After Pojoaque High School’s tumultuous 2007 football season, during which 18 players quit the team and called for the removal of then-head coach Charlie Gomez, the Elks began the 2008 season with 23 prospective players. It’s not the kind of roster a Class AAA school would like to have, particularly in the toughest district in the state.
The Elks may have to cancel their junior varsity season if more players don’t show up soon, Pojoaque Athletic Director Matt Martinez said. Every healthy body will likely be needed for varsity; running a junior varsity team poses the risk of injury and it limits athletes’ playing time.
Pojoaque competes in District 2AAA, which has produced four Class AAA state champions in the last five years. St. Michaels is the defending state champion, having beaten 2006 state champion Robertson in last year’s championship game. Robertson also plays in District 2AAA.
Add in Raton’s perennially strong program and a team like Pojoaque has a tough time even threatening for a district title. In 13 years, Pojoaque has never had a winning season. The Elks were 5-5 in 2006, their best record in school history.
But the Elks can’t control their past or the district schedule. They’re focusing on what they can control, head coach Quevin Redding said.
“I asked the players to list the things they can control,” Redding said. “This is what they came up with: know their plays, give 100 percent, be committed, practice discipline, believe, make sacrifices, positive attitude, brotherhood, play well. That’s what we control.”
Redding took over the Elks’ coaching job in April, becoming Pojoaque’s fourth coach in four years. He’s actually the fifth if you count Rene Roque, who served as interim coach last season after Gomez resigned.
Pojoaque will be a young team, and the backfield got even younger Aug. 22 when sophomore running back Nick Zamora injured his hip; also, senior running back Travis Leyba may be ruled academically ineligible. Redding moved freshman Ryan Wolfe into the quarterback spot and junior Mike Garcia, the starter, moved to tailback.
“Mike just said, ‘I’ll do it,’” Redding said. “These guys are so unselfish.”
Garcia was one of the players who stayed with the team after last year’s walkout. He will likely still see some action at quarterback, Redding said.
“We’ve got a bunch of hard workers and that’s what it takes right now,” Garcia said.
Redding said the Elks have been practicing and lifting weights all summer, training to be “BFS” — bigger, faster, stronger.
“These guys are soldiers,” Redding said. “They’ve been here all summer playing in the hot sun and you can see that today.”
Redding hasn’t let the loss of key players from his already-thin roster change his attitude.
“I could sit here and mope,” he said. “I’m going to look at the positives.”
One of those positives, paradoxically, is the team’s youth. Senior Ernest Salcido leads the line at guard, but the rest of the team will return next year.
Redding said a young team needs to take small steps.
“I look at the small achievements, the individual improvements,” he said. “If I don’t be patient with them they’re not going to be patient with me.”
In addition to freshman Wolfe and junior Garcia, running backs Jeremy Martinez and Joseph Branch are sophomores, while junior Rob Vigil and freshman Robert Ortiz provide tall targets at receiver. Junior Lorenzo Duran anchors the middle of the line at center.
“They’re the owners of this team — this is their team,” Redding said. “The vision is clear. They see what we want to do and they get after it. All we’ve got to do is play well and get better each week.”