Here’s what’s coming up in Northern New Mexico in the week ahead:
Friday, Aug. 19
Football: Española Valley vs. Los Alamos
The Sundevils are back on the field and looking to show improvement from a downright awful last two years, with Tylon Wilder now at the helm. Nate Chacon returns at quarterback and hopes his new weapons on offense, and a revamped line, combine with a new playbook for a breakout season. Last year in this season-opening matchup, a historic effort by Ollie Fell kept the Sundevils close through the fourth quarter. The Hilltoppers finished the season 5-6 and snuck into the state playoffs.
Football: Pojoaque Valley vs. Socorro
The Elks lose much of the production from a 5-4 team last year that dominated its weaker opponents (all five wins came by 50 or more points) but fell short against the stronger ones. The Elks will look to continue their progress of their first winning season in 10 years, with quarterback Adam Pacheco looking to take another step forward after losing his top receivers. Socorro starts the year as No. 2 in the coaches’ poll at 3A and will be a championship contender, and a strong early test for the Elks.
Volleyball: Jemez Valley vs. Dulce
The Lady Hawks are getting a head start on most of the state by starting their season this weekend. After two seasons off, Dulce returned to action with a slow start, but finished a chaotic pandemic-halted season winning five of their last seven matches, only knocked out of district contention by eventual state champion Laguna-Acoma. While losing just two seniors from the team, coach Selenarose Hammond could have Dulce in position to make a return to its recent past as a top-shelf team.
Football: West Las Vegas vs. Escalante
Last year was a down year by Escalante’s standards, with a 4-4 finish for the perennial title contenders. West Las Vegas will be a great early matchup for new Lobos coach Rico DeYapp to see what he has with this year’s team — the Dons finished 8-4 in 2021 and made the 3A quarterfinals. On paper, the Dons have the advantage with star quarterback CJ Perea, but anyone from the north knows how tough a win on the red turn can be. This is the first matchup between these two teams since at least 2007.
Saturday, Aug. 20
Football: McCurdy vs. Hope Christian
vMcCurdy came into last year three years removed from their last season, with a roster almost entirely new to competitive football. They beat most expectations with a pair of good wins. The Bobcats retain almost all the talent from that team, who now add a year of experience and can begin to learn a more advanced playbook. But coach and athletic coordinator Robert Nevarez may have bitten off more than he can chew with a non-district schedule that has seven straight games against larger-classification schools.