Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Tigers to host Jaguars in Valencia's first varsity gridiron contest Friday

Battle of the big cats set for 7 p.m. at LLHS's Willie Chavez Field

John Gale News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jgale@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas As Valencia High School prepares for its first-ever varsity football game, it is appropriate that it will take place in Los Lunas against the Tigers, the school from which Valencia was primarily formed.

"We're pretty excited for the kids," Valencia coach Ed Johnson said. "We look forward to that. I think it means more to the schools and the kids. It should be a great rivalry."

The game, one of Los Lunas' six home contests this year, will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday at Willie Chavez Field.

Both teams will be testing their offenses and defenses for the first time in game conditions.

Second-year head coach Denvis Manns installed a offense called "the pistol," which is modeled after the offense run by the University of Nevada.

"It fits our team a lot better, especially because we have smaller linemen," Manns said. "The offense can be exciting if everything is clicking."

Getting everything to click is something that needs a little work, Manns said, as he noted that the team's recent scrimmage revealed too many dropped passes, among other kinks that need to be worked out.

Manns has also changed the defense, moving from a 3-5 to a 4-2-5, which he says he got from the high school where he played.

Johnson said the Tigers look pretty good from what he's seen, specifically mentioning quarterback Ray Contreras and the size of Los Lunas' players in general.

Still, he expects the game to be competitive and expressed confidence in his systems.

Johnson said the Jaguars will run a traditional wishbone on offense and a defense modeled after what University of New Mexico coach Rocky Long runs for the Lobos.

"Their defense flies around," Manns said in reference to a Valencia scrimmage that he watched. "They run a 3-5 defense, which we ran last year, but I've decided to change up. They play sound football. They get after it."

Advance ticket sales will take place for the Valencia-Los Lunas High varsity football game, scheduled for Friday, Aug. 29. Tickets, which are $5 general admission and $3 for students and senior citizens, will be sold at the VHS and LLHS athletic offices on Thursday, Aug, 29, and Friday, Aug. 30, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from noon to 2 p.m. Tickets will be available at the game as well.

Valencia travels to Bernalillo for a Sept. 5 game, while the Tigers will host Valley that night.

E-mail this story Printer-friendly version