It’s time to reveal midterm grades for metro football
Professor Y. returns today to issue his midseason grades for our 25 metro-area football teams.
The standing rule, for those of you are new to this, is not to compare your grade to anyone else’s. My scale awards nothing lower than C-minus.
ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY (1-5): This is proving to be one of the Chargers’ toughest seasons yet. Young team with struggling offense has dropped five straight. Grade: C-minus
ALBUQUERQUE HIGH (2-3): Bulldogs’ last-minute victory over Del Norte is a highlight, and this group has a chance to win at least five games by November. Grade: C-plus
ATRISCO HERITAGE (1-4): Jaguars were the last of the 25 metro programs to win a game. Defense has been a liability most of the season and lots of dynamic offenses await them in the second half. Grade: C-minus
BELEN (3-3): The three losses are understandable (Piedra Vista, Artesia, Roswell), but Eagles haven’t overcome a quality team yet. Tailback Diego Casillas has been productive, but well off his blistering 2017 pace, which you would expect with a new O-line. Grade: C
BERNALILLO (4-1): Spartans surely qualify as a pleasant surprise, even with that super
soft schedule and a recent two-point road loss to Santa Fe. Sparty probably needs at least two district wins in second half to ensure playoff bid. Grade: B-plus
CIBOLA (3-2): Cougars have impressed, with QB Marcus Steele and other skillposition athletes doing nice jobs for Professor Y’s beloved alma mater. A team that looks playoff caliber to me. Grade: B
CLEVELAND (5-0): The Storm has the state’s best player, junior running back Dorian Lewis (one of many underclassmen contributing in a big way on offense), an underrated defense, several quality wins and an abundance of confidence. Introducing your midseason valedictorian. Grade: A DEL NORTE (1-5): Knights have been inconsistent in their switch to a more passintensive offense, and they get marked down for letting that game against AHS slip away. But in their weak district, a playoff berth remains on the table. Grade: C-minus
ELDORADO (5-1): Strong first half for the burnt orange, but Eagles get marked down a bit for that sloppy performance against Cleveland. Eldorado faces second half without senior quarterback Gabe Smith (broken collarbone). That’s going to be daunting. Grade: B
HIGHLAND (1-5): Professor Y. continues to be dismayed at this program’s declining participation numbers; opening-week comeback victory over Rio Grande has been the one highlight. Grade: C-minus HOPE CHRISTIAN (6-0): A dynamic group, with excellent skill-position studs like QB Nick Henry and WR/PK Vince Quezada, and a physical, aggressive defense that has yielded only 26 points. Huskies are 3A’s midseason favorite to win state. Grade: A LA CUEVA (6-0): Bears are one of three 6A unbeatens, along with Cleveland and Centennial, but I would suggest that the Bears have not approached their best football yet. Which is a compliment, because they’ve won a couple of times without their fastball. Grade: A-minus
LOS LUNAS (4-2): Tigers have dropped two of three, and the status of the left knee of injured QB Nick Gaerlan (who didn’t play in the OT loss to Goddard) could be an issue going forward. If he returns with full mobility, Los Lunas is a state championship contender. Grade: B
MANZANO (2-3): Monarchs need to continue to feed senior running back Xavier Ivey-Saud as they move into district action, where Manzano has a chance to make a playoff push for interim head coach Phillip Martinez. Grade: C
MENAUL (2-2): Slow-starting Panthers starting to gain some momentum, with two straight wins as they head into their super tough 8-Man district. Grade: B-minus
MISSION ACHIEVEMENT & SUCCESS (2-3): The metro’s newest program, the Bulls won their second game (ever) Saturday at McCurdy. MAS definitely making solid progress in first full varsity season. Grade: B MORIARTY (3-3): Pintos are obviously in a rebuild mode, but things are coming along. This grade reflects what I wrote about Belen: Moriarty has beaten teams it should, but inexperience has kept it from staying with upper-echelon opponents. Grade: C
RIO GRANDE (1-5): Ravens ended that 39-game losing skid, and you can’t overstate the significance of that moment for this program. But dropping a game to previously winless Atrisco Heritage drops the grade down moderately. Grade: B-minus
RIO RANCHO (1-4): Don’t want to be overly harsh with the Rams; those four losses were to high-quality programs. But can’t exactly heap too much praise, either,
not with that record. Still, a team to watch closely in the second half. Grade: C-plus
SANDIA (2-4): Running back LeShawn Joseph, for the most part, has been reliable, although Sandia switched out quarterbacks the other night against Volcano Vista. The second half includes crucial matchups with Clovis and Manzano. Grade: C ST. PIUS (2-3): Schedule has been quite difficult, but Sartans have been steadily improving over the last several weeks. The Oct. 20 visit from No. 1 and undefeated Taos will dictate what happens to St. Pius when the state seedings are announced. Grade: B
VALENCIA (4-2): All credit to new coach Wes Shank, who said in August that this big, athletic group would catch some people off guard, and indeed he was correct. Jaguars, even more than Bernalillo, have been the most surprising team in the metro to Professor Y. Grade: B-plus
VALLEY (3-2): This record seems about right at the midway point. Couple of winnable games ahead, then we find out how Valley stacks up against Los Lunas and Belen — and now Valencia. Grade: B
VOLCANO VISTA (4-1): Professor Y. valued this Hawks group even going back to the preseason, and while this team has not entirely been firing on all pistons, and it was buried by brutal special teams in the opener against La Cueva, it is coming off its best showing of the year as the second half begins. Grade: B WEST MESA (1-4): Mustangs, as I noted back in March, were handed a horrendously demanding schedule, and one win is probably the most first-year head coach Anthony Ansotigue could have squeezed out of the first half. Sadly, the schedule does not let up from here on out. Grade: C