Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Jaguars, Eagles meet for first time

Eagles are 4-1, Jags looking for 1st win

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

Tomé There have been plenty of firsts for the Valencia High School athletic program in the past few years, but not many events will be seen by as many people as Friday's football game against Belen.

The 7 p.m. game at Valencia is expected to draw a large crowd, as it's the first meeting between the Jaguars and Eagles. The first encounter will be one between teams in different places, as the Eagles are coming off a huge win at Los Alamos and are 4-1, while the Jaguars are 0-5 and looking for their first varsity win in school history.

"They'll be hungry," said Belen coach John Lerma. "Our kids have to realize we need to play well. We have to arrive ready to play."

Lerma, a veteran of more than 30 years of coaching, said he's seen games that had unexpected results even when one team had a much better record.

"In high school football, anything can happen," said Lerma.

"Anything," the Jaguars hope, would include a win for them, and few things would be as sweet as getting their first victory against their neighbors to the south.

Valencia coach Ed Johnson said the Jags don't really have a single vocal or team leader, though the squad has rallied a bit around running back Juan Rodriguez.

"We haven't had the breaks," said Johnson. "After the first quarter (last Friday), it was 7-0."

Johnson is referring to Valencia's 48-6 loss to the Albuquerque Academy Chargers last week, in what was the first game played on the new VHS field. The Jaguars have gotten off to a rough start in each of their five games, and have had at least one bad quarter in each contest.

"A few times, it's been the second quarter," said Johnson. "We're just facing teams that are so much bigger and faster."

The Eagles built a lead and held on for a 43-37 win at Los Alamos on Friday. Led by bruising runs from Clovis Rivera, the Eagles have a strong running game this year, and Lerma said he expects that to continue to be the offense's meat and potatoes.

Rivera, who could probably run through a brick wall if someone built one at the 5-yard line, isn't the Eagles' only weapon. Speedy backs like Dylan Barba and Danny Jaramillo keep teams from clogging the middle, and a swarm-to-the-ball defense has been critical as well.

"As long as it's effective, we're going to do it," said Lerma regarding running the ball. "But when game situations call for balance, we have a good passing game, too."

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