Hungry team gets bigger slate
Nine games a strong motivator after abbreviated season
QUESTA — The sky darkened and the wind whipped up, as if to send a warning to the Questa Wildcats late Wednesday afternoon.
It was time to drag some railroad ties, and first-year Wildcats head football coach Chris Torres beamed with pride. One by one, a Wildcat attached himself with a harness across the chest to a roughly 125-pound railroad tie he dragged on the ground as he ran a 40-yard sprint before taking off the harness and handing it to the next player.
For some of the players, the exercise went relatively because since they were used to it. Others, though, experienced it for the first time and they labored to finish the sprint by the 30th yard after a couple of attempts.
“I dread them, but I know in the long run it will help us,” said senior offensive and defensive tackle Antonio Chavez, one of the veterans of this grueling exercise.
The drill is the brain child of Torres, although he won’t take credit for the idea. It was a hand-me-down from his days at Roswell Goddard under legendary head coach Sam Jernigan, who guided the Rockets to six state titles. Torres said it is a great way to strengthen players’ legs and teach them to stay low to the ground for leverage.
It is also a great way to test the Wildcats stamina, which will be crucial because the Wildcats are going to need strong legs and lungs with a roster that probably won’t reach 20 players this season.
“We do what we can with what we have, and then we’ll pin your ears back and play ball,” Torres said.
Playing ball was problematic last season. The transition from former head coach and athletic coordinator Jesus Maes, who took the head coaching position at Española Valley in June 2016, to Paul Passino had some bumps, and they appeared mainly with the schedule. The Wildcats played just five games last year, one game resulting in a forfeit, and only two games in the first five weeks.
For many a player, the waiting was almost insufferable.
“It was terrible — waiting and waiting
and waiting for the next game,” senior running back John Rivera said. “I was just taking it game to game, working out for the next, trying to get better. But it was not fun.”
When Torres, who was an assistant coach under Passino last year, took over in the summer, he was overjoyed to see nine games on the schedule.
“[Questa athletic director] Kenny Gallegos and I worked really hard on filling the schedule,” Torres said. “It was hard to keep these boys motivated [last season]. We had to constantly tell them, ‘Keep your heads up. Keep your heads up.’ That was the challenge, to keep them working hard. They did work hard, but they were doing that for a threeweek period before we got to play again.”
With that hiccup out of the way, Questa can focus on other issues — like getting a boost to their roster size. After starting the season with 18 players on the first day, Torres saw 10 players start Wednesday’s practice. That number grew to 15 by the end of the day, and a couple of soccer players appeared ready to contribute.
“We’ll have a couple of players cross over, but not too many,” Torres said. “And if there is, it is what it is and we just fight through it.”
The boys soccer program gives the school a unique problem — one that is usually shared by much larger schools. Questa is the only Class 2A school that fields a football and soccer program, while only Hagerman and Jal have a competing fall boys athletic program (both compete in cross country). It requires athlete-sharing for both programs.
In 2016, eight students suited up to play soccer and football for the Wildcats. Torres estimates that number should be lower, but it does lead to some scheduling conflicts regarding practices and events for both teams.
“Our second game of the season [against Raton], eight of our guys played three [soccer matches] that week,” Torres said. “We had just one full practice together, and those guys were bushed by game time.”
Even if the roster edges toward 20 players, it won’t change the likelihood that most Wildcats will play on both sides of the ball and not see much time on the
sidelines except for a play here and there. Not that they mind, because it has been a fact of life for years with the program.
“I feel that we have a better program than we’ve had the last three years,” said senior tackle and defensive end Zach Vallo, who is Torres’ son. “We have less people, but I am sure we are going to prevail.”
Despite the challenges, Questa has shown the ability to compete in the district. The Wildcats are only two years removed from a state playoff appearance, and they gave eventual state champion and District 1-2A foe Escalante all it could handle in 2014 and 2015 before the Lobos beat them.
However, classification and alignment brought Fort Sumner/ House into the fold in 2016, and the Foxes won the district title and were the 2A runners-up last year. Questa lost to Fort Sumner/ House and Escalante by identical 50-0 scores, but those two games came after a two-week break in the schedule.
Torres stated that the Wildcats’ goal is “to compete.” For him, if that means the his team is playing in the fourth quarter, it’s a victory in one sense.
“We might not win every game, but we want to compete,” Torres said. “I’m not going to promise we’re going to win every game. All I can promise is hard work.”
In Questa, those railroad ties personify the hard work Torres wants to instill into the program. QUESTA WILDCATS
2016 season: 2-4 overall, 1-2 in District 1-2A
Head coach: Chris Torres (first season)
Key players: Zach Vallo, senior, 5-foot-9, 200 pounds, tackle/ defensive lineman; Antonio Chavez, senior, 5-10, 250, tackle/defensive tackle; John Rivera, senior, 5-7, 150, running back/defensive end; Noah Crider, sophomore, 5-10, 150, quarterback; Antonio Garcia, senior, 5-10, 145, wide receiver/defensive back; J.J. Blanco, senior, 5-5, 130, running back/linebacker.
Outlook: The Wildcats struggled with consistency because they only played five games last season and a sixth ended as a forfeit. They also are under their third
2017 schedule
Aug. 26 — vs. Jal (at Moriarty), 1 p.m.
Sept. 2 — at McCurdy, 1 p.m. Sept. 8 — Zuni, 6 p.m. Sept. 15 — at Raton, 7 p.m.
Sept. 23 — Abq. Mission Achievement and Success Charter, 1 p.m.
Sept. 30 — Centauri (Colo.), 1 p.m. Oct. 6 — Cuba, 7 p.m.
Oct. 13 — Fort Sumner/House, 7 p.m.-x
Oct. 20 — at Escalante, 7 p.m.-x x-denotes District 1-2A game
PREP PREVIEWS
This is the second in a 14-part series on the Tour of Northern New Mexico football programs. head coach in the past 14 months with Torres, who was an assistant under Paul Passino in 2016. Roster size always has been an issue, with between 15 and 18 players showing up through the first few days of practice. Questa will continue to focus on running the ball, thanks to veteran linemen Vallo and Sanchez. Crider was ineligible to play last year but should be the starting quarterback this fall. If the line can protect him and open holes for the running backs, the Wildcats can be competitive in a tough district that includes Escalante and Fort Sumner/House.
The Thursday: schedule: Escalante Lobos Today: Questa Wildcats Saturday: McCurdy Bobcats Aug. 10: Pojoaque Valley Elks Aug. 11: Taos Tigers
Aug. 12: Las Vegas Robertson Cardinals
Aug. 13: West Las Vegas Dons Aug. 18: Los Alamos Hilltoppers Aug. 19: Española Valley Sundevils
Aug. 20: New Mexico School for the Deaf Roadrunners
Aug. 22: Santa Fe Indian School Braves
Aug. 23: Capital Jaguars Aug. 24: St. Michael’s Horsemen Aug. 25: Santa Fe High Demons