When Miguel Medina looks out over the field during practice, he can’t help but smile remembering when he first started as Española Valley football coach in 2012 and what he sees now.
“When I first got here, we had eight kids show up,” Medina said. “Now, we got over 50 kids.”
Recruiting freshmen and connecting with the middle school program last season has paid off for Medina. This season the Sundevils have enough freshmen and sophomores that they can scrimmage against each other. These young players will be available to spell the veterans and start a foundation for the future.
“(Coach Medina) has done a great job of recruiting those guys,” new assistant coach and defensive coordinator Matthew Abeyta said. “They’re eager to learn and giving great effort. I definitely see a lot of excitement, especially from the freshmen and sophomores.”
Abeyta has moved over from McCurdy School, where he was defensive coach the last three years after serving two years as an assistant to former Española Coach Bill Moon (2008-2009). He is working on shoring up the Sundevils defense. Española was the first team to score in nine of its 10 games, but had problems stopping other teams.
“We’re going to try to be flexible and use multiple defenses,” he said. “Be ready for the different offenses we’re going to see.”
Abeyta received a warm welcome back to Española.
“The thing that stood out is they were really appreciative of me coming home,” he said.
Seniors still provide the bulk of the offensive firepower for the Sundevils, although the Sundevils lost last year’s starting quarterback senior Joe Trujillo when he left the team this summer for personal reasons. Lucas Bustos returns as the Sundevils leading rusher and he is a threat to score from anywhere on the field. Bustos hasn’t tasted victory very often as a Sundevil. His freshman and sophomore years Española did not win a game. Last year, the Sundevils snapped a 28-game losing streak with a 26-6 victory over West Las Vegas and picked up another win via forfeit against Santa Fe Indian School and finished 2-8 overall. Bustos feels confident that he’ll see a few more wins this season.
“Coach Medina is just a good person to be around,” Bustos said. “Everything is better this year —strength and numbers. I’m confident because we’re getting coached right.”
Joining Bustos in the backfield are seniors Nick Borrego and Izzy Martinez. Borrego has stuck it out with the Sundevils through the tough times.
“I can’t quit on my teammates,” he said. “I’m feeling a lot more confident with this team.”
Sophomore Marcos Flores, who was sitting out practice last week with a jammed thumb, has stepped into the quarterback role and assumed control. He’s backed up by another sophomore, Dylon Martinez.
“(Flores) just stepped up as if nothing had happened,” Medina said.
The Sundevils will once again run from a spread, with the added wrinkle of the speed option in the running game.
“We’re going to spread the ball to run,” Medina said.
Another key to the Sundevils offense will be slot back senior Gabe Rivas. Rivas might be more valuable on defense. He scored Española’s first touchdown of the season last year on a 100-yard interception return, one of several picks he had during the season. He’s backed by speedy Leon Gallegos.
The Sundevils offensive line will be young. Big 275-pound freshman Leo Pacheco will be at one tackle. Sophomore Gonzalo Almeida is the other tackle at 250 pounds. Sophomore Adrian Olivas and Christian Amaya will be at guard. Another sophomore, Michael Gonzales, anchors the line at center and weighs 245 pounds.
“They’re the ones who excelled the most in the offseason,” Medina said. “I have them setting up a wall on passing plays and they’re easy to teach.”
Española’s schedule is the same as last season. That’s the way Medina wanted it.
“That way, we can measure our progress,” Medina said. “If we can win six games, we’ll break the school record.”
The Sundevils held their own during the summer in 7-on-7 passing competitions and gained confidence that they could play with other teams, something they didn’t have before.
“People here love football,” Medina said. “They support basketball because that’s where they’ve bee winning. They’ll support football when we start winning.”
Bustos wants to end his career making people come out and support the football program at Española.
“I want the community to support us,” he said. “I want to get wins so people will see who we are.”
Source Article from http://www.riograndesun.com/articles/2013/08/29/sports/doc521e8010ae6a6135013391.txt
