Here come the 5th-seeded Colts from New Mexico Military Institute

It’s been awhile, as in 17 years when the New Mexico Military Institute high school football program piled up a school record 516 points and went undefeated in a dozen starts.

Well, time has gone by, and in fact it’s ancient history at a time when several present St. Michael’s seniors were only one year old. It was also the last time the Colts from Roswell had defeated a 3A playoff opponent until last Saturday, when at home, they bolted away to a 28-0 lead and ousted 12th-seeded Thoreau, 48-0.

Yes, it was a reminder of the past, those stellar years, as 5th-seeded NMMI takes the field Saturday afternoon in the state 3A quarterfinals to be played against 4th-seeded St. Michael’s at the Christian Brothers Athletic Complex. Kickoff time is scheduled for 1 o’clock.

These days the Colts are 8-2, with losses to 3rd-seeded Socorro and unseeded Hagerman, and what might be referred to a rather soft early schedule, that’s not all together true.

But true enough, for under head coach Randy Montoya, they did open their campaign back on Aug. 20th by visiting 2A Mescalero Apache (0-8) and carting off a 28-0 romp. Next came a visit from 2A Espanola McCurdy (3-6) and shutout time continued by overwhelming the Bobcats, 28-0.

Two weeks later, Hagerman (4-4) showed up at NMMI and left with a surprising 18-12 triumph. The vanilla schedule was still in play when the Colts hit the road for Truth or Consequences and dominated 3A Hot Springs (3-7) to the tune of 41-12.

But back came 2A again the following week when NMMI returned home to rout Loving (1-7) in a 45-0 mercy-rule final. Next came the 35-7 loss at 3rd-seeded Socorro, which was not surprising and the Colts failed their biggest test.

But then came a turnaround that came in a 17-15 tussle on the road over a usual successful 3A Dexter team.

Said Montoya: “This was big. We hadn’t beaten Dexter in five years, and hadn’t won at their place in 10 years.”

Montoya remained in the driver’s seat when his rejuvenated team disposed of visiting 3A 6th-seeded Albuquerque Hope Christian, 42-27, followed via a 42-11 success over 2A Tucumcari and the blowout win over Thoreau.

Are the Colts back? Well, they are back in the playoff hunt after some dismal years, but only time will tell. Defeating the playoff-experienced Horsemen will mean a lot, losing big will hurt. It would sure be nicer to advance to the state semifinals than packing your gear for the season in Santa Fe.

In recent times, the red-clad NMMI team has stayed with the same offense, run first, run second, and pass third, and the current version is no different as it runs the ball about 68 percent of the time.

But the option is there for Montoya’s squad with versatile junior Juan Badillo generating the offense. Wearing No. 10, he’s the most dangerous of the team’s skill players. He scrambles, he avoids blitzes, he makes pin-point passes to a variety of receivers, and hands off to a number of ball carriers.

While he’s carried the ball a team-high 82 times for 361 rushing yards and ran in a pair of touchdowns, he’s also completed about half of his throws (44-88) for 760 yards and 10 touchdowns. Only two of his passes have been intercepted, so he’s crafty and smart to locate his receivers.

He might be small as in 5-foot-8, 143 pounds, but Badillo plays a big role with the manner in which he scrambles from the pocket, the ball locked in his right hand in passing mode, and angling for a run, then just before he reaches the line of scrimmage, he will pull up slightly and fire the ball almost straight ahead on a line to the left or right, and to a receiver.

On those particular pass plays, especially when the Colts O is in the red zone and closing in, Badillo appears to be poise personified. To mix it up, he has a number of capable ball carriers and key aerial targets. But with all these goodies, NMMI becomes the underdog.

The reason is St. Michael’s on its home field, with a much stronger schedule and more experience, and probably more depth and a knowledgeable coaching staff under head man Joey Fernandez, who is now in his 20th season as head coach of his alma mater.

The Horsemen have won seven of 10, with the losses to quality opponents like 6A neighboring rival Santa Fe High, and to District 2 foes Robertson, the 3rd seed, in Las Vegas, and at home to undefeated, top-ranked Raton, the No. 1 ranked and top-seed in 3A. The setbacks to the Cardinals and Tigers came by a combined score of 58-7.

Through recent seasons, there have been so many quarterfinal losses for St. Michael’s, a win Saturday will go a long way. So would possible rematches versus Robertson and Raton.

For the Colts, it could be a disappointing 3-hour bus ride or a happy trip home.

He is St. Michael’s cameraman, statistician, historian, sports media liaison.