ST. MICHAEL’S FOOTBALL THEN AND NOW

First of all, sincere condolences to long-time historic St. Michael’s football statistics man Mike Pitel, whose brother died up in upstate New York Sunday and he and his wife flew there and expect to return next Wednesday.

Secondary, it’s been a while, a decade since the St. Michael’s football team won its last state 3A state championship.

The overpowering Horsemen went 15-0 overall in 2012-13 and capped it with a 10-7 Saturday afternoon state championship win over Silver on Dec. 8 at Ivan Head Stadium. And prior to that, St. Michael’s hit the road to Silver City on Oct. 26 and left with a tight 28-21 triumph.

It was quite a roster under head coach Joey Fernandez in his 11th season with his alma mater. Dynamic short but athletically Cory Serna was in his senior year as the starting quarterback, senior Santo Coppola was the tight end and kicker. Sophomore Chad McNamara was already a stellar lineman, Junior running back Daniel Ortega was a year away from a outstanding final season.

Then there was senior Ryan Lamb, the state shot put champion, at various positions, versatile junior Korey Windham, sophomore Nathanial Leyba and the Hochadel brothers, juniors Joris and Mathias.

It was a team with plenty of depth, a great attitude, and one that scored a whooping 517 points and allowed only 100. There was a 40-0 rout over visiting perennial power Lovington, 55-0 over Santa Fe High, and 57-3 over Capital, plus there were several other shutouts and two overtimes and can’t forget an impressive 54-2 victory at Robertson.

This year’s team has won its first five starts, with the 28-24 win at crosstown rival Capital its biggest test. It has been led by senior quarterback Zach Martinez, who has thrown five touchdown passes and has the most total yards, 290. The top running back has been senior Marcus Leyba with a pair of touchdown runs and with 43 carries for 172 yards. Senior Taven Lozada has been the top receiver with two touchdown receptions and five catches for 55 yards.

Fernandez has also been impressed by his defense. He credits attitude, experience and being aggressive.

So let’s turn to the District 2-3A opener Friday night at West Las Vegas. The Dons are 4-2 overall, routed visiting Thoreau, 54-0, and at Albuquerque RIo Grande, 34-8, but then they lost at improved Espanola Valley, 28-14, was handily beaten 55-30 at home to Portales, won over visiting Dexter, and at Escalante, 34-13. Except for the huge loss against Portales, West Las Vegas has always been tough at home, and hopefully St. Michael’s can get past it.

Then there’s defending 3A state champion Robertson, which is 3-2 and lost at Ruidoso, edged Santa Rosa, 7-3, won over visiting Cobre, 20-7, and lost at home to Eastmack, Ariz., 33-7. The Cardinals come to St. Michael’s Chrisitan Brothers Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoonOct. 8.

From there’s it’s a trip up to 5-1 district rival Raton, which has tallied 232 points and yielded 93. The Tigers are 3-1 at home and 2-0 on the road, and it’s sometimes a tough go there.

A non-district tilt versus visiting Cathedral of El Paso, Tx., follows and Cathedral is 3-2. and capped by the home contest against district opponent Santa Fe Indian School, which is now 1-4.

That’s it, either the Horsemen will enter the post-season unbeaten or fall short. The ball takes funny bounces and Fernandez is hoping they bounce his way.