Hatch Valley Gets It Right, 4A Football Quarterfinals on Saturday

Hatch Valley gets it right after a disappointing start and brings a 6-game win streak for Saturday afternoon’s state 4A football quarterfinals at Christian Brothers Athletic Complex, kickoff 1:30

Bears are 8th seed, Horsemen are top seed on a 7-game win streak as the schools meet for the first time since 2006

By ARNIE LESHIN, Santa Fe Today

Like anything hatching, it sometimes takes awhile. In the case of the Hatch Valley High football team, it took about half the season before new head coach Louis Howell got a response.

His Bears began on the road and lost both times, 55-14 against Taos and 20-18 at Ruidoso, both schools that have joined them in the quarterfinals of the state 4A tournament. What followed was a resounding loss to No. 1 3A seed, Eunice, 41-15, in the home opener. Eunice is still undefeated and in its own quarterfinals.

Then, yippee, the scarlet and black found the win column by turning away visiting Benson, Ariz., 35-18, before being blanked 25-0 at Chaparral, which did not make the state tournament.

Then, just like that, Hatch Valley turned it around, winning its last six starts, the latest a 50-0 whooping of visiting Shiprock last Saturday afternoon in the opening round of state.

Shiprock was the 9th seed and had the better record of 8-2, but the 8th seeded Bears obviously had the better team, and it didn’t matter that the Chiefs had won four in a row. That equals 170 points scored and 48 allowed in that stretch by the Hatch youngsters. They went 4-0 in district.

So they now take a 7-4 record to top-seeded St. Michael’s (9-1) in Saturday afternoon’s 1:30 quarterfinals kickoff at the Christian Brothers Athletic Complex.

“We lost badly at Taos,” Howell said, “but should have won the game at Ruidoso. Then we met up with Eunice, and I don’t care what class it is in, they have quite a program. We then won our first game and didn’t show up at Chaparral.

“But we then found our way by growing up in those games. Now we have to figure out a way to beat a very good program, the top-seeded team, and do it on the road, so we have work ahead of us when we play St. Michael’s.”

Not only is it now chili-hot, but Hatch Valley smoked Cobre, also 50-0, in the regular-season finale. Before that, it was a 14-13 squeaker over tournament bound, District 3 foe Silver, 36-19 over Socorro, another school that made state, 28-8 versus Santa Teresa, and the 24-8 win over district opponent Hot Springs that began the turnaround.

The Bears have already proven to be tournament tough. They won the state 4A championship in 2013 and lost to Clayton in the 2015 2A final. In 2003, 04, and 05, they also won the title in 2A. They went unbeaten in 2004 and 2015, and concluded by rolling over Robertson, 17-7 in the 2015 final.

So this could be a tough task for the Horsemen, who have won seven in a row since their only loss at Moriarty, the 5th seed still in play. They turned back Portales (the 2nd seed) by a point at home, and put together an awesome second half to stun Robertson on the road. They also have district wins over West Las Vegas and Taos, both also in the quarters. They rang up a 4-0 record in district play.

So in the bottom half of the bracket, where the Tigers play at Portales and the Dons at Robertson this weekend, St. Michael’s has beaten all four. In its half of the bracket was the loss to Moriarty, but did not face Ruidoso, as these schools now meet up for the second time in two weeks. The Warriors knocked the Pintos out of the bye position by winning that game.

The Horsemen and Bears have met once. It was in the 2006 3A state quarterfinals in Santa Fe and St. Michael’s won 28-14.

The Bears do put the ball in the air, but mostly run it behind 5-foot-10, 150-pound senior Saul Trujillo. He has piled up 16 touchdowns with 232 carries for 1,362 yards. As a team, it has totaled 2,137 running yards on 428 tugs.
There’s also the threat of 5-11, 188 senior Chandler Carson, who has run for six touchdowns.

Carson and 5-9, 145 freshman Oscar Gonzales have shared the quarterbacking. Gonzales can throw the ball, but doesn’t run much. Carson is the opposite, runs the option well and has scored twice via the ground. Gonzales has tossed for four TDs and has been intercepted the same amount of times. But Carson has been picked off five times.

Trujillo is also the top receiver with 19 catches for 262 yards and two touchdowns. Carson has made 10 receptions for 119 yards and has scored twice.

The team does have a problem holding on to the ball. Trujillo has fumbled seven times and lost four. Carson has seven fumbles and five fell into the hands of the other team. Team-wise, Hatch Valley has lost 11 of 19 fumbles.
Carson is also the kicking specialist. He has made good on 19-of-20 PATs and has kicked 3-of-6 field goal attempts.

For size, the Bears have a dozen players who tip the scale at over 200 pounds, three are underclassmen who play both sides of the line in 5-10, 247 freshman Aldo Olvera, 5-10, 262 sophomore Angel Marin, and 5-10, 255 sophomore Alec Carrasco. Trujillo and Carson also have starting roles on defense, and both are experienced and quick.

It’s a team with eight seniors, nine juniors, five sophomores and 11 freshmen. The school is south of Los Lunas just off 1-25, and is about a 4-hour drive to Santa Fe. But that shouldn’t be a problem for the Bears and their fans who travel well. They’ve been in these parts before.

At this time last year, St. Michael’s was just playing out the schedule after two starters, Xavier Vigil and Pat Dalton, were knocked out for the season in the game at Moriarty. There were other injuries, but those two were the most damaging. Now, expect for bump and bruises, the Horsemen are playing to win a state championship because all the parts are there.