TAOS, POJOAQUE VALLEY
Ready to take on a new year
After several years of being eliminated in the first round of the state football playoffs, Taos High School took it a step farther last season.
“We had a great season,” coach Art Abreu said. “We went far beyond our initial expectations of what we had at the beginning of the season.”
The Tigers made it to the quarterfinals in 2017. All of that is nice, but doesn’t mean a whole lot as the summer of preparation for a new season heats up.
“We had to quickly put that season behind us and concentrate on the 2018 Tigers,” Abreu said. “Success from winning doesn’t roll over. Working every day, perfecting our fundamentals and really getting prepared for a tough 2018 season is what we need to do.”
The bottom line, however, is the Tigers almost certainly will be among the favorites to have a long playoff run in the revamped Class 4A, although Abreu is doing his best to keep his players focused on immediate goals rather than longrange ones.
“The expectation for this year is to be better today than what we were yesterday,” he said. “We’re taking this season game by game, maxing out the potential of the Taos Tigers football team week by week.”
That doesn’t mean Abreu isn’t harboring some long-range goals of his own.
“Obviously, our goal is to win state and win district,” he said. “Those are not goals for what I want today. I really want them to concentrate on the fundamentals, to progress from game to game.
“Yes, it looks awesome on paper, but you don’t get that title in July or August or September. I’m not that coach that wants to be the paper champ. I want to be that hardwood champion on Dec. 2. That’s why I wake up every day and I go to work every day.”
Abreu certainly has some exciting reasons to stay awake as he returns one of the top running backs in the class in Jonathan Garcia (5 foot, 7 inches, 165 pounds, Sr.), who rushed for 1,693 yards with 20 touchdowns and added another 18 catches for 453 yards.
A speed-burner with 4.4-second/40yard dash speed, “Jonathan means a lot to the offense,” Abreu said. “He really turned it on after the first game of the season and showed us what kind of running back he is. He can run between the tackles and he can get outside with his shiftiness and speed.”
He’ll be running behind a powerful and experienced line of Dominic Lopez (6-1, 295, Sr., OL/DL), Esteban Valerio (5-8, 200, Sr., OL/LB) and Tyler Gomez (5-10, 280, Sr., OL/DL), who all are 3-year starters, as well as former part-time starters Santiago Salazar (5-8, 210, Jr., C) and Clayton Dimas (6-1, 210, Sr., OL/DL).
Isaiah Martinez (6-3, 215, Sr., TE) becomes a matchup nightmare on the line or as a receiver.
The Tigers will be breaking in a new quarterback in Justin Good (5-9, 175, Sr.), who missed a chunk of last season with a broken collar bone.
“One thing about Justin, he’s really dedicated … to his team and his community,” Abreu said. “And … to get everybody on the same page and the understanding that yesterday is gone.”
Three-year starter Anthony Maestas (5-10, 175, Sr., WR/DB) is the leading returning wideout and, along with Garcia out of the backfield, should provide Good with ample weapons.
Now it’s a matter of building on last season.
“We have gained the confidence, so we have progressed,” Abreu said. “These guys have been with me since year one and now they’re seniors. So they should be motivated and that success last season should give them confidence so that when they enter the arena, they can hopefully get past some of the hard times and come out victorious.”