlete and put him at quarterback.”
Williams is quite certain Irish will be able to handle the change.
“He’s one of the kids, as a sophomore, who led us last year as fullback. It’s the best way to keep the ball in his hands and he’s a natural athlete. He has great touch on the ball.”
Since he’s never played quarterback before, Irish said he’s still working on the nuances of the position.
“I think my strength will be in rushing,” he said. “Coming from being a fullback, I have the power to be running. I know we’ll have a great line to protect me, great receivers, a great backfield. We’ll be good.”
Still, Irish said he’s learning to read the routes and the defenses.
“I’m still figuring out what routes we have to hit and my accuracy is kind of shoddy,” he said. “But we have a great quarterback coach (Val Gunn) right now, probably one of the best in the state, and he’s helping me get through this transition real nice.”
Los Alamos will have pretty much a rebuilt line, with veteran Arturo Rodriguez (6-0, 210) leading the group.
“I’m just trying to get them to be leaders themselves,” the senior said. “Linemen are the heart of offense so we need them to do what we need them to do. I want them to be aggressive and also be smart, and overall play with an aggressive attitude.”
Junior Cade Yost (5-10, 160) will be taking on more ball-carrying duties and junior Justin Gilbert (6-2, 200) is expected to help shore up the line some more.
The team also got a boost because last year, for the first time, the school added a sports period.
“Seeing these kids every day has been huge,” Williams said. “We’ve never had that before. If you don’t have them every day, or don’t see them for nine months, you lose touch. But if we can focus on turning these guys into hardworking young men of character and if they turn out to be great men, that’s the goal of the program, not just to win.” Los Alamos football players and coaches celebrate a last-second touchdown against Española Valley to earn a 1-point victory in 2016.