The Pojoaque Valley High School Elks football team went fishing last Saturday, not for football victories, but for whatever Abiquiú Lake had to offer.
What they got was time for dozens of players, parents and coaches to bond before the Elks host Crownpoint at 7 p.m. Friday, as head coach Zeke Villegas’s second season kicks off.
“We had a great time, went fishing, swimming and just let the kids be kids,” Villegas said of the outing. “This is our first year of doing an outing like this. We are so far ahead of where we were last year.”
Last season, the Elks finished with a 3-7 record, dropping four games in the fourth quarter, but have moved down to Class 3A. That isn’t necessarily a drop in competition as the Elks see St. Michael’s High School, Las Vegas Robertson and West Las Vegas in their district.
“The state (Class 3A) champions and runner-up,” Villegas said with a smile in reviewing Pojoaque’s schedule. “But we’ve grown so much, we’re able to add traps and counters to our offense. We may have ran the ball 80% of the time last season. We will be more balanced this season.”
Sophomore Josh Gonzales edged out Los Alamos High School transfer D’Marcus Rodriguez to start at quarterback for the Elks. Rodriguez has only been cleared to play for the past couple of weeks.
“Josh has the experience with our system and the playbook, being the junior varsity quarterback,” Villegas said. “But we are excited to see what Rodriguez can do on the field. (Rodriguez) tore his hamstring last season, so he didn’t play much for Los Alamos.”
The most exciting Elk is Villegas’s son Jonah, who averaged 40 yards per kickoff return as a freshman.
“I think that led the state in kickoff return average over all classifications,” Zeke Villegas said of his son, who also scored eight touchdowns total for Pojoaque.
Jonah Villegas may only weigh 125 pounds, but you can’t tackle what you can’t catch.
“Right now, (Jonah) runs a 4.6 (second) 40 (yard dash),” Zeke Villegas said. “We have a couple players who run 4.7, including (D’Marcus) Rodriguez.”
There were nine season-ending surgeries last season, so the coach is hoping for a better year.
“Now, we’re in a second year, there’s more excitement here,” Zeke Villegas said. “We have 68 players out for football.”
With consistent speed and weapons, he believes Pojoaque will have more consistent offense.
“Last year we were maybe using 25% of the playbook,” Zeke Villegas, a former Capital High School assistant said. “This year we intend to open up 100% of the playbook.”
Having more consistent offensive line play will fuel those Elk options.
“We plan to double the touches for Jonah (Villegas),” Zeke Villegas said. “And one player who has really improved is Mike Leapingwolf. He really looks like a football player.
Leapingwolf is one of six Elk captains. Others are Jonah Villegas, Gonzales, junior Joaquin Baca, senior running back Corey Gonzales and freshman offensive lineman Jeremiah Ortega.
“We will start a freshman on the offensive line,” Zeke Villegas said of the 210-pound Ortega. “I am definitely from the school of ‘putting the best player on the field’ regardless of class. We now have two years in the program, two years in the weight room. We’re stronger and we’re football smarter.”
He likes the young Josh Gonzales’s maturity at quarterback.
“We are going to throw more this year,” Zeke Villegas said. “Josh is mobile. We’re going to move him around and he will run too. We have a strong line that knows the playbook and we may play in the state’s most exciting district. We’ll be ready.”
In addition, to Jonah Villegas as a receiving target from the slot, Josh Gonzales will have 6-foot-4 inch senior Andrew Martinez to throw to on the outside.
As linebacker, Corey Gonzales will steady the defense. Jonah Villegas and Rodriguez will likely be defensive back two-way players.
Pojoaque has already adjusted two games on its schedule. Week 2’s game originally scheduled for Pojoaque has been switched to Hot Springs and the Week 7 game at Las Vegas Robertson has been moved from Friday to Thursday night.