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Third-year coach at Sant Indian School still buildi team, pushing players t
Building a program takes time and patience, and Carl Vigil considers himself a man who has a little bit of both. A little bit, not a lot. Entering his third season as the head football coach at Santa Fe Indian School, he has spent the last two years trying to instill a culture of commitment, of an unshakable work ethic, of trusting the process both on and off the field.
“Some of these guys have had traditional things going on in their lives and, a lot of times, I’d hear about it the day before they’d disappear for a week,” he says. “I respect that, but I’m trying to do away with hearing about things at the last second. It’s hard to plan anything when one day you have your guys and the next some of them are gone. If they can commit to a routine and be here when they have to be, we’ll be OK. We’re getting there.”
Vigil’s first year produced a 2-8 campaign as he tried to get things done his way. Last year started with four straight wins despite a revolving door at quarterback. It ended with six straight losses and a no-show for the postseason.
Now a member of Class 3A after the NMAA’s latest realignment, SFIS is still in the same basic surroundings as it was last year in 4A. District rivals remain perennial powers Las Vegas Robertson and St. Michael’s, as well as West Las Vegas and district newcomer Raton.
“The changes didn’t make things any easier, I guess,” Vigil says, “but I love this team’s heart. That’s the one thing I like more than anything about this group. These guys, the ones who are here and showing up to practices almost every day, they play with a sense of heart I think we haven’t had before.”
It starts with senior Terrell Toledo, perhaps the team’s best athlete and certainly one of its fastest. He’s the heart and soul of the defense, filling the gap at middle linebacker. What the quarterback is to the offense, Toledo is on the other side of the ball.
“If we can keep him on the field, I like what we can do,” Vigil says.
While the Braves may have heart, they don’t have a great deal of size. Most of the skill players check in at 150 pounds or less, and the line is lucky to have more than a player or two threatening the plus-side of 200.
Senior Zachery Sandoval anchors the offensive line whose projected starting rotation has four freshmen or sophomores. On a good day, Sandoval weighs 180 pounds.
“There’s really not a lot we can do about the line,” Vigil says. “Some of the seniors we had coming back decided not to come out, so we had to get younger and give these guys a chance.”
Anders Pecos returns at running back. A starter last year, he will get the bulk of the carries behind a new face at QB, junior Shaun Riley.
A newcomer to the sport this time last year, Riley never saw himself as a quarterback. He was a skill guy at heart and fancied himself as a receiver, running back or cornerback. He’ll start under center and as a hybrid linebacker/defensive back.
He earned the top spot on offense by virtue of his quickness — and the fact that he can throw the ball extremely well for a player his size. He’s listed at 5-foot-6 and 140 pounds, but appears smaller than that. Still, he’s accurate with his throws and has the ability to buy time by scrambling out of pressure.
“He’s really surprised me in a lot of ways,” Vigil said. “He never expressed an interest in quarterback, and now look at him.”
With time, the Braves could threaten .500 and perhaps make a push for the playoffs. With patience, the offense could break through and be as exciting as Vigil thinks it can be.
With the season opener just a few days off, it’s time for patience and time to go out the window — and the Braves know that.
“I know everyone says this, but I do like my team,” Vigil says.
TEAM NOTES
Road work: The Braves open the season on the road Thursday against Cuba. The game was originally slated for the SFIS campus but was moved as work crews plan to repair damage to a flooded area immediately north of the football field. That area, which is between the service road and the outer edge of the track, was damaged by recent heavy rains.
Work will also be done on the artificial turf football field. Crews will add more rubber pellets to make the surface softer. Vigil said he hopes the repairs will be done in time for the Aug. 30 home opener against Pojoaque Valley.
New lids: SFIS is following the recent trend of other local teams (West Las Vegas and Pojoaque Valley) by switching to white helmets. The Braves will wear all white on the road. They’ll wear garnet jerseys with white pants at home.
“The coaches and I messed around with a
SANTA FE INDIAN SCHOOL BRAVES
Last year: 4-6 overall, 0-6 in District 2-4A Head coach: Carl Vigil (third season) Key players: Terrell Toledo, senior, 5-foot-6, 130 pounds, WR/LB; Shaun Riley, junior, 5-6, 140, QB/CB; Anders Pecos, senior, 5-7, 150, RB/ LB; Izell Latoma, junior, 5-7, 180, FB/LB; Zachery Sandoval, senior, 5-8, 180, OL/DL; Nashone Yazzie, senior, 5-10, 230, OL/DL; Eilan Tosa, junior, 5-11, 190, TE/DL; Julian Martinez, soph., 5-6, 150, WR/DB. Outlook: The Braves caught lightning in a bottle a year ago, starting 4-0 before district play. That fell apart with a brutal run through district that led to six straight losses. That same scenario could play itself out again as the Braves will likely be favored in all (or most) of their nondistrict contests before a rough four-game stint in the new 2-3A alignment. The team will use that time to break in a new offense, one that will allow the speed of WR Terrell Toledo and power of RB Anders Pecos do work in the passing game behind an extremely young line. All but one of the projected OL starters are freshmen or sophomores, putting all the more pressure on new starting QB Shaun Riley.
2018 SCHEDULE
Friday — at Cuba, 7 p.m. Aug. 30 — Pojoaque Valley, 7 p.m. Sept. 8 — at McCurdy, 1 p.m. Sept. 21 — at Zuni, 7 p.m. Sept. 27 — Thoreau, 6 p.m. Oct. 5 — at Robertson-x, 7 p.m. Oct. 13 — at St. Michael’s-x, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 18 — Raton-x, 7 p.m. Oct. 25 — West Las Vegas-x, 7 p.m. x-denotes District 2-3A opponent
few ideas and we kind of considered going to a gold [helmet],” Vigil said. “The players really like the white and, really, the logo just kind of pops. It’s a good look, I think.”