Jamboree a draw for most schools
Let’s start with cross-country (since we’ve basically neglected it for most of the year). This week’s Rio Rancho Jamboree will attract most of the state’s crosscountry programs as they get a look at the state championship course three weeks before they get to run it. As popular the meet has become, it doesn’t register as even a blip on the radar screen of perhaps the two premier programs in the state.
You will not see Los Alamos or Albuquerque Academy running the course Saturday, although they might be watching it. Los Alamos co-head coach Kathy Hipwood said the program has not gone to the meet for several years, mainly because it comes at the wrong time for her runners. Los Alamos plays host to its own Los Alamos Invitational on Oct. 27, then come the district and state meets, so the Hilltoppers and Lady Hilltoppers take this week off.
It’s a well-deserved break considering how well the boys and girls are competing. The teams are matching each other, trophy for trophy, over the past three weeks. The boys and girls each finished second at the Academy’s meet on Sept. 27, recorded seconds at the Pat Amato Classic in Northglenn, Colo., a week later, then won the Northern New Mexico Challenge on Friday.
As for Academy, it opted to hold a trimeet at its place Friday.
There was a welcome sight on the far sideline at the Christian Brothers Athletic Complex during Saturday’s football game between St. Michael’s and visiting Santa Fe Indian School.
The Braves had 32 players in uniform for the game, won handily by the Horsemen, 54-7. It’s the most crowded the SFIS roster has been for a varsity game in at least a couple of years, said assistant coach Jonathan Toya.
While it’s a stretch to see the Braves are in contention for a playoff bid, the fact is this: The future for Santa Fe’s oftoverlooked football program is bright, given the fact that just three seniors dot the starting lineup.
You’ve heard of wardrobe malfunctions (thanks, Janet Jackson) and now, courtesy of some painting problems, there are field malfunctions.
Speaking of Saturday’s St. Michael’s-
Santa Fe Indian football game, it was hard not to notice how the yardage indicators on the west side of the field had arrows painted on both sides of the numbers.
Those arrows are supposed to point one way; toward the end zone closest to them. It’s a TV gimmick to help people sitting at home to tell what part of the field the ball is in. For people actually in the stadium it’s basically pointless since, you know, all it takes is a look down at the field to tell which side of the 50 the ball is on.
In this case, the St. Michael’s grounds crew tried to cover their painting-outside-the-lines miscue by spraying a layer of green over the arrows. It didn’t really work but, honestly, it wasn’t an issue. Not once did it confuse the players into running the wrong way.
Just to continue piling on about how bad District 2-5A is in football, the Los Alamos Hilltoppers have as many wins (four) as the other three teams combined. Of course, the district has an overall record of 8-19-1, which stayed static thanks to all four teams having a bye week.
The Hilltoppers travel Saturday to Santa Fe High, which has the second best record in 2-5A at 2-5. Meanwhile, Capital has a captive audience in Santa Fe on Friday, as it plays Albuquerque Del Norte at home.
The website widely regarded as the go-to place for high school sports is MaxPreps.com. This month it posted a video showing the 10 prep football fields fans should visit.
Among them were Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas (18,000 seats for $60 million), the Stadium Bowl in Tacoma, Wash. (think Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You), and Cathy Parker Field in Barrow, Alaska (polar bears and an salt water sideline).
New Mexico was not represented on the list, not even the gold standard for what many consider the state’s best facility, the famed Bulldog Bowl in Artesia.
At least one place has gotten the attention of a Aztec head coach Matthew Steinfeldt. He recently brought his team to Ivan Head Stadium for a game against Santa Fe High. He said afterward that the Demons’ home, with its subsurface feel and open-ended view to the south, is a treasure for anyone who sees it.
“Yeah, it’s a great place. I mean, just look around,” he said. “They did it right.”
A quick look at the top goal scorers in boys soccer shows that it is heavily skewed to the North. Santa Fe High’s Matt Hunter is second in the state, regardless of class, with 25 goals. No. 4 on the list is Monte del Sol’s Moises Cerda at 21, and coming in sixth is Las Vegas Robertson’s Musah Dumbia at 20.
It should come as no surprise, then, that those three teams are a combined 30-11-1 and in position to nab state tournament berths.
You might want to hold your bets on those Lobos and Aggies games.
When Santa Ana Star Casino announced last week it would open the state’s first sports book, one of the people setting things up said people could throw money down on games involving the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State. Not so, says USBookmaking director of operations John Salerno.
Wagering on in-state games is prohibited, meaning you’ll have to look elsewhere if you want to put a few bucks on that UNMFresno State football game Saturday.