Year of the Tiger 2018

You’re the Pride of Taos!

Vision Dedication Perseverance You’ve built a legacy we can all be proud of.

Wanda Lucero 575.737.5433

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State Farm, Home Office, Bloomington, IL 3

CONTENTS 8 Building champions: a love for the game

BY SHEILA MILLER

10 Growing pains, growth spurts, a crown

BY ARCENIO J. TRUJILLIO

BY SHEILA MILLER

18 Engineered to win

20 Road to the championship

16 Four downs and a legacy

BY SHEILA MILLER

28 Books before blocks

BY JESSE MOYA

36 Tigers take the title

BY SHEILA MILLER

42 Player spotlights

BY SHEILA MILLER AND ARCENIO J. TRUJILLIO

46 Taos coach’s father key part of title run

BY JAMES BARRON

48 Tiger coaches 50 A community of champions

BY JESSE MOYA

52 Tiger Fans 54 The Village

BY SHEILA MILLER

56 Tiger STATS S T A F F ROBIN MARTIN, OWNER CHRIS BAKER, PUBLISHER STACI MATLOCK, EDITOR SHEILA MILLER, SPORTS EDITOR KARIN EBERHARDT, CREATIVE DIRECTOR CHRIS WOOD, ADVERTISING DIRECTOR WILLARD AVERY II, PRODUCTION MANAGER MARY BETH LIBBEY, COPY EDITOR MORGAN TIMMS, PHOTOGRAPHER JESSE MOYA, REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHER JOHN T. DENNE, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER ARCENIO J. TRUJILLO, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER/WRITER

MORGAN TIMMS

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

The Taos News THE TAOS NEWS

Taos County would like to Congratulate the Taos High School Varsity Football Team on Winning the 2018 4A State Championship!

T I G E R

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Building champions: a love for the game

MORGAN TIMMS

Alejandro “Hano” Ortega shows his support for the Tigers Dec. 1 during Taos' state-championship game against Bloomfield at Anaya Field in Taos.

By Sheila Miller

Many of the fans at the Taos Tiger football games are younger football players.

When talking to people about the Taos Tiger football team, the Young American Football League comes up again and again. “We’ve been playing together forever from YAFL,” or “Yeah, but we knew each other from YAFL,” and so on. What, then is YAFL? YAFL has been in Taos training football players as young as 5 years old for over a decade. Indeed, most of the seniors from this year’s state championship team started playing with YAFL between 5 and 8 years old.

The league tries to keep the four teams in each age division evenly matched, and most of the 2018 Tiger seniors played for either Tiger assistant coach Tom Good (father of senior Justin Good) or current YAFL President Simon Torrez (father of sophomore Simon Torrez).

According to YAFL President Torrez, the league’s board noticed some years ago that “feeder programs were successful” for sports, such as basketball, soccer, and baseball. Such programs were able to generate and maintain the interest of young athletes while also 8

YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

teaching them the fundamentals of the game. When they reached high school, they were ready to be taught more advanced techniques and strategies.

When Torrez arrived in Taos, YAFL was a noncontact program for 6- to 11-year-old players. Soon thereafter, Torrez, other board members and volunteers began to “develop the program.”

We just taught them to have a love for the game.”

YAFL’s work is ongoing. Nine-year-old Alejandro “Hano” Ortega was in the stands watching this year’s Taos Tiger football team claim its state title.

“Once they scored the first touchdown, I knew they were going to win,” Hano recalled. “I wanted to be on the field.”

The 5-7 age bracket continued to play flag football, and the three other, older age divisions (8-10, 10-12, 11-13) began to play tackle. Age ranges overlap because players are assigned to divisions based on both age and weight.

Hano started playing football four years ago, two of them flag and two of them tackle. For a young man whose favorite part of playing football is “learning how to hit,” it’s no surprise that he doesn’t want to be the quarterback.

In the years around 2012-2014, the coaches took special notice of the cohesiveness of the young teams who grew up to be the current Taos Tigers. They formed a travel team so that they boys would have experience playing “bigger, faster teams.”

“I want to be on the line,” Hano said. His favorite player to watch is Estevan Valerio, who even gives him advice, such as to go out for wrestling “to get better at tackling.”

“From 11 or 12,” Torrez recalls, “they’ve been told they were going to be state champions.”

It was amazing to watch that state championship game, he says. “We watched them grow up. We drove them, bought them dinner, they slept at our houses.

Of course, Hano has other interests as well, like playing video games. But, when asked if tomorrow he’d rather play his favorite video game or go to football practice he answered without hesitation:

‘Football practice!’

