Fired up Demons in the district hunt
Keep your focus on the license plate, coach.
We’ll do the looking ahead and you keep doing all the real work.
If you haven’t given The New Mexican’s weekly sports podcast Notes From the North a listen, you may enjoy this week’s sit-down with Capital football coach Bill Moon. He talks about his team’s win over Albuquerque Del Norte last week, shares some of his colorful backstory, and even laments the fact that everyone in town wants to skip ahead a week for a winner-take-all scenario in District 2/6-5A in next week’s regular season finale between his Jaguars and Santa Fe High.
That’s where the whole license plate analogy comes in. When you’re stuck in the mud and trying push your car out, Moon said a smart person always stares at the plate and keeps pushing. Welp, how ’bout the rest of us look ahead then?
Good stuff, but certainly the kind of stuff that will get exponentially better if both city teams take care of business in what amounts to the most entertaining weekend of high school football so far this season.
Here’s a thumbnail glance at the games you should care about:
Friday ABQ. DEL NORTE (2-6, 0-1 IN DISTRICT 2/6-5A) AT SANTA FE HIGH (4-4, 1-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last week: Santa Fe High beat Los Alamos, 55-28, up on the hill; Del Norte lost 20-13 at home to Capital.
Outlook: Oh, look, the Demons discovered some offense last week! More than 500 yards’ worth in their highest-scoring game in seven years. Replicating those numbers against a Del Norte defense that has played well in four of the last five games won’t be easy, but there’s no denying that the explosion against the Hilltoppers was fun to watch.
Del Norte’s offense is carried by junior RB Isaiah Ortiz, an all-purpose runner who is on pace for an 1,800-yard season. He did plenty of damage in last week’s loss to Capital so it’s basically as simple as this: Hold Ortiz to a pedestrian (by his standards) 100-ish yards and the chances of another win rise exponentially.
It’s been a wild year for the Demons, the state’s feel-good story with a 3-1 record out of the gate, three soul-crushing losses immediately following, then the eruption against Los Alamos. Now just two wins away from a district title, this game represents the latest Super Bowl for a team that is as exciting to watch as it is to cover.
The favorite: Santa Fe High by 2.
Why: The Knights are fighting for their playoff lives, but the Demons are a team reborn. Home field advantage stands for something, as does a healthy dose of momentum.
CAPITAL (4-3, 1-0 IN 2/6-5A) AT LOS ALAMOS (3-5, 0-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last week: Capital went on the road and beat Del Norte, 20-13; Los Alamos lost big at home to Santa Fe High, 55-28.
Outlook: Scoff at a win over a 2-win team if you want, but beating Del Norte on the road was the shot heard ‘round the district. It put the Jaguars firmly on a path for a state playoff berth, one they’ll virtually nail down with a win against the Hilltoppers regardless of what happens in the season finale.
At this point it’s no surprise what Capital is. The offense is the two-headed monster of RBs Luke Padilla and Gio Muñoz assuming (all together now) they remain healthy. What’s more, the Jaguars are a physical defensive team with three shutouts to their credit. They’ve given up fewer points than all but three teams in Class 5A.
Quarterback Jose Salazar and RB James Rodriguez do most of the heavy lifting for the Los Alamos offense. Although not built for the forward pass, the unit had some success airing it out in the loss to Santa Fe High. Expect more of the same in this one if Capital’s run-stuffing defense has its way in the first half.
The favorite: Capital by 16.
Why: With all due respect to the other teams in 2/6-5A, the Jaguars are the best team in the district. Their biggest obstacle between them and a district title is themselves. Wow, Moon is going to hate that synopsis.
ST. MICHAEL’S (4-3, 2-0 IN 2-3A) AT LAS VEGAS ROBERTSON (7-1, 2-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last week: St. Michael’s beat visiting West Las Vegas, 27-19; Robertson had the week off.
Outlook: Remember how everyone was so quick to write the Horsemen off after an 0-3 start, questioning everything from their lack of a running game to a porous offensive line? Of course you do. So does everyone else.
Well surprise, surprise. St. Mike’s is back with a four-game winning streak and finds itself just one win away from taking the 2-3A race by the neck and shoving it into a neat little gift box that reads, “District Champs.” The only thing standing in the way is the same team that tore their hearts out in the playoffs last year.
Robertson got the wake-up call it needed with a month ago with its loss at home to Socorro. All the Cards have done since is average 49 points and win each of their last three games by six touchdowns. What The Horsemen are to throwing the ball, Robertson is to running it behind QB Matthew Gonzales and RBs Santiago Gonzales and Antonio Padilla.
The favorite: Robertson by 3.
Why: These teams have met 12 times this decade, including twice in the playoffs. While the Horsemen (bulletin board material in 3-2-1…) have fared well on the road in this rivalry, the Cards are the team to beat until proven otherwise.
TAOS (4-4, 2-1 IN 2/5-4A) AT POJOAQUE VALLEY (2-5, 0-2)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Last week: Taos beat visiting Abq. St. Pius, 21-19; Pojoaque lost 52-0 at Bernalillo.
Outlook: When it gets right down to it, last week’s win against Pius was all the defending state champs needed to get back into the playoffs. The Tigers can only up their stock from here, given this visit to struggling Pojoaque and what amounts to next week’s battle for second place against Bernalillo.
Taos looked like a rudderless ship during a disastrous four-game skid in which it scored just 34 points and was shut out twice. The Tigers have answered it with two straight wins behind QB Noah Armijo and an offense that is clearly still evolving.
Pojoaque’s promising start — the Elks were one snap away from starting 2-0 — has given way to a tough road. They’ve been outscored 161-0 the last three games and had a hard time stopping opponents from unleashing one big play after another. That’s not good considering Armijo’s ability to stretch the field with a vertical passing game.
The favorite: Taos by 20.
Why: The Elks haven’t scored a point in a month. Chances are they’ll get on the board here, but it won’t be enough.