Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Jaguars got good turnout, but same result

VHS hosts Belen on Friday at 7 p.m.

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

Tomé With their new field underneath their feet for a game for the first time and the roar of the crowd in the background, the Valencia Jaguar football team christened its new on-campus field Friday by hosting Albuquerque Academy.

Unfortunately for the Jaguars, the visiting Chargers scored on the game's first play from scrimmage and dominated the entire contest, sending the first-year varsity of the Jaguars to an 0-5 record with a 48-6 decision.

"We just don't know how to handle adversity yet," said Valencia coach Ed Johnson on Friday. "I'm surprised and disappointed. I thought we'd have about three wins by now."

The Jaguars, who host the Belen Eagles this Friday at 7 p.m., had to wait an extra week for their new field to be approved, and played a Sept. 18 game against Socorro at Los Lunas High. After taking the first opening kickoff at VHS on Friday, the Class 3A Chargers (2-2) promptly scored the first Valencia County points east of the Rio Grande on a 70-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Clauss to Thomas Lowe.

Valencia swapped a few scoreless possessions with the Chargers throughout the first quarter, trailing only 7-0 after one period. But the Jaguar blocking wasn't good enough to sustain drives, and though the Jags pressured Clauss at times, he had an easy time completing passes.

Clauss, who was 8-of-11 for 271 yards with no interceptions in the game, threw for three touchdowns, including a 72-yard bomb down the right sideline to Jarred Border early in the second quarter. Two touchdown runs by Academy made the score 27-0.

Valencia played with its fourth quarterback in the last three games, giving Alfredo Rendon the call. Rendon only completed one of his 16 pass attempts, but he did have a 40-yard scoring run with 3:03 left in the half for his team's only points of the night. The two-point conversion failed.

Orey Feerer, the Jaguar quarterback who suffered a concussion two weeks ago, returned to action, but he punted, returned punts and played defense in Friday's contest, which also served as Valencia's Homecoming game.

Down 27-6 at the half, the Jaguars seemed to get some momentum out of stopping a third-quarter Academy that began in great field position. But an interception returned for a touchdown by the Chargers' Zennon Demeter seemed to crush that momentum.

Academy scored on another pass from Clauss to Border, and on the ensuing extra point kick, Valencia's Orlando Ortiz crashed into a teammate and didn't get up.

Ortiz was removed from the field on a backboard and taken by ambulance to an Albuquerque hospital, but he was able to attend school Monday.

"We were able to capitalize on a few weaknesses, but those young (Valencia) kids don't quit," said Academy coach Kevin Carroll, whose team only had about 20 players in uniform. "They've got good football athletes, and they've got an absolutely beautiful field."

Johnson said more repetitions, more practice is what his team needs.

"A lot of breaks haven't gone our way," said Johnson. "We cut down on our time in the weight room to focus on grades, but we're already facing teams that are bigger and faster."

After Friday's matchup with Belen, the Jaguars face St. Pius in a Saturday, Oct. 11 game at Milne Stadium.

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