THE TAOS NEWS

1 Aidan Leblanc 3 Angel Polanco 4 Dyllan Vigil 5 Simon Torrez 6 Anthony Maestas 7 Angel Limas 9 Favian Cordova 10 Daemon Ely 12 Noah Armijo 13 Justin Good 17 Alejandro Gonzales 18 David Perea 21 Jonathan Dominguez

22 24 25 26 30 34 41 43 44 45 50 51 52

Cayden Farmer Matt Suazo Elijah Romero Jonathan Garcia Eric Montoya Dominic Montano Brian Moraga Adam Vigil Uriel Chavez Jerome Martinez Tristian Garcia Christopher Rodelo Estevan Valerio

53 54 55 56 60 61 64 67 68 70 71 72 73

Tyler Gomez Reid Enjay Clayton Demas Rafael Vigil Daniel Pacheco Max Meadowcroft Santiago Salazar Dominic Lopez Frankie Rivera Rick Fisher Joseph Cardenas Leonard Archuleta Lucas Fillis

74 76 77 80 85 92 99

Ryan Garcia Nathaniel Marquez Warren Gomez Isaiah Martinez Dante Bird Josh Helt Jason Salazar

Alfredo Cruz, Manager Ryan Montoya, Ball Boy Jerome Martinez Ball Boy

Coaches Art Abreu Jr. Art Abreu Sr. Ramon Abreu Tom Good Jr. Tony Perez Eric Welch Miguel Lucero Mark Gonzales

The teachers, staff and Superintendent Torrez wish to congratulate these extraordinary students in their athletic skills and academic ability. This combination will allow them the opportunity to pursue their goals and aspirations! We love and support our students and wish them the best!

- Dr. Torrez

9

Growing pains, growth spurts, a crown In four years, Coach Art Abreu Jr. delivered a state title to Taos, the fruition of a specific strategy

TOP ROW: Adam Vigil, Dominic Lopez, Justin Good; MIDDLE ROW: Clayton Demas, Estevan Valerio, Anthony Maestas; BOTTOM ROW: Brian Moraga, Tyler Gomez, Isaiah Martinez. PHOTOS BY ARCENIO TRUJILLO

Commentary by Arcenio J. Trujillo

O

f all the foes the Taos Tigers have had to contend with throughout history, it seems strange that our football team considers the Las Vegas Robertson Cardinals a “rival” team.

After all, we have rarely beaten the Cardinals on the ol’ gridiron, so it begs the question as to why so many Taos fans think we are in a legitimate rivalry with such a storied program. This lopsided clash resembles the current quarrel between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots: there’s plenty of mutual disdain, but the Patriots regularly pummel the Jets.

But searching for the roots of the Taos versus Robertson rivalry is best left to other writers.

The last thing I want to do with this commentary is poke a bear with a stick – be it awake or asleep – just to make a point about rivalry.

This is, however, where the story of a school and town longing for a blue trophy begins and where the first steps of an historic journey were taken.

The plan

At the end of the 2014 season, Coach Flavio Lopez – who accrued a 21-13 overall record (.618

win percentage) in three seasons at the helm for the Tigers - resigned his position. In the search for a new head football coach, Taos High School athletic director Nickie McCarty was contemplating how to get over the red hump (Taos had once again lost to Robertson 48-21 in the secondto-last game of the 2014 season) and bring a state championship to Tiger Nation.

Her own “fight-fire-with-fire” quest led to a rookie coach who had family ties in Taos and was a graduate and former football player from Robertson. Thus began the Art Abreu Jr. era in Taos.

CONTINUES page 12

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

THE TAOS NEWS

11

COURTESY PHOTOS

ARCENIO J. TRUJILLO

from page 10

TOP: 2015 Taos Tiger JV team. BOTTOM LEFT: The 2012 YAFL Buccaneers coached by Simon Torrez. BOTTOM RIGHT: A young YAFL Viking team coached by Tom Good.

Strong bodies

From the very beginning, it was evident that athletes were drawn to Coach Abreu. He once stated that the minute he stepped onto the Taos High campus, several young athletes began following him around and were interested in talking about football even though it wasn’t close to football season.

“I knew immediately these kids had a strong desire to win,” said Abreu, referring to previous seniors.

“That made me feel so welcome, and I could not wait to get on the field with these guys.”

When the first summer workouts began, Abreu had a unique challenge and a problem many coaches would love to have—too many players.

Anaya Field was suddenly overflowing with boys

clad in orange and black. About half were juniors and seniors, but the second half included a strong freshman class eager to keep winning as they did as a Taos Middle School team.

From day one, Abreu issued a warning about the looming workload and the hours, days, weeks and months they would have to devote to the program.

His coaching style demanded more than these players had ever given.

Hot summer days, cold autumn nights, early mornings, late nights, two-a-days and Saturday morning conditioning sessions were all part of the readiness plan. Such rigorous demands whittled down the numbers.

Many of those freshmen toughed it out, though, and were instrumental in the ultimate triumph

that gave the community its first state football title on Dec. 1.

When the players were not out in the elements, they were inside lifting weights. The steamy rectangular room became an incubator of sorts, turning arms and legs into bulging limbs, boys into men, football players into champions. The results were not immediate in 2015, but that persistence, work ethic and commitment could have been the reason the Tigers stopped the Bloomfield Bobcats in that pivotal goal line stand in the waning moments of the title game.

Strong minds

Along with the physical demands, motivational speeches have been a vital ingredient in the champions’ feast served throughout Abreu’s tenure.

