No. 1 vs. No. 2 set to tangle Friday night
Volcano Vista looks to remain unbeaten in game vs. Cleveland
Matchups don’t get much more marquee than this.
Class 6A’s two top-ranked high school football teams, Volcano Vista and Cleveland — at least according to the coaches — will collide Friday night as the District 1-6A powers battle at Nusenda Community Stadium.
The kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“They are rightfully the No. 1 team in the state,” Storm coach Heath Ridenour said of Volcano Vista. “They’ve got speed to kill everywhere and there’s a lot of talent on that team.”
The coaches have the Hawks (7-0, 2-0) and Storm (6-1, 2-0) ranked 1-2 in 6A. But are they truly the two best teams to date this season? Consider the MaxPreps.com computer rankings, which is the poll used in the criteria for seeding teams for the playoffs. That poll not only doesn’t have either at No. 1, it doesn’t rank them as even the best in their district.
That poll has Centennial at No. 1, then Rio Rancho, then Cleveland, then Volcano Vista, which is 6A’s only undefeated team. Why No. 4? Because other than the opener with La Cueva, the Hawks’ schedule has been extremely soft.
But Volcano Vista answered the bell opening night in a big way against La Cueva, and the Hawks have every intention of doing so again on Friday night.
“We’re trying to treat (this game) like La Cueva,” said Volcano Vista coach Chad Wallin. “And we expect it to be like the last two times we played Cleveland. It ought to be a battle and ought to go down to the fourth quarter.”
Cleveland beat Volcano Vista in two close games a season ago, including the state semifinals.
The Hawks have made no secret they are attempting to achieve the status in 6A football that Cleveland already owns. This showdown features the Storm’s highpowered offense (42 points a game) against a stellar Hawks defense that yields eight points a game.
And Volcano Vista is expecting a heavy dose of Storm senior running back Dorian Lewis, who is the most electric player in this game.
Cleveland has been carefully managing Lewis’ workload — both in deference to the injured knee that ended his season prematurely last fall, and because the Storm hasn’t needed a fourquarter game from him except for couple of games this year.
Ridenour said Lewis’ carry total is “just shy” of half of what he had last year at this stage. He’s had three games where he rushed it fewer than 10 times this season. Meaning Lewis is both healthy and running on fresh legs.
“Everyone knows what he’s capable of doing,” Ridenour said of Lewis. “This is the stage he wants to be on and that’s the setting he thrives in.”
As for Cleveland’s quarterback situation, Ridenour could not say definitively if his junior quarterback, Jeff Davison, would start on Friday night. He separated his shoulder a couple of weeks ago and missed the most recent game against Cibola. Ridenour said Davison has been rehabbing and practicing “here and there.”
If he can’t go, his replacement, Trey Ortega, is more than capable. Ortega was outstanding in the Cibola win.
“Trey does a great job for us, too,” Ridenour said. “He brings a different dynamic to the offense.”
This certainly has complicated Volcano Vista’s preparation plans.
“Basically, we’ve been trying to come up with two game plans,” Wallin said. “The Davison kid is phenomenal; and Ortega gives you nightmares. It feels like there are two (Dorian) Lewis’ back there.”
There remain two crucial 1-6A games after this one: Rio Rancho-Volcano Vista, a week from Saturday at Community Stadium, and Cleveland-Rio Rancho in Week 11 at Rio Rancho. The Rams also are 2-0 in district, and face Atrisco Heritage this week.