Big change in football for LLHS Tigers, BHS Eagles

While there are no guarantees when it comes to athletic competition, the football programs at Los Lunas and Belen may have received an early Christmas gift thanks to the New Mexico Activities Association.

Following a standard NMAA two-year realignment and classification review, LLHS will move from 6A to 5A, while Belen has dropped from 5A to 4A, in the same district with county rival Valencia.

The changes are contingent on an appeals hearing which was set for Wednesday, past the News-Bulletin print deadline.

LLHS will leave behind the 6A football juggernauts, which include Cleveland and La Cueva.

“The overall physical match up throughout the season is a little bit more balanced for sure,” said Greg Henington, Los Lunas coach, about the new schedule, which will be in place over the next two years.

However, Henington has already warned his players that 5A, with teams like Artesia and Roswell, is formidable.

“The top tier of 5A can beat anybody in the state and they’ve proved that in the past,” mentioning that Piedra Vissta was among the most physical teams LLHS has faced.

The Tigers will be in District 1-5A along with Cibola, Piedra Vista, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Capital, Highland, Los Alamos and Miyamura. Henington said that lineup will be “a great challenge for us.”

Artesia and Roswell, which have played each other for the 5A title each of the last three seasons, will be in District 2-5A.

“They can stay there, for now,” joked Henington.

In 4A, Belen will join Valencia in District 2-4A, along with Albuquerque Academy, Grants, Lovington, Portales, Santa Teresa and St. Pius, the 4A runner up the past two seasons.

“Our district is going to be pretty strong,” said Belen coach Kevin Peña. “Do I think we’ll be competitive? Yes.”

Another challenge for the Eagles is the road schedule.

“I do think the travel is going to be a lot different for us,” said Peña.

Previously, the Eagles played the bulk of their games in the Albuquerque-metro area.

“We could go from Lovington to Santa Teresa to Portales, or they could travel to us,” Peña said about the road ahead.

Belen and Valencia have played each other annually for the Plow Trophy in recent years while being in different classifications. Now the annual meeting will have more at stake.

“It’s going to have a lot more meaning,” said Peña about playoff implications. “It has a lot of impact for both teams.”

Valencia coach LeDarrius Cage agrees.

“I think it will make our games that much more competitive,” Cage said. “Having a crosstown rival as a district opponent is good for both schools.”

The realignment/classification review process is based on school enrollment. It will impact district pairings in non-football sports as well, although not as dramatically.

In non-football sports, BHS and VHS will move to District 6/4A, along with Albuquerque Academy, Grants and Hope Christian. Current district foes St. Pius and Highland will remain in District 5-4A.

District 5-5A will remain the same in non-football sports for Los Lunas. The Tigers are paired with Albuquerque High, Atrisco Heritage Academy, Rio Grande and West Mesa.

Bill Hays, Los Lunas Schools director of athletics, issued a statement that said, in part, “We are excited for the opportunity to compete in 5A. Los Lunas High School was very competitive (in football) at the 6A level, and we look forward to continuing that success in a new classification and district.”

As for VHS, “This is a strong and balanced district that should provide great competition for out student-athletes.”

The NMAA uses a formula based on the average school enrollment over the past 2 1/2 years to determine realignment/classification.

Hobbs has the largest enrollment in New Mexico with 2,982 students followed by Cleveland at 2,550.

Los Lunas was 20th (1,434), Belen 38th (973) and Valencia 40th with a student population of 958. Vaughn had the smallest enrollment with an average of 12 students.