CONTINUES page 14

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

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from page 12

MORGAN TIMMS

F

or four years players have heard the rallying calls from their leader.

Gathered on one knee in a horseshoe formation after a game or practice, Abreu gave his players volumes of information and a regular dose of daily affirmations and fireworks.

“Appreciate this time you have together, work hard, carry yourselves with class, work hard, keep up your grades, work hard,” bellowed Abreu, using effective pauses, variations in volume and facial expressions. “Work hard, gentlemen.”

Professional football players also visited during summer camps and offered nuggets of information.. George Teague, a former Dallas Cowboy famous for defending the team’s star logo from ridicule on national television, spoke several hours about being role models and good people in the community.

His sage words seemed to resonate with each team, every time he visited. In a soft-spoken way, he encouraged the Tigers to always strive for improvement.

A solid record

In his tenure, Abreu Jr. has amassed a 31-16 overall record (.659 win percentage) amounting to a meteoric rise which seldom occurs so quickly at the high school level. This recent 12-win season saw triumphs over nearly all of Taos’ rivals as the Tigers posted big victories over St Michael’s, Española Valley, Portales and Bloomfield. Aside from the solitary loss to St. Pius (Albuquerque) this year, the only two teams who own series leads over 14

YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

Abreu’s teams are Ruidoso and Robertson.

Abreu Jr. registered his first win as a head coach in Taos’ season and home opener at home against the Bernalillo Spartans in a non-conference game on August 28, 2015. His tenth win came in his second year when his team beat the Pojoaque Valley Elks in a District 2-4A matchup October 28, 2016. Both of these benchmark games were shutouts with the Tigers claiming easy victories over the two class 4A division opponents. Then, in Taos’ district opener against the Grants Pirates this past season, Abreu and company notched a razor-thin 20-19 win, - maintaining a perfect record to start the 2018 season.

When it comes to the losses Abreu has endured in the past four years, all but two teams have been avenged. In his first year—the one that yielded the most losses (six)—the Tigers were beat by Hope Christian (Albuquerque), Bloomfield (twice), St. Michael’s (Santa Fe), Española Valley and Robertson.

His second season saw his team lose to Hatch Valley, Hope Christian, St. Michael’s, Robertson and Ruidoso.

The Tigers’ 2017 campaign endured similar losses to St. Michael’s and Robertson, but a surprise defeat by West Las Vegas was not anticipated. Taos 2017 season ended in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state tournament at the hands of the Portales Rams in a mid-November game on the road. The Tigers did get even with Hope Christian by beating them once during the regular season and again in the state playoffs. Abreu also redeemed himself

with a convincing win over the Hatch Valley Bears in the season opener.

This recent 12-win season saw triumphs over nearly all of Taos’ rivals, the best year for cleaning the slate as the Tigers posted big victories over St Michael’s, Española Valley, Portales and Bloomfield. Aside from the solitary loss to St. Pius (Albuquerque) this year, the only two teams who own series leads over Abreu’s teams are Ruidoso and Robertson.

Football family

Almost everyone I’ve spoken with has a different theory about Taos’ fortune, but, fans universally acknowledge the accelerated growth of this team and the simple pleasure of seeing the transformation firsthand.

I, too, offer congratulations and kudos. But the one overriding theme that has emerged is the humility that this organization has displayed.

“This has been a complete team effort,” said McCarty, responding to questions about her decision to hire Abreu four years ago. “Sure, the strategy to bring the Abreus to Taos was part of this (state championship), but we all did our part.”

This has been the most refreshing part of this journey: humble champions who know “it takes a village.”

But we still have to get those Robertson Cardinals!

Poke!

THE TAOS NEWS

15

FOUR DOWNS

TAOS TIGER JUSTIN GOOD FORCES BLOOMFIELD'S KENYON MOSLEY OUT OF BOUNDS to cut short a 46-yard run after a short pass. Without Good's shove, Mosley would have made it to the end zone to score the game-tying touchdown.

By Sheila Miller or the Tigers, the end of the state championship game was as storybook as the beginning.

A late hit called on Taos put the Bobcats on the Tiger 48. Bloomfield had earned their place in the championship game, and their next play proved it once again.

With 2:35 left in the fourth and final quarter, Bobcat quarterback Rogelio Gonzales lobbed the ball to Kenyon Mosley, who plowed down the right side of the field, covering first 10, then 20, then 30 yards, and was still going.

➊st

JOHN T. DENNE

With 3:25 left in the game, it was 14-7 Taos. The Bobcats were in possession in their own territory – a tenuous situation for a Tiger team with a slim lead.

SET-UP

SHEILA MILLER

F

JOHN T. DENNE

and a legacy

It might have been a tied game, if not for the speed and tenacity of Tiger Justin Good, who caught Mosley and forced him out of bounds at the Taos 2-yard line.

With 2:20 on the clock and first-and-goal on the Tiger 2-yard line, the Bobcats were one play away from tying (or even winning) the game. The Taos defense couldn’t have dreamt up a better way to demonstrate their championship mettle.

The air was electric with palpable hope and expectation from both sides.

