Once District 3AA play starts, you can throw the teams’ pre-district won-lost records out the window.
Just ask the Mesa Vista Trojans. Last season, the Trojans were rolling along with a 20-0 record when they began district play. After defeating McCurdy in its District 3AA opener, Mesa Vista made a trip to Questa for it second district game.
It looked like the Trojans were well on their way to win number 21 when they led by 17 points at the end of the third quarter. A funny thing happened in the final quarter, but the Trojans weren’t laughing.
Questa outscored Mesa Vista 27-7 in the fourth quarter to win 78-75, ending the Trojans’ winning streak.
In their next district game, the Trojans lost a 67-66 decision to the Peñasco Panthers in Peñasco. The Trojans, who had been the top-ranked team in Class AA, were suddenly fighting for their lives in district competition with a 1-2 record.
Mesa Vista recovered and eventually won the district title by defeating Peñasco in the district tournament championship game. For a while, however, it was not inconceivable that one of the best Class AA teams in the state would miss the state tournament.
Unlike Classes AAA-AAAAA, the results of district tournaments in Class AA are the sole measuring stick for whether or not a team advances to the state tournament.
In Class AA, only the district champion and the district runnerup advance to the opening round of state. The state tournament qualifiers are determined in a single-elimination district tournament that follows the regular district season. The seeding for the district tournament is based on each team’s record in regular district play. Therefore a team could play well in predistrict and regular district play and then lose in the first round of the district tournament and still miss the state tournament.
No team knows this better than Questa, which hasn’t advanced to the state tournament in four years. Questa finished last season 22-5 overall and were still left out of the state tournament. The Wildcats have finished in third place behind Mesa Vista and Peñasco every season since 2004, the last year Questa advanced to state.
This season, District 3AA is just as competitive. McCurdy will host Peñasco Friday to kick off the District 3AA season.
The Bobcats have finished fourth (last place) in the district the last four years and appear to be the weakest team in the district this season. They will enter their game against the Panthers with a 6-11 record. However, McCurdy has shown signs of life recently. They won two games on the road: 58-47 at Dulce Jan. 23 and 59-47 at Coronado Jan. 24. Both teams had defeated McCurdy earlier in the season.
McCurdy will not be overlooked by any of the other teams in District 3AA, because being upset by the Bobcats can mean a lower seed in the district tournament and a road game in a hostile environment with a state tournament berth on the line.
Questa and Mesa Vista will begin their battles in District 3AA Feb. 3, when the Wildcats travel to Peñasco and McCurdy hosts Mesa Vista.
Mesa Vista enters district play as the favorites again. The Trojans have a record of 16-3, while Peñasco is 12-8 and Questa is 12-6 on the season.
Dulce To Repeat?
For the past three seasons, the Dulce Hawks have dominated District 2AA and won three consecutive district championships. This year, it looks like a new champion could be crowned in District 2AA, with the defending champion Hawks struggling to a 3-15 pre-district record.
Then again, pre-district records don’t seem to matter much in District 2AA either. Any one of the four teams in the district appears capable of winning the district title.
None of the teams enters district competition with a winning record. Escalante is 8-10, Coronado 7-9 and Navajo Prep, which is playing its first season in District 2AA, is 6-10 on the season.
Dulce’s record is somewhat deceiving. The Hawks have four losses on their record where the winning margin was less than five points. Dulce played Mesa Vista tough in a 65-58 loss Jan. 21 in Ojo Caliente. Also, the Hawks have played only two home games during their pre-district schedule.
This could be the year that Escalante manages to take the District 2AA title away from Dulce. The Hawks have lost just two district games during the last three seasons and both times it was at the hands of Escalante. The Lobos open their District 2AA season by hosting Dulce Saturday.
Coronado has not won a District 2AA championship since they recorded back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. The Leopards may be one year away from returning to the district title, with just one senior — reserve guard Isaac Vasquez — on this season’s roster.
The Leopards knocked off Laguna Acoma 72-70 Jan. 21 and are now back at full strength with point guard Pat Cordova joining the team Dec. 20 after serving a school suspension. The Leopards opened their District 2AA season Tuesday by hosting Dulce and as with Escalante, a victory over the defending champion Hawks could give this young team confidence for the rest of the district season.
This is Navajo Prep’s first season back in District 2AA after a three-year absence. The Eagles are something of an enigma, but they do own a number of victories this season over Class AAA teams, including wins over Wingate, Tohatchi and Miyamura. The Eagles open their District 2AA season with three consecutive road games, beginning with Coronado Feb. 3, followed by away games with Escalante and Dulce. If the Eagles can steal a win on the road during that time, they would quickly establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with in District 2AA.