Vikings vaulting?
After close miss last year, Valley High Vikings are confident about reaching playoffs
Ten points. That is what separated the Valley Vikings from a football playoff berth last year.
“It came down to the wire,” senior tight end/defensive end Mitchell Martinez said. “No one liked that.”
The Vikings were somewhat of an oddity last season; they lost their first six, then won their final four. A 49-39 District 4-6A-opening loss to Atrisco Heritage was the tiebreaker when both teams tied for first place to end the regular season.
And yet, Valley headed into the offseason with tangible momentum, if not a playoff berth.
“We use that as a motivation,” said head coach Judge Chavez, starting his second season with his alma mater. “We have an opportunity to win our district, and that’s our goal this year.”
Valley figures to be in the hunt for sure again, along with the preseason favorite, Atrisco Heritage.
“We hope the program has grown some since last year,” said Chavez. “We hope the kids understand the expectations.”
On the fringe, there has been growth. Valley has a sprawling new weight room and a new football-specific locker room that is bigger and more impressive than even Class 6A state champion Rio Rancho’s set-up.
But while those cosmetic upgrades are welcome, Valley still faces some inherent challenges. Topping that list is a very tough nondistrict schedule. Secondarily, there is a roster that isn’t overflowing with big athletes. And third is a lack of depth in one crucial area.
On the plus side, the Vikings are firmly immersed in Chavez’s system, so there won’t be any transition issues this fall.
“I believe (the culture) has gotten better,” said senior tight end/linebacker Xavier Ortiz. “We weren’t all in last year. This year, it’s changed. Everyone is locked in, and everyone knows their role.”
Valley returns 10 total starters from last season, including six on offense.
The best athlete on the team, Chavez said, is junior receiver/defensive back Jove Messenger, a 5-foot-11, 155-pound junior.
Messenger is part of a solid, and lengthy, group of receivers; other targets include 6-2 Chris Prudencio and 6-1 Joe Torres.
“If they want to ignore other guys, we’ve got other kids who can be successful,” Chavez said of Messenger.
All the catchers have a new pitcher since Isaiah Chavez graduated at quarterback. Coach Chavez has settled on 5-9 senior Naseem Madani to run the show.
Running back Segun Oyeku, who has only been playing football for less than two years, leads the ground game.
Up front, Valley won’t be overly huge on either side, but more importantly, the Vikings lack depth along both lines.
“We’ll have to stay healthy up front,” Chavez said.
Martinez is the only one of Valley’s front seven that returns as a starter this year on defense.
“There are a lot of questions there,” Chavez said.
The Vikings have a surplus of skillposition athletes, so the secondary is not one of his concerns.
Like his cohort, West Mesa coach Ron McMath, Chavez realizes that those five district games are everything. No district championship almost certainly equals no playoff berth.
But Chavez isn’t limiting his thinking to just that. If, he said, Valley could scrape together a win or two outside of league play, and if they could also win District 4-6A, the Vikings might earn a decent seed, and possibly a more forgiving firstround game, in the state playoffs.
“Winning those games (at the end of last season) will help us, knowing that we could be a factor,” Martinez said. “This year, we know what’s expected of us.”