The Bobcats rushed, but the attempt was stuffed by Estevan Valerio, who sent Bloomfield back to the 5-yard line. They rushed again. Again, they only went backwards, this time thanks to Tiger defender Brian Moraga.

Facing third-and-goal, the Bobcats took a timeout.

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

➋nd MIDDLE: THE BOBCAT HANDOFF on first-and-goal is stuffed by Taos’ Estevan Valerio with the aid of Adam Vigil.

ABOVE: BRIAN MORAGA TAKES DOWN BLOOMFIELD QUARTERBACK ROGELIO GONZALES for a loss when the Bobcats were second-and-goal with under two minutes remaining in the 4A state championship game at Anaya Field Dec. 1.

THE TAOS NEWS

JOHN T. DENNE

➌rd

JOHN T. DENNE

➍th

JOHN T. DENNE

With Bloomfield on third-and-goal, ANTHONY MAESTAS MANAGES TO GET A HAND between a pass by quarterback Gonzales and a potentially gametying touchdown.

TAOS TIGER ISAIAH MARTINEZ brings down Bloomfield quarterback, Rogelio Martinez on 4th down.

W

hen they took to Anaya Field again, they opted for the air. Under pressure, Gonzales still got the ball to his man in the end zone, but the timing wasn’t quite right and the coverage by Tiger Anthony Maestas was tight. The pass was incomplete.

The clock read 1:32. Bloomfield took another time-out. The upcoming play was their last chance to keep their championship dreams alive.

AFTER

THE TAOS NEWS

COACH ABREU AND THE TAOS TIGER SIDELINE after his team shut the Bloomfield Bobcats out of the end zone four consecutive plays to assure themselves the 2018 4A state championship.

It was fourth-and-goal for Bloomfield and the fifth consecutive play in which the slightest error from Taos would jeopardize their 7-point lead and the blue trophy only a 1 1/2 minutes away.

The players returned to the line of scrimmage. Bloomfield snapped the ball and Gonzales dropped back, pursued by Isaiah Martinez of Taos, who brought him and the Bobcat championship campaign crashing to the ground.

It wasn’t long before the clock expired and the Tigers were officially declared the 2018 AAAA state champions.

As mighty a feat as it was, it didn’t seem to surprise the Tigers. When faced with the first-and-goal Bobcats, Moraga recalls feeling, “We got this.

They can’t go through us.”

And they didn’t.

In the postgame huddle, Coach Abreu Jr. told them, “What you just did on that goal line, people will talk about for years to come.”

YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

17

Engineered

TO WIN Story and photos by Sheila Miller

There are no football games in fairy tales, so the Tigers wrote their own.

It was a perfect day for a football championship. Well over 2,000 fans—bundled up against the freezing temperature and biting wind—packed the bleachers on both sides of Anaya Field in Taos on Dec. 1, spilling over onto the patches of grass near the field and standing against the railings. From the opening drive to the final whistle those frozen fans couldn’t turn away for even a minute.

TIGER ANTHONY MAESTAS after catching the kickoff from Bloomfield that started the state championship game at Anaya Field in Taos Dec. 1.

THE SPECTATORS ARE UNPREPARED for the handoff from Maestas to Justin Good during the kickoff return that started the 2018 4A state championship game.

The Tigers planned to win. Their opening kickoff return wasn’t designed to put them in good field position. It was engineered to put them on the board.

Anthony Maestas caught the ball and sneakily handed it off to Justin Good, who a few steps later placed it under the expert care of Jonathan Garcia, who rushed for 1939 yards this season. Garcia then picked and blazed along a path to the end zone. Within seconds, the Tigers covered 83-yards and had points on the board.

As soon as Garcia saw the kicker fall, he knew he would make it all the way, he said.

TIGER JONATHAN GARCIA ON HIS WAY TO THE ENDZONE for the touchdown kickoff return that opened the Taos win against Bloomfield for the 4A state title.

The ability to finish things translates beyond the field. Referring to the impact of football on the rest of his life, Garcia said: “When I need to get things done, I can get them done.”

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

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Road to the Championship

1 GAME

JOHN T. DENNE

A FLASH OF LIGHTNING EMERGES from a dark ceiling in the distance during the waning moments of the season opener at Christian Brothers Sports Complex in Santa Fe Aug. 25.

When the weather passed, the Taos Tigers beat the St. Michael's Horsemen 58-18, racking up 555 total yards; 286 rushing, 122 receiving and 147 from four interceptions.

2 GAME

3 GAME

ARCENIO J. TRUJILLO

NOWHERE TO GO BUT DOWN. The Taos Tiger defense impeded the Hilltoppers’ running game and air attack to record a 47-0 VICTORY Aug. 31 over the class 5A visitors.

The Tiger defense piled up 87 tackles, 11 of them for a loss, and three fumble recoveries.

AT THE CONCLUSION OF A FOURTH DOWN play, Aztec Tiger linemen check the placement of the ball while Dominic “Red” Lopez (at far left) gazes at the first down marker on the sideline.

Meanwhile Aiden Leblanc awaits a signal from the side judge during a 63-27 HOME FIELD WIN at Anaya Field Sept. 7.

