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Key district weekend match-ups in at Milne Stadium

By Arnie Leshin
Santa Fe High and Capital hit the road this weekend in key district match-ups, Santa Fe Indian School gets its first true test, as does Raton, both in district play, and St. Michael’s travels to play El Paso Cathedral.
That’s the way the football bounces Friday and Saturday. For the 5-1 Demons, they play Albuquerque Sandia (1-4) in their third DIstrict 5-6A game after losing to Albuquerque Eldorado at Milne Stadium and getting past windless Albuquerque Manzano at home. So this one is important, it keeps Santa Fe High in quest of a post-season berth.
In front in this district is 5-1 Albuquerque La Cueva, Eldorado is 4-2, Albuquerque High is 2-3, then comes Sandia and Manzano, and Clovis has lost its four starts. After Friday night‘s game at Milne Stadium, the Demons are home to Clovis, at La Cueva, and home to Albuquerque High.
The Matadors are not as good as Eldorado, but better than Manzano. They opened with a 47-13 non-district win at Albuquerque Valley, then lost four in a row, 42-21 at Centennial, 26-16 at West Mesa, 35-0 at La Cuvea, and finally a game at home that resulted in 47-28 setback to Albuquerque Volcano Vista.
They have scored 16 touchdowns and 13 by three players. Junior quarterback  Gerald Lujan has tallied five, junior running back Malachi Thymes has scored five, and senior wide receiver Dalton Reis has added three. Lujan also takes some turns as a receiver.
Santa Fe High head coach Andrew Martinez is hoping for a big night versus the Matadors. He seeks a win here, a win against Clovis, a probably defeat against La Cueva, and a toss-up versus Albuquerque High. In his fifth season with the Demons, Martinez’ main quest is making it to the playoffs.
The 5-foot-7, 150-pound Thymes leads in all-purpose yards with 421 rushing and 60 receiving. He has run the ball 55 times. Spies goes 6-0, 170 and has caught 20 of 30 passes. Lujan, at 6-2, 180, has connected on 42 of 83 for 532 yards, and has been intercepted three times.
Capital follows Santa Fe High to Milne Stadium with a Saturday afternoon, 1 o’clock kickoff against windless Albuquerque Rio Grande in District 5-5A. The Jaguars coached by Joaquin (Wax) Garcia are 2-3 overall.
Raton is 6-0 overall and plays its District 2-3A opener at undefeated West Las Vegas Friday night. The Tigers have gotten by via wins over all 2A schools so far, and playing on the road against the experienced Dons is a tough task.
Indian School, under new head coach Bill Moon, has been a real surprise by winning five of six outings, the only loss at Pojoaque Valley, but Robertson will be an even bigger test as the Braves begin their district run. The Cardinals are 5-1 and behind St. Michael’s, Raton, Socorro in the state 3A rankings. WLV is fourth at 5-0.
Farmington is 6-0, second in 5A behind also-unbeaten Los Lunas, and should have no problem turning back Los Alamos (2-3) up on the hill Friday night. Pojaoque Valley (3-1) gets a visit from Albuquerque Hope Christian (3-3) on Saturday afternoon, 1 o’clock, in what figures to be a close one.
In El Paso, St. Michael’s is now 4-1 overall and figures to see an improved Cathedral team over the one it disposed of last season in Santa Fe.The Fighting Irish are 4-1, with the only defeat coming 54-7 against visiting El Paso Riverside. They have turned back Tornillo, 54-0, Fabrens 10-6, Anthony 20-19, and San Elizario, 35-14.
They do have size, with six eight players listed over 200 pounds, three over 250, and the big guy is 6-3, 325-point senior Robert Almanzan who plays defensive tackle and nose guard. And they have seven coaches.

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