Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Football teams preparing for season's second week

All 3 county squads play Friday at 7 p.m.

-Jason W. Brooks, -John Gale

From News-Bulletin reports

For the first time in Valencia County history, the first varsity football game of the year between two county teams didn't involve Belen. It was the first-year varsity of Valencia High playing at Los Lunas, with the host Tigers winning easily.

Belen, meanwhile, was on the road, running past Deming in its season opener. This week, all three county teams are hoping to get victories in their second week of play, with Valencia traveling to Bernalillo, Los Lunas hosting Valley and Belen staging its home opener against Aztec. All games are set for Friday at 7 p.m.

Belen

The Belen Eagles' first three opponents this season have nicknames from the cat family, and BHS dispatched the first of those felines last week. The Eagles (1-0) sprinted around the host Deming Wildcats, winning 35-14 in the debut of new Belen coach John Lerma.

Belen's home opener is Friday against the Aztec Tigers, a highly touted team that has scored 96 combined points in beating the Eagles in each of the last two seasons.

Next week, the Eagles host another set of Tigers, of the most familiar kind. Los Lunas plays on Belen's artificial turf for the first time on Friday, Sept. 12, in the 56th annual Valencia Bowl.

The Eagles' speed and offensive line skill were both important factors in the win at Deming. The Eagles rushed for 429 yards, with fullback Clovis Rivera running for three long touchdowns and Dylan Barba accounting for the other two Eagle scores with impressive runs of his own.

Barba, the Eagle quarterback, completed just two passes for six yards, as the Eagles' success on the ground negated much need for a passing game.

Rivera finished with an amazing 237 rushing yards, inclduing a 60-yard score. Barba finished with 137 yards, most of that on touchdown runs of 65 and 66 yards.

Daniel Jaramillo also contributed to the rushing attack, gaining 66 yards on the ground. Lerma said the Eagles' veteran offensive line helped pave the way for the team's young skill position players and control the game for Belen.

"We have a seasoned offensive line; that's one of our strengths," said Lerma. "In the first game with a young lineup, there are a lot of unknowns, but we're real pleased with how things went."

Deming coach Fernando Holguin, who has 42 returning lettermen and 20 seniors on his team this year, said before the game that the Eagles' athleticism was a concern.

"Belen has a good team; they look very athletic," said Holguin.

The Eagles have about 17 seniors of their own, though many are first-year starters. Belen will have to play very smart defense to slow down Aztec, a team that reached the Class 4A state semifinals in 2007 and looks nearly as strong this year.

Belen gave up the last 34 points of a 60-26 loss at Aztec last year, and surrendered 36 consecutive points to the Tigers in a 36-14 loss in Belen in 2006.

"They're a complete ball club," said Lerma, who traded tapes of week one with Aztec coaches. "They're real impressive. Their offense spreads the field and has a huge line, and their defense really gets to the football quick."

Aztec shellacked Santa Fe on Friday night, 56-6, shutting out the Demon offense on its home field and moving the ball basically at will. Tiger quarterback Brycson King, a sophomore, threw for 343 yards and hurled touchdown passes of 59 and 73 yards.

"They constantly attack," said Lerma of the style of Aztec coach Brad Hirsch and his team. "They look for the big play, and they take what you give them."

The big-play aptitude sounds a little like the Belen offense's ability, but few teams have offensive line size like the Tigers. Aztec running back Mike Hathcock rushed for 134 yards on only 16 carries against Santa Fe.

"We 're going to use various blitz schemes," said Lerma. "We've got to pressure them and their quarterback. We're not going to stop them, we just want to slow them down."

Belen will faces just as big a challenge on the other side of the ball, as the Eagles face a Tiger team that forced Santa Fe to punt six times in the first half. Aztec didn't allow the Demons across midfield until just before halftime.

Given the scoring ability of the Aztec offense, Lerma doesn't want the Eagles to try to outgun the visitors. More of a ball control style from the Eagle offense is likely to be the most effective. "We don't want to get into a shootout with them," Lerma said. "That wouldn't be conducive for us. We haven't shown all the wrinkles of our offense yet."

Los Lunas

Denvis Manns knows his team could have easily dominated its initial meeting with Valencia even more than it did.

Winning 27-8, the Class 5A Tigers (1-0) were held back by penalties, two turnovers and some sloppy defense, facing a Class 4A team fielding a small varsity roster for the first time.

"We need to play smarter football than that," said Manns. "The effort level was there, but we need to play smart. We need to execute our calls better, and we need to cut our mistakes in half."

This week, the Tigers are at home again, but probably against a team with better firepower than their first opponent. The Valley Vikings not only have an arsenal, they may have the chip on their shoulder this week after being humbled on Saturday in a 42-14 loss to Eldorado.

The Vikings (0-1) managed 209 passing yards against Eldorado, but much of that was on two long touchdowns. The Eagles held Valley, a playoff team in 2007, to minus-13 yards rushing on 24 carries, and intercepted Viking quarterbacks three times.

Valley's veteran quarterback, Josh Garcia, left the Eldorado game with an injury, but later returned. Manns said containing the Viking quarterback, not letting him outside the pocket, will be a key.

"Their offense has speed and some height, and they run a spread offense with two and three receivers to a side," Manns said. "The score doesn't really say anything; they've got some good athletes. Their running back is kind of shifty, too."

Manns said defensive end Alex Rasp is doubtful for Friday's game with an ankle injury, while defensive tackle Nelson Moreno is day-to-day with a similar injury.

The Tigers play at Belen on Friday, Sept. 12, in the 56th annual Valencia Bowl.

Valencia

The Jaguars probably know what areas to improve on after their varsity-debut loss at Los Lunas, especially on offense. Valencia had trouble with Los Lunas' pass rush, which led to several sacks and two safeties.

They also had trouble with turnovers, fumbling away the ball three times and throwing an interception.

Still, they were able to get 10 first downs, the same number as Los Lunas, and Curtis Peralta was a bright spot for the team late, catching a 30-yard touchdown and taking a direct snap in for a two-point conversion.

Valencia's Friday opponent, Bernalillo, might be just what the Jaguars need as a remedy. The Class 4A Spartans rarely fielded a competitive team before moving up from Class 3A two years ago, and haven't done much better since. Bernalillo lost to a 3A team, Hatch Valley, at home by a 19-15 score on Friday.

The Jaguars travel to Estancia on Sept. 12 to take on the Class 2A Bears.

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