The Tigers carried the ball 56 times for 450 yards.

MORGAN TIMMS

CONTINUES page 22

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

THE TAOS NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS! 2018 STATE CHAMPS!

21

from page 20

4 GAME

ACKNOWLEDGING THEIR FANS AFTER EACH GAME IS A STAPLE IN THE TAOS TIGERS’ PLAYBOOK. Brian Moraga makes his way down the hero’s gauntlet as the visiting crowd and the Tiger cheer team clamor to offer their congratulations after the Tigers defeated the Santa Fe High School Demons 49-0 Sept. 14.

The victory included 5 sacks and 114 yards between three receptions.

ARCENIO J. TRUJILLO

5 GAME

6 GAME

FAR LEFT:

ALEJANDRO GONZALES catches a warmup pass before the Tigers’ 45-16 victory over Capitol— where they amassed 190 passing yards, their season best—at Anaya Field Sept. 28.

It was their third consecutive game with 5 sacks.

TAOS’ SANTIAGO SALAZAR LIFTS SIMON TORREZ in the air.

In game 6, Taos snuck past the Grants Pirates 20-19 Oct. 5.

CONTINUES page 24 ARCENIO J. TRUJILLO

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

MORGAN TIMMS

THE TAOS NEWS

Tigers Fuel Up at )I( Ka Ka COFFEE

I DELI I CARRY-OUT

KOKO's CHRISTMAS/NEW YEAR HOURS Mon - Fri Dec 17-21

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SUNDAY Dec 30

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from page 22

7 GAME

TAOS’ ADAM VIGIL BODY SLAMS WIDE RECEIVER ANTHONY MAESTAS after Vigil’s touchdown Oct. 12 during Taos’ 56-0 victory against Española Valley at Anaya Field.

TAOS SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER ANTHONY MAESTAS CONSOLES SENIOR CLAYTON DEMAS Oct. 20 after their 27-0 loss to St. Pius X at Milne Stadium in Albuquerque.

The defense hurried the St. Pius quarterback, Derek Rivera, 14 times.

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

MORGAN TIMMS

8 GAME

MORGAN TIMMS

Taos carried the ball only eight times against Española, instead putting the ball in flight. Quarterback Justin Good completed seven of seven attempted passed for 158 yards.

9 GAME

POJOAQUE VALLEY'S ANTHONY MELOY IS TACKLED Oct. 26 during Taos’ 50-0 victory over Pojoaque Valley at Anaya Field in Taos.

Taos scored five rushing touchdowns, made four sacks and snagged an interception.

THE TAOS NEWS

10 GAME

TAOS’ JUSTIN GOOD DODGES OPPONENTS to sprint toward a touchdown Nov. 2 during Taos’ 35-16 victory against Bernalillo.

11 GAME

MORGAN TIMMS

The game featured 104 total tackles—19 of them for a loss—and Justin Good and Jonathan Garcia each rushing over 100 yards.

MORGAN TIMMS

TAOS’ SENIOR RUNNING BACK JONATHAN GARCIA holds off Lovington's Ayden Garcia on Nov. 17 during Taos’ 55-7 VICTORY against Lovington at Anaya Field.

Taos had four sacks, 15 hurries, and 415 total yards including over 100 yards rushing for both Justin Good and Jonathan Garcia.

12 GAME

TAOS’ ANTHONY MAESTAS CLOSES IN ON THE GOALLINE, pursued by Baylor Diaz of the Rams during the playoff 35-14 victory over Portales Nov. 24 that sent the Tigers to the state championship final with four rushing touchdowns and one touchdown catch by Aidan Leblanc.

See page 36 for Game 13...

SHEILA MILLER

THE TAOS NEWS

YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

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BOOKS before blocks

By Jesse Moya

WHILE THE TIGERS ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR PERFORMANCE ON THE FIELD, THEY HAVE TO HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON THINGS IN THE CLASSROOM BEFORE THEY EVEN BEGIN TO SUIT UP. Student-athletes are required by the New Mexico Activities Association to maintain good academic standing in order to set foot on the field and ineligibility means inability to play. Coach Art Abreu Jr. has long recognized the importance of academics in the sports world and instilled that dedication and importance in his team.

“I just steer them in the right direction, and hopefully they take my advice,” Abreu said. “I do my best to emphasize the student-athlete side of things.”

Abreu’s work ensuring that each of his team members, from eighth-grade to 12th, was eligible to play came long before the state finals.

According to the NMAA, a student must have a grade-point average of 2.0 and no F’s based on the 4.0 grading scale. Abreu held study hall for his players throughout the season every day at lunch to make sure each of them met their required grade checks.

“Do all my boys get 4.0’s? No, that’s not the case. Do all of them get 3.0’s? No, that’s not the case,” Abreu said.

“I push them on all areas, not just football. Studentathlete comes with the expectation that you have a different standard.”

According to Abreu, there were few students he was unable to play due to ineligibility in the past four years.

