There is something about a winning tradition that strengthens a high school sports program. After watching the Fort Sumner Foxes this season, I could see the difference just in the way they carried themselves. Fort Sumner won its fourth straight Class A football state championship this season and won the championship game by a score of 48-0 over Clayton.
A program like that carries a cool confidence. You can see it in the players. I imagine that it’s a similar thing to football in Artesia, Las Cruces, Santa Rosa and Texico, where success in football comes year-after-year.
After watching the Española Valley Sundevils basketball team beat Gallup in its opening game Nov. 25, I get the feeling that the Sundevils may be on their way to establishing such a tradition in boys basketball. The players this year have a confidence about them that characterizes successful programs.
The establishment of that tradition started in December 2005 at the Jaguar Invitational at Capital High School. The Sundevils were just 1-5 at the time and had been blowing big leads. It was the kind of thing that teams that aren’t expecting to win do — find a way to lose.
At the Jaguar Invitational, things dramatically changed. Española defeated Santa Fe High School and won the tournament title. Española went on to finish as runnerup to Los Alamos in District 2AAAA and advanced to the state tournament, where they lost to Artesia in the opening round.
Despite the early departure from the state tournament, several positive things happened that year. The Sundevils became a team that would fight for a victory. In addition, then coach Richard Martinez showed he could turn a team around and produce a winner.
Then-senior Lucas Montoya helped turn that team around. Montoya would not accept losing and his attitude helped carry that team over the hump. He helped instill a different attitude into his teammates. An attitude that would not accept defeat.
Montoya has not been here as a player to experience the success of the last two seasons, but he is a part of it.
Coach Martinez is still here and despite calls for his replacement, even after the success of last season, he appears to have another winner. Española has improved every season since Martinez started as coach. Of course, improving on last season will be a tall order considering the Sundevils won 28 consecutive games and made it to the state semifinals. But Sundevil fans will probably not be satisfied until their beloved team wins a state title.
After the disheartening end to last season, when shot after shot failed to fall for the Sundevils in their heartbreaking loss to Albuquerque Academy in the semifinals, it would be easy for the returning players to have that loss in the back of their mind. It is human nature to dwell on what might have been when a dream that was so close to being realized is dashed to pieces.
It looks to me like the Sundevils players who return for this season have put that loss behind them. Against Gallup, they hit the shots and made the plays that brought them victory. Their focus seems to be squarely on this season and winning that state championship.
Just that is a whole different change in attitude. This years team doesn’t just want to win a state championship; it knows it can win a state championship. They also realize they have to work just as hard and maybe a little harder than they did last year.
I’m not predicting a state championship. Injuries can completely change a season and there’s likely one or more teams out there who feel just like the Sundevils. Española certainly isn’t the only team with talent and the will to win. Still, the foundations of a winning tradition are being laid. Young kids now grow up wanting to play for the Sundevils because they know they can be winners.