Despite lack of depth, Cobos hopes to change the culture at Bernalillo
BERNALILLO — On a shelf above the desk in his office, Bernalillo head coach John Cobos has a football with the date and score of his first game coaching the Spartans.
Cobos, who was hired as interim coach in week nine of the 2014 season, led the Spartans to a 38-14 victory over Los Alamos.
“That was my first official game as head coach, and I keep (that football) around (as a reminder),” Cobos said. “We played pretty well that day.”
That victory, though, represents exactly half of Bernalillo’s victories under Cobos’ stewardship. The Spartans went winless in 2015 in Cobos’ first full season, and 1-9 last year.
The dearth of victories is a far cry from Cobos’ indoctrination to Spartans football when he came on as an assistant to Ken Noel in 2008. Bernalillo won six games in 2008, and followed that with back-to-back district titles in 2009 and 2010.
Since then, Bernalillo has won just 11 total games over six seasons.
“We’re trying to change the culture here with this being my third year here as the head coach,” Cobos said. “We’re trying to let these kids know that it’s OK to be successful. You can have that success, and not be a (jerk) about it.”
In his fourth year as a varsity starter, senior fullback/linebacker Andre Bethea — who has witnessed only three wins in his high school career — is ready to see the hard work pay off.
“I think the perception from outside is that we’re an easy team, and maybe we don’t work as hard as other people,” Bethea said. “I can tell you, that’s the total opposite. We’re out here at 5:30 (a.m.) lifting, and practicing every morning to 9:30, 10 a.m. We’re pushing it because we want to win.”
Bethea is one of eight seniors listed on the 35-person preseason roster, but many of the impact players are underclassmen that already have a year or two of varsity experience.
Damian Gutierrez, a junior quarterback, freshman running back Ayden Madrid and all-purpose back Adam Abeyta give the Bernalillo offense some weapons.
And anchors on the offensive line are sophomore Michael Maes and junior tight end Josh Fosnock.
“We have a lot of youth, and I think we will surprise some people,” Bethea said.
That said, the ranks get pretty thin beyond the starting lineup, Cobos said. While the Spartans return seven starters on offense and six on defense, most of those returnees are playing both sides of the ball.
“We don’t have 200 kids in our football program, and kids like Andre will rarely come off the field,” Cobos said. “Depth has always been an issue for us. … We have to be safe and we can’t afford to lose an Andre, an Adam Abeyta, or a Michael Maes.”
Given the Spartans’ recent fortunes — and lack of evidence to suggest the program is trending upward — Cobos beams with optimism.
“The players have to go out and execute,” Cobos said. “If the players go out and execute, there are some special things that can happen this year at Bernalillo.”