“[Abreu] models the importance of doing well in the ‘classroom’ in conjunction with being the best athlete and working towards their potential,” said Taos Municipal Schools superintendent Lillian Torrez.

“The combination of this culture is what took us to the top.”

Other coaches at Taos High School also embrace the student-first model of the term studentathlete. The NMAA affirms that the ability to play is a privilege, not a right for students.

“These guys are good students and that’s a testament to Taos High School,” said assistant track coach Hilario Serrano.

‘You must first be a student before you are an athlete.

And I think these young men have done that.’

Students under Abreu’s leadership must complete grade checks to play, and the new crop of football players has already turned grade checks into Abreu for the next season. This is not unique to football, but many outside the program have acknowledged his dedication to student achievement.

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

THE TAOS NEWS

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1 3 4 5 6 7 11 12 13 17 20

Aidan Leblanc 12th Angel Polanco 10th Dyllan Vigil 12th Simon Torrez 10th Anthony Maestas 12th Angel Limas 11th Jeremy Pacheco 9th Noah Armijo 11th Justin Good 12th Alejandro Gonzales 11th Ricky Alford 9th

21 24 26 27 30 32 34 41 43 44 51

Jonathan Dominguez 9th Matt Suazo 9th Jonathan Garcia 12th Tristan Garcia 12th Eric Montoya 9th Braxton Macks 9th Dominic Montano 11th Brian Moraga 12th Adam Vigil 12th Uriel Chavez 9th Christopher Rodelo 10th

2018 State Ch Taos Tigers Fo 30

YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

THE TAOS NEWS

52 53 55 56 61 64 67 68 70 71 73

Estevan Valerio 12th Tyler Gomez 12th Clayton Demas 12th Rafael Vigil 10th Max Meadowcroft 10th Santiago Salazar 11th Dominic Lopez 12th Frankie Rivera 9th Rick Fisher 12th Joseph Cardenas 9th Lucas Fillis 9th

74 Ryan Garcia 9th 76 Nathaniel Marquez 9th 77 Warren Gomez 9th 80 Isaiah Martinez 12th 85 Dante Bird 11th 99 Jason Salazar 11th COACHES (LEFT TO RIGHT): Ramon Abreu, Art Abreu Sr., head coach Art Abreu Jr., Tom Good

hampions Football THE TAOS NEWS

YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

31

#25

#67

#60

#32

Elijah Romero

Dominic “Red” Lopez

Jonathan Garcia

Daniel Pacheco

Isaiah Apodaca

Elijah you are such a wonderful person & a wonderful gift from God we are all very PROUD of You! Love, Dad & Mom, your Brother & Sisters, Tia Carla

Congratulations, you make us proud Love Mom & Dad and Family

We are proud of you, looking forward to what God has in store, Love your family

We are so proud of you!

Keep up the hard work, Love Mom & Dad

We are so proud of you for the great accomplishment you have done, Love you, the Apodaca Family

8th Grade RB

& Los Romero and All your Family.

Senior LT, DT

#99

Jason Salazar Junior OL, DL

I’m so proud of you!

Love Mom

Senior RB, CB, PR & KR

#9

8th Grade RG, DE

#22

8th Grade WR

#17

#54

Favian Cordova

Cayden Farmer 8th Grade RB

Alejandro Gonzales

Junior CB, WR, Special Teams

Reid Enjady

We are so proud of you.

Love, Mom and Family.

Excited for the future.

We are proud of you.

Love, your family

We are very Proud of You and Love You Very Much.

Love, Mom, Dad and Brothers

Congratulations!!!

It’s just the beginning!

Love, Mom, Dad, Rose & Ruth

8th Grade CB, WR

#44

#10

#73

8th Grade LB, T

#55

#30

Uriel Chavez

Daemon Ely

Lucas Filiss

Clayton Demas

Eric Montoya

The hard work paid off!

Love, Mom & Dad

Don’t ever forget that hard work, perseverance, respect and love of the game and your team will ALWAYS lead to a success. We are so proud of you!!

Love, Mom & Dad

We are so proud of who you have become.

With much love, Mom and Dad

We love you and we’re so proud of you! STATE CHAMPIONS 2018!

Love, your family

Words cannot express how proud we are of our boys commitment, hard work, and enthusiasm to be part of the Taos Tiger’s Football Team! What a wonderful Brotherhood and Memories the TEAM formed by working together and achieving State Championship!!

We Love You, Mom & Dad

Freshman LB, FB

#41

Brian Moraga

32

#26

8th Grade QB/S

Freshman S, TD

#27

Senior OD, DT

#71

#12

Senior Captian, FB, MLB

Tristan Garcia

Senior C, Special Teams

Joseph Cardenas

Noah Armijo

Keep going, I love you with all my heart, my prayer is that the Lord protect & help you make good decisions in your life!

Love Mom and family

We are so proud of you we love you , Love Mom, Dad, Bobbi & Diego

Congratulations Joseph. We are very proud of you!

CHAMPIONS!!!

An amazing accomplishment!

We are very proud of you son!

