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No. 1 ranked Robertson in 4A is undefeated in seven starts, the Horsemen are 6-1, while Capital is home to Espanola in District 2-5A, and SF High home to Clovis
By ARNIE LESHIN, Santa Fe Today
Now a senior, Arjay Ortiz has been nothing but a nuisance against St. Michael’s.
Not only as a menace as the versatile quarterback, but in last year’s state track and field championships, he held off determined Horsemen senior Esteban Alcaraz to win the 300-meter hurdles. It was Alcaraz’ last chance at winning state but Ortiz took the early lead and maintained it as Alcaraz finished second.
In last year’s District 2-4A football contest at St. Michael’s, the underdog Horsemen held their own until the final minutes when the 6-foot-2, 160-pound Ortiz outmaneuvered the frustrated defense by racing for back-to-back touchdowns. On one, he actually went sideline to sideline and into the end zone as defenders reached, slipped and failed to touch him.
Now the two teams match up again tonight in Las Vegas, the Cardinals are ranked No. 1 in 4A and undefeated in seven starts. The Horsemen are ranked No. 2 and have won six of seven.
“We have to find a way to contain him, slow him down, or he’s going to again frustrate us,” St. Michael’s head coach Joey Fernandez said in regard to Ortiz.
Ortiz hasn’t slowed down. He has passed for nine touchdowns on 43-of-94 throws for 841 yards. He has rushed for 18 TDs and has piled up 1,042 yards along the ground. He has put together 176 total points on offense.
He also starts on defense at safety. He has 18 solo tackles and 12 assisted. He is one of a number of Cards who excel on the other side of the ball.
Three have 51 total tackles each, with senior Darian Duran recording 25 solos and 26 assisted, sophomore Estevan Marquez with 23 solos and 25 assisted, and senior Juan Marcos Dominguez making 29 assisted to go with 22 solos.
Sophomore Antonio Padilla is also a two-way weapon. He is second to Ortiz on offense with five touchdowns running the ball, and three via pass receptions. On defense, he has made 18 solo tackles and 14 assisted.
Robertson has won the last three meetings, and the Horseman won three in a row before that. In a dozen regular-season tussles since 2004, the Cardinals have won eight. The two have also split a pair of playoff games. St. Michael’s has won state five times, Robertson has won three.
As well as trying to contain Ortiz, the Horsemen will probably go again to their pass-rush offense. They have a talented quarterback in senior Antonio Galaldon and he has a strong arm. He has a number of key receivers, but senior Joey Fernandez, Jr., is his pet target.
The line play has been solid, and that’s why the running game has picked up. Fernandez is the leading ball carrier along with senior Miguel Monotya. Versatile junior Luke Kastendicek is equally adept at carrying the ball and catching it. He good hands and speed. Senior Shawn Roybal is also a threat on offense.
The only tough contest for the Cards was the 13-12 opener against Estancia. The only setback for the Horsemen came at Moriarty. The biggest triumph came at home against then top-ranked Portales, 21-20. Not counting this season, Robertson has gone 32-5 over the last three years.
At Capital High tonight, Espanola Valley comes to town. While the Jaguars (3-4 overall, 1-0 in district) are now favored to win District 2-5A and automatically qualify for the state tournament, the Sundevils have had their woes and come in at 2-5 overall and 0-1 in district.
In district play, Capital has beaten Albuquerque Del Norte on the road and Espanola has lost 40-20 at home to Albuquerque Academy.
Since 2004, the Sundevils have beaten the Jags once, that being 26-24 in their best-ever 2015 campaign when they went 9-2, won district and lost at home in the opening round to Farmington. In fact, the only district team that impressed in the first round of the playoffs has been Capital in its one-point defeat at Roswell Goddard that same year.
Present Jaguar head coach Bill Moon, who began the program in 1988, was in the same role at Espanola in 2008 and 2009.
Under him, Capital has been an improving program, with a big win this season over Moriarty at home. But the Sundevils have had eight losing seasons to go with a pair of .500 campaigns. They have gone 0-10 three times.
It’s a weak district that will have only its champion heading to state, which makes the Jags looking good after winning at Del Norte. There’s not a school in the district above .500. Academy has been up and down, as has been Los Alamos. In all its meetings with Espanola, only the 13-6 win in 2012 was close, as was the two-point lone Sundevil victory.
The Jaguars have won via routs of 50-0, 49-0, and have scored over 50 points four times.
But this is when the past doesn’t figure. The ball takes funny bounces and it’s Capital’s game to lose, which doesn’t figure on its home field.
Meanwhile, winless Santa Fe High concludes its independent schedule when 6A rival Clovis visits tonight. The Wildcats are 5-2 and are in District 2 with the Demons, except that this contest falls into the category of non district for both schools.
Santa Fe High, under first-year head coach Andrew Martinez, has lost 32 in a row, has not won since shutting down Los Alamos, 50-0, in 2014, and the independent slate has been surprisingly tough and the Demons have lost all eight outings.
