Ad
Mike Powers
The best laid plans of mice and Mike often go awry. This slight alteration of the Robert Burns poem fits well for what turned out to be a freaky Friday on high school football’s opening night.
This would be tricky. Belen, Los Lunas and Valencia all had home games. How does a one-person sports department cover all three? With a brilliant strategy, of course. Well, not exactly. As the poem says, the best laid plans ...
Following much thought, the scheme came into place. With construction around Los Lunas stadium, the Tigers showdown against Roswell would be the starting place. If arriving mid-game, who knows where I would end up parking?
After getting a few good pictures, a trip down the interstate to Belen and the Eagles’ game against Bloomfield would be next. I’d try to get there before halftime, catch some action and then point Jill (my much-loved, much-used Escape) toward the Manzanos and Kirtland Central at Valencia.
Brilliant. Until it wasn’t. I arrived in Los Lunas at 5:30 p.m., well before the 7 p.m. kickoff, so I could park in the front row and get a light pregame meal nearby.
Parking didn’t seem to be a problem. Neither did the new clear bag policy instituted by Los Lunas Schools. As the game started, I found myself a bit rusty taking photographs, not anticipating well or being in the right position.
After each team had one possession, the public address announcer declared, “Valencia now leads 20-7.” What? How can that be? The game started at 7 p.m., didn’t it? Panicked, I called Juanita Sanchez, LLS athletic specialist for VHS, to find out what was the deal.
Sanchez said the game was moved up an hour several weeks ago at the request of Kirtland Central. The time was updated on the recent schedule, but I just assumed it was still at 7 p.m. What do they say if you “assume” something?
Change in plans. Valencia would be my second stop. While hustling through the LLHS parking lot, the loudspeaker blared, “Kaiden Reese goes all the way for a Tiger touchdown.” It would have been nice to have seen it.
Ad
While leaving for VHS, I called Clara Garcia, editor/publisher of the News-Bulletin, who was taking pictures at the Belen game just in case my plan got screwed up. Clara said her game was in a lightning/rain delay, and as she looked east, she was confident bad weather would avoid Valencia. Clara is a great journalist but a lousy weathercaster.
As soon as we hung up, the phone rang. It was Manny Perea in the press box at VHS with breaking news that the Jaguars-Broncos were also delayed.
Upon arrival at Valencia, students were hanging out in the parking lot as lightning crackled in the distance. As I walked into the stadium, an officer’s radio crackled; the game was called off.
After a quick interview, and a free hot dog from a kind student, it was off to the Hub City. With a view from the llano, there was a spectacular, almost apocalyptic, lightning performance over Belen. Clearly, another contest would bite the dust.
The string of car lights heading out of the parking lot proved my prediction correct. Game over.
Another quick interview was followed by a conversation with Stephanie Jaramillo, LLHS athletic specialist, who said the Tigers’ game also ended early. Still, I mushed on to Los Lunas to conduct another interview and complete the circle.
With my work done, it was time to head home, confident I would be ready for when all three schools play at home again Oct. 4. As I trudged across the 40-yard line, the stadium lights were turned off. A fitting end to the night.