Love Dad, Wanda and The Armijo/Lucero Clan

Freshman C

Love Jo Anna, Max, Stefanie, Abbie and Candice

Junior QB, TE, DE

Freshman FB, LB

#21

Jonathan Dominguez

Freshman WR/CB Congratulations on the hard work, dedication and State Championship Victory!

With love, Grandma Margie and Corey.

#7

#74

#3

#43

#68

Ryan Garcia

Angel Limas

Angel Polanco

Adam Vigil

Frankie Rivera

Proud of you son… it’s just the beginning.

Love Mom, John and Bella

We Are Proud Of You Son Keep Going With All You Dreams.

Congratulations!!!

So proud of all your accomplishments!

Best of luck on all your endeavors son!

Congratulations, We love you!

God Bless you Always, Love Mom & Pops

Freshman DT, G

Junior K, WR

#18

Sophomore S, TE

Love, Mom & Dad

#64

Senior LB, RB

Freshman NT

Dad,Mom,Ryan, and Jesse

#72

#5

#51

David Perea

Santiago Salazar

Leonard Archuleta

Simon Torrez, Jr.

Christopher Rodelo

Congratulations, we are very proud of you!

Love, Mom, Antonio, and Brandon

You are a true champ!

We are proud of you!

“Your talent is God’s gift to you.

What you do with it is your gift back to God.” ~Quote By Leo Buscaglia

Great Job!! We are Proud of you!!

Love, Mom, Dad, Shy, Mikey and X

We are so proud of you!

Love Mom and Dad!

8th Grade TE

Junior C

#24

Matt Suazo Freshman RB

We love you and are extremely proud of you!

Love, Mom and Jaylene

8th Grade RG

#1

Sophomore SS, WR

#53

Sophomore DT, OT

#77

#6

Aidan Leblanc

Tyler Gomez

Warren Gomez

Anthony Maestas

We’re so very proud of you!

Congratulations on a great season!

Your hard word and dedication all these years to the Abreu football program has given you a State Championship Title! Thank you for the Opportunity to Share In your Journey! We love You & are Proud of You! Congratulations!

- Your Ka Tammie, Grandparents John A. & Martha Mirabal, and Grandma Vera Gomez

Congratulations to a job well done! You came onto the team and worked diligently since practice began in January. Along side your brothers you became a Taos Tiger! Enjoy the experience! We are so Proud of You! Congratulations.

- Your Ka Tammie, Grandparents John A. & Martha Mirabal, and Grandma Vera Gomez

Congrats and I’m proud of you.

Love, Dad

Senior DE, TE

#52

Senior RG

#70

Freshman DT, OT

#34

Senior SS, FS, WR

#80

#76

Estevan Valerio

Rick Fisher

Dominic Montano

Nathaniel Graham-Marquez

Isaiah Martinez

Never forget that your hard work and dedication will always pay off! We are very proud of you. Love you

Congrats, congrats, congrats on this monumental achievement.

We’re very proud of you.

Mom & Dad

Congratulations Dom! You have made us all proud!

Love, Your Family

When you joined football, you gave it your all. You never gave up and kept going strong. Your hard work has paid off.

You are part of a team that has made history.

Congratulations to you and your team on a well deserved State Championship Title. We are so proud of you.

Love Mom and Dad

Congratulations we’re proud of you. We all love you

Senior G, LB

Senior C

Junior RB, LB

Freshman L

Senior DT, TE

33

#92

#56

#85

#4

Josh Helt

Rafael Vigil

Dante Bird

Dyllan Vigil

Congratulations to all the Taos Tigers in this amazing accomplishment. You all worked hard and stuck together to make history happen. Josh I am so very proud of you and the man you are becoming and I’m so lucky to be your mom. We have 4 more years to enjoy times like these, I love you.

Congratulations, we love you!

Mom, Dad, sister & grandma

Together we made history!

Love, your football brothers

Together we made history!

Love, your football brothers

Sponsored By: Bobbi’s Place Thrift Store

Sponsored By: Bobbi’s Place Thrift Store

8th Grade Lineman

Sophomore OD, DT

Junior WR, CB

#61

Max Meadowcroft

Senior CB

Sophomore G, DE

We love you and are very proud of you Max, you inspire us. Keep up the good work!

Love Malia, Mom and Dad

#13

Justin Good Senior QB, SS, FS

We are so proud of you J. Good Love Dad, Mom & Noelle

Alfredo Cruz

Ryan Montoya

Jerome Martinez

Congrats we’re proud of you!

From your Mommas

Words cannot express how proud we are of our boys commitment, hard work, and enthusiasm to be part of the Taos Tiger’s Football Team! What a wonderful Brotherhood and Memories the TEAM formed by working together and achieving State Championship!!

Jerome, This is only the beginning for you.

Remember who you are and always do you best and you will continue to achieve great things.

Manager

Manager

We Love You, Mom & Dad

34

Manager

Love, Mom, Dad, Jacob, and Jude

WAY TO

RELAX! our Dog Care needs cov We’ve got y ered.

GO TIGE RS!!

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Way to Clean up this Season!

