Saturday, August 25, 2007

LLHS football team feels it has something to prove

Tigers have already faced their share of adversity

Jason W. Brooks News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jbrooks@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas Los Lunas High School football is hoping to get hot this season, but a temperature of 138 degrees on their practice field isn't what it had in mind.

That was the measured temperature on the new synthetic turf field at Willie Chavez Stadium on Wednesday, and the mid-afternoon practice was the last in preparation for a Thursday scrimmage.

"We're getting there," said first-year head coach Denvis Manns, who was just appointed to head the Tigers a little more than a week ago. "These kids have already overcome a lot of adversity and have shown character, and when you're here to play football, you can't let things off the field affect you."

Off-the-field events in the past few months for the Tigers have included the replacement of the natural grass surface on their main field with synthetic turf, the implementation of coach Tim Garro's offense as he was moving into the offensive coordinator role, head coach Bobby Campos resigning for a job in Las Cruces, the complications in naming Campos' replacement, Garro's resignation and Manns' hiring, plus the reconfiguration of Manns' new staff.

"The defense will be about the same as it was under Bobby, but the offense will be some old stuff and some new stuff," said Manns, who was a record-setting running back at New Mexico State University in the late 1990s. "We'll have a 35 base on defense, with the fifth linebacker being a Tiger back. The offense is a little bit more up in the air."

The team won't have a great deal of returning starters when it opens the season at home against Sandia on Friday, Aug. 31, but the Tigers will have about 29 seniors and 17 returning lettermen, so maturity shouldn't be a weakness. However, LLHS is a part of District 5-5A, and all four of their district opponents have the potential to make the 12-team Class 5A playoff field.

At quarterback, the Tigers will cope with the loss of graduated senior Cooper Bowman by utilizing the talents of 6-foot-2 senior Clayton Roggy.

"Roggy's tall, and he's got a strong arm," said Manns. "Plus, he's poised in the pocket."

Roggy said sticking together is how the team has dealt with all the uncertainty this summer. He knows all that has happened with the team's coaching situation won't be in the front of anyone's mind at kickoff against Sandia.

"We'll see how well we perform against some of the best in the state," said Roggy. "We're excited; we're counting down the days."

One of Roggy's top targets might be fellow senior Marc Rodriguez, who was named All-District 5-5A honorable mention in 2006. Rodriguez, a wide receiver and defensive back, said the Tigers won't really have room for moral victories this season.

"We either step up or we don't; there's not really anything in between," said Rodriquez. "I'm looking forward to seeing how we respond to all this (adversity) on the field against teams that have had a head coach for quite a while."

Another senior, lineman Jeremy Garley, agreed unity has been a key issue in recent weeks.

"We have to stay as one," said Garley. "All five of our starting offensive lineman are seniors. Last year, we had a lot of juniors, and a lot of Albuquerque schools had a lot of seniors."

After Sandia, the Tigers host La Cueva on the new turf, something Roggy said is a huge homefield advantage for LLHS.

"Most teams will be practicing on grass, and the turf is really hot on your feet, even at night," said Roggy. "We've already gotten used to that."

Miguel Trujillo and Randy Fender were cited by players and coaches as running backs who could make an impact. Manns was down to a small coaching staff after Garro resigned, but he said several men have made themselves available to help in recent days. Larry Gallegos will take over as offensive coordinator, and he said the team is "not real big, but full of energy."

The Tigers will "run the ball some, but spread the field as well" according to Gallegos.

LLHS has a lot working against it, but that could cause teams to underestimate the Tigers. In order to overcome their stronger opponents, including 5-5A favorite Highland, LLHS will need peak performance at nearly all times.

"We don't think this is going to be a 'Chinese fire drill' like coach Garro said," said Rodriguez, referring to comments Garro made to the News-Bulletin. "Now we've got a chip on our shoulder. We're going to prove him wrong."

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