Prep football: Northern schools will have to shine a little brighter in district to set themselves apart and have shot at playoff berth

James Barron | The New Mexican

10/9/2008 - 10/10/08

Second-best might not be enough for the Capital High School football team.

The Jaguars can thank themselves for the dilemma they find themselves in as the District 2AAAA season begins today against Española Valley. They can also thank their class — AAAA — for changing the playoff format this season.

No longer are the district runners-up automatically qualified for the 12-team postseason playoffs.

The New Mexico Activities Association decided over the summer to eliminate that provision in response to the addition of a sixth district in AAAA. While Classes AAA and AAAAA still had two at-large berths to hand out, the current alignment eliminated that luxury for AAAA.

Now, six at-large teams will be picked from the remaining AAAA pool, but Capital hasn't set itself apart after a 2-4 nondistrict record. Jaguars head coach Steve Castille feels that anything less than a district title — or at least a 5-5 mark — will mean his team watches the playoffs for the first time in four years.

"And with that (record), it won't get us in very easily," Castille says. "Our district has never been good at getting football respect, so we need to make a case for ourselves."

The case is weak from the nondistrict side. The Jaguars beat Grants (whose wins are over winless Española Valley and a Pojoaque team that has 18 players) and the Elks. It won't be helped in district play because 2AAAA is considered weak this year.

Of course, the Nov. 7 matchup with Los Alamos could have been a difference maker, if not for the Hilltoppers' recent trials and tribulations.

Three starters were suspended for 30 days for violating the school's extracurricular activities code of conduct last week, and starting running back Raul Rodriguez will miss at least another week with a sprained left ankle. Los Alamos lost to AAA Albuquerque Academy 18-2 on Oct. 3 to fall to 2-3.

The best performing team in the district is Bernalillo at 3-2, but the Spartans' most impressive win came against the Chargers.

All this makes stating Capital's case even harder, and Castille will be watching football scores closely.

"A lot depends on what's going on with everybody else, how others are doing," Castille says. "Right now, we're in that 10-14 (seeding) range. So, we've got to go out and make some plays."

The Jaguars' aren't alone in their plight. The Demons of Santa Fe enter District 2AAAAA play at 3-3, but aside from a win over 0-5 Gallup, they have beaten teams in AAA (St. Michael's) and AAAA (Capital).

It makes their task simple, which head coach Mike Mares doesn't mind.

"The good thing is the idea now is to win the district," Mares says. "Everybody's got to shoot for that No. 1 position and not worry about being runner-up."

For the Demons to do that, it means going through perennial district and AAAAA contender Albuquerque La Cueva as well as Albuquerque Sandia, which finds itself 5-0 and ranked fifth in AAAAA according to the latest New Mexico High School Coaches Association poll. The Bears are first up on Saturday at Milne Stadium.

La Cueva is 3-3, but the losses are to the No. 1 (Las Cruces), No. 2 (Eldorado) and No. 4 teams (Clovis) in AAAAA. And there's also the aura the Bears hold over the Demons, having won the last 10 meetings. It's something Mares wants to crack.

"This game has to set the tempo for the rest of the season," Mares says. "In the past, the kids go in thinking, 'We're supposed to lose to La Cueva. We're not supposed to be on the same field as La Cueva.' But if we go out there and do the things we're supposed to do, I think the kids might surprise themselves."

While the Jaguars and Demons prepare for district duty, St. Michael's (2-3) has one more nondistrict contest — a trip to top-ranked Portales.

A win would help solidify St. Michael's as a contender in AAA, but head coach Joey Fernandez simply wants to see improvement after losses to Santa Fe High and Albuquerque St. Pius X.

The offense definitely could use it after being responsible for just 10 of the last 24 points.

In fact, the defense has outscored the offense 14-10 over the last two weeks, which led Fernandez to put the offense's troubles succinctly.

"The offense sucks," Fernandez says. "We have to be able to keep our defense off the field the whole time or they are going to start giving up points."

Doing that might be enough for St. Michael's to grab its first district title since 2002. And the district is wide open, as reigning 2AAA champion Raton has struggled with injuries and Las Vegas Robertson is recovering from a roller-coaster season amid hazing allegations that occurred during two-a-days.

But out of the chaos has risen an old rival — West Las Vegas, which is 4-1. While the Dons have done it with a relatively easy schedule (their opponents' combined record is 12-18) Fernandez says the confidence they gained from it cannot be ignored.

West Las Vegas entertains St. Michael's in a 2AAA opener Oct. 18.

"They are winning ball games, and those kids now have a belief that they are going to compete and win," Fernandez says.