Northern N.M. district outlook
Here is the outlook for Northern New Mexico teams for the 2017 season:
District 2-6A
The Demons have something they didn’t in 2016 — seniors. A team of mostly juniors and sophomores now becomes a team of mainly upperclassmen competing in perhaps the toughest district in 6A (Albuquerque La Cueva is defending champion and Sandia was a state semifinalist). Junior striker Matt Hunter and senior midfielder Erick Sanchez will be counted upon to provide the usual scoring punch, and Santa Fe High hopes that maturation will help turn some losses into wins. The Demons earned their first district win last year (over Albuquerque Manzano), and the plan is to contend for a playoff spot.
District 2-5A
What was said last year can be said again this year: Two-time defending 5A champion Albuquerque Academy is the team to beat in the district and the state. Can Los Alamos or Capital provide a challenge? The Chargers might have lost the Touche brothers (Alexander and Charles), but they rarely lack for talent. The Hilltoppers have the squad to upend Academy, led by junior Arthur Steinkamp, senior Tristan Smelsberger and 10 other seniors. Seniors and sophomores dominate Capital’s roster, but who will pick up the scoring slack after losing Victor Lozoya and Jonathan Pena to graduation? That might make the Jaguars the dark horse in this three-team race, but there is no doubt these three programs are among the best in Class 5A.
District 1-1A/4A
Desert Academy, removed from the behemoths in District 2-1A/4A, won its first district title, but ran into a formidible foe in first-year Tierra Encantada. While the Wildcats lost key players to graduation, they return juniors Sebastian Pearson-Kramer and Cole Sullivan plus sophomore forward Ryan Harvey. If sophomore Milan Brkic can settle into his role minding the net, Desert Academy might continue
its run. As for the Alacranes, they return almost everybody from last year’s team, including a loaded junior class. The challenge for Tierra Encantada, as it was last year, is scheduling matches (just 10 matches in 2016) and finding a field on which to play and practice.
District 2-1A/4A
Santa Fe Prep is the clear frontrunner in the district, and the Blue Griffins have a good shot at repeating as state champion. A balanced, senior-heavy lineup will lead the way, with Harrison Tranor being a key cog. The potential loss of Harrison Miller will hurt, but the Blue Griffins have the depth to overcome it. Monte del Sol breaks in a new head coach in Fritz Rothdach, but the Dragons lost most of their scoring punch to graduation and will rely heavily on a sophomore group. St. Michael’s also is in transition because of the loss of several players who were dismissed from the school last year, which put the brakes on head coach Mike Feldewert’s rebuilding project.
Taos and Las Vegas Robertson relied on youth last year, and both teams should improve with maturation. The Tigers return freshman Teva Leshem and junior Skyler Magee, while the Cardinals will rely on junior T.J. Trujillo for the scoring (25 goals in 2016) and Blaze Payne in net. Pojoaque Valley was a hard-luck team last season, losing six matches by a goal and playing four overtime matches —two of which ended in ties. Senior Aaron Cueller will provide needed senior leadership for a team that returns mostly sophomores and freshmen. Questa continues its quest as the one of the smallest 1A/4A schools trying to compete with schools at least twice its size. The Wildcats will continue to share athletes with the football team, and a mostly junior- and sophomore-dominant team will try to improve upon last year’s 3-14 mark.