Jaguars are hungry headed into quarterfinal
Capital still has plenty to play for, and plenty to prove
The Capital Jaguars have been down this road before, and against this team. It was just two Marches ago that the Jaguars faced the Artesia Bulldogs in a rematch of a regular season game during the Class 5A State Tournament. They hammered Artesia in a home matchup in December, but they couldn’t duplicate the feat in opening round of the 2016 tournament.
In fact, the then-14th seeded Bulldogs put a scare in No. 3 Capital before succumbing 41-38.
This year, the rematch happens in the quarterfinal round at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in The Pit when the No. 4 Jaguars take on fifth-seeded Artesia. Capital already owns a 70-41 win over the Bulldogs at home in Dec. 16, but don’t think history passed by Jaguars senior guard Tyler Alarid.
“I know we can’t settle, just because we beat these guys,” Alarid said. “We have to understand that you have to show up. Just because you beat them last time doesn’t mean it will happen again.”
It’s definitely not the same Bulldogs team the Jaguars beat back before the calendar turned. Then again, Capital is not the same team, either. Artesia, which didn’t have its full squad until after the football team won the state title on Dec. 2, was just 5-4 after losing to Roswell in the Poe Corn Invitational on Dec. 29. The Bulldogs then reeled off wins in seven of the next eight games and went 12-2 the rest of the season.
When the District 4-4A season began, the defending 5A champion Coyotes were considered the favorites to win, especially since they hadn’t lost a district game in five seasons. Artesia stopped that with a 64-62 overtime win on Jan. 30, and went on to win its first district title in 11 years.
The Bulldogs have a significant size advantage, with 6-foot-6 Joe Willingham, 6-3 Tyler Null and a pair of tough guards in Kale Mauritsen and Chaney Hardt.
Meanwhile, Capital has adjusted to life without junior wing Matt Smith, who is
no longer on the team but was a vital part of the Jaguars’ earlyseason success. Freshman Dominic Luna made the transition smoother with improved play over the past two weeks, but the Jaguars also have seen better contributions off the bench from Siji Olivas, Brandon Saiz and Chris McKnight.
“We are more comfortable with each other and have adapted,” Alarid said. “You can see the ball move around a little bit more. We’re finding that feel with each other in the sense that we trust each other more now.”
However, there is a difference between playing in the gyms of Northern New Mexico and playing in The Pit. The good news is that Jaguars sophomores T.J. Sanchez and Seth Arroyos got plenty of experience during last year’s run to the 5A championship game. Now, they are relaying what they learned about playing in the arena to the other underclassmen, especially Luna.
“He kinda knew right away how it’s going to be, but we tell him to take it slow,” Sanchez said of his discussions with Luna. “He knows what he can do when he gets going.”
Perhaps the best thing that happened for the Jaguars was the spotlight coming off of them in the wake of the roster changes. Capital went through most of the season as the primary challenger to top seed Española, which plays No. 8 Albuquerque St. Pius X at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, but those expectations were tempered after the Sundevils dominated the Jaguars while taking all three games.
“Now, we don’t worry about what people are saying,” Alarid said. “A lot of people doubted us and I think that adds fuel to our fire, especially without Matt. It helps us more because we can use that as motivation.”
Any bit of motivation or inspiration can only help at this time of the year.
So can a long memory.