At 12:02 a.m., the Pojoaque Valley High School took the field in full gear for the first time.
Monday was the first official day of practice for the football season. And the Elks wasted no time.
Coach Pat Mares modeled the idea off of a college basketball tradition, and brought a football version of “Midnight Madness” to Pojoaque.
“Every other football team in New Mexico is sleeping,” Mares told players while they ran conditioning drills. “You’re not.”
“We want to be the first ones on the field, we want to be the first team to put in work,” team quarterback Adam Pacheco wrote in a Tweet advertising the practice.
Pojoaque has its challenges ahead of it this season, from replacing a strong senior class to a tough schedule. But a new group of underclassmen is ready to take over and add their contributions to the valley, as they look to improve on last year’s 4-5 record and third-place district finish.
Players started arriving at around 9 p.m. on Sunday night. Coaches gave players their helmets and pads. They watched film on a projector in the gymnasium, then turned the lights off and relaxed until the midnight start.
Police lights and sirens guided 27 Elks out of the weight room onto the field just after midnight.
Mares started the Midnight Madness tradition in his first year, and held them in 2018 and 2019. Then, the pandemic hit, and last year’s version was canceled due to a last-minute travel snag.
Pojoaque starts their regular season August 19 at Socorro, and stay on the road for two months. They will play their first seven games all away from home. Their first home game is not until October 14.
“Traveling is always hard,” Mares said.
Pojoaque has a tall order in replacing its 12-member senior class from last year. That included college-level skill position players D’sean Martinez, Dominic Esquibel and Anthony Meloy, plus strong linemen including all-state honorable mention Shawn Olivas. That class was the first group of Pojoaque Crush youth players, and had been with Mares for most of their lives.
“Work as hard as they did,” junior Ethan Meloy said, was needed to replace the seniors.
Senior Pacheco is the team leader and returns for his third year as starting quarterback. Pacheco made improvements last year, with 1,257 yards total and 17 touchdowns to seven interceptions, but fell well short of his self-described goals of leading the state in yardage and scoring (in part because of the dominance of Esquibel at running back).
Mares called Pacheco the “coach on the field.”
“It’s a tough season, so we’re looking forward to putting the work in,” Pacheco said.
Mares mentioned sophomore running back Elias Martinez as someone he expects to have a big role on the team after limited playing time last year, plus wide receiver Josh Urioste as another speedster with size.
Ethan Meloy should see more playing time at wide receiver and defensive back, and also serves as the team’s backup quarterback providing extra athleticism.
Mares also mentioned newcomer sophomore Luke Pacheco, who he said was “phenomenal” over the summer, and will be the starting tight end.
The youthful team will continue to build toward the future on a team not commonly known for winning.
“Being that we’re so young, we have to stick together,” Mares said. “I think, senior-wise, I can count on one hand how much we have this year.”