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TIGERS TAKE THE TITLE

By Sheila Miller

F ROM THE FIRST PLAY TO THE LAST, every moment counted in the 14-7 Taos 4A state championship victory over Bloomfield at Anaya Field in Taos Dec. 1.

The Tigers won the coin toss – a frightening way to start a game for any Taos opponent.

The Bobcats’ worst fears were realized on the kickoff.

Tiger Anthony Maestas caught the ball and handed it off to Justin Good, who passed to Jonathan Garcia, the Tigers’ top rusher. He did not disappoint. With a dazzling run into the end zone, Garcia capped the three-man, 83-yard return with the first 6 on the board. The extra point by Angel Limas was good, and it was 7-0 Tigers within seconds.

And so began a defensive battle that lasted most of the game.

Taos and Bloomfield both did an excellent job of protecting the field behind their lines, and each team was prepared for the other. The combination of cold, wind and powerhouse defense kept the ball on the ground for most of the game.

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

The first Bobcat possession began at their 20-yard line and was riddled with penalties against the Bobcats. Flags on three consecutive plays had Bloomfield facing second-and-25. An incomplete pass followed by Estevan Valerio’s big tackle on the third-down forced the Bobcats to punt on fourth-and-30.

The Tigers took possession at the Bloomfield 48. Garcia tried the center, but was thrown down for a loss of 3 yards. On second-down, Good snuck around to the left and all the way down the field to the end zone, but the touchdown was called back due to a holding penalty on the Tigers, who set up again at second-and-23 on their own 46-yard line.

The Bobcat defense applied ample pressure and the Tigers punted on fourth-and-long. After a flag on Bloomfield, the Tigers placed the punt inside the Bobcat 10-yard line.

All this with 9:47 left to go in the first quarter.

Brian Moraga had an outstanding game. The Bloomfield snap saw Moraga bearing down on Bobcat quarterback Rogelio Gonzales, getting the sack and setting Bloomfield back 3 yards. A pitch got the Bobcats about 5, but the next play was another tackle for a loss, forcing the Bobcat punt from the end zone that went out of bounds around their own 25.

THE TAOS NEWS

MORGAN TIMMS

TAOS' JUSTIN GOOD GRABS THE LEG OF BLOOMFIELD'S VINCENT MARQUEZ, throwing him off balance, during Taos' state-championship game against Bloomfield at Anaya Field in Taos.

MORGAN TIMMS

TAOS' BRIAN MORAGA BRINGS DOWN BLOOMFIELD'S ROGELIO GONZALES minutes before the end of the game Dec. 1 at Anaya Field in Taos.

F RO M T H E RE , the Bobcat defense held the Tigers outside of the end zone. The 26-yard field goal attempt by Limas was denied by a post—the eastern post, as one might expect given the winds from the Northeast.

While both teams did manage to complete passes, the day was bitter cold.

The morning winds of up to 17 miles-per-hour died down by afternoon, but the wind chill made the freezing temperature feel more like 20 degrees (F).

After the field goal attempt, it was Bloomfield’s ball deep in their own territory. Even with a player still hustling onto the field at the snap, the Tigers took a yard from the Bobcats on the first play. Bloomfield quarterback Gonzales carried on the next two plays to get third-and-2, and the big and fast Bobcat Vincent Marquez ran it all the way to the Bloomfield 48.

JOHN T. DENNE

CONTINUES page 38

CLAYTON DEMAS with the sack of Bloomfield's Rogelio Gonzales.

THE TAOS NEWS

YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

37

from page 37

T H AT WAS AS FAR as the Bobcats could go that drive. A tackle for a loss by Moraga made it second-and-16.

The subsequent pass attempt was out-of-bounds around the 50, and the pitch that followed would have been a fumble but for the officials ruling it a forward pass. The Bobcats punted on fourth-and-18 with under a minute left in the first quarter.

Good fell on the ball around the 6-yard line.

Protected by the line, Good, Garcia and Moraga made progress on the ground and completed passes to Maestas and then Moraga got the Tigers into the middle third. Two short runs and an incomplete pass brought up fourth down and they punted with 7:50 left in the half.

A dynamite run by the Bobcat’s Marquez was ended by Noah Armijo, who pushed him out of bounds, but a personal foul on the sideline saw the run called back to the Bobcat 26.

Bloomfield had the ball for barely over a minute. The Taos defense kept the Bobcats to 3 up, 3 down and had the ball back on their own 33 with 6:14 left in the second quarter.

It was Good, then Garcia, then Moraga making steady progress, but the Tigers then lost what they’d gained to a penalty. The momentum was on Bloomfield’s side. A sack and then a tackle for a loss had Taos on their own 22 facing third down and almost thirty. A big run by Garcia wasn’t big enough for the first down, and Bloomfield took possession around the Tiger 40 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the half.

An incomplete pass and a tackle for a loss by Tiger Adam Vigil didn’t deter the Bobcats.

On third-and-13, Bloomfield quarterback Rogelio Gonzales had time to connect to wide receiver Ethan Beevers. He nabbed the touchdown pass before the Tigers could bring him down and the extra point tied it up at 7 points all.

Taos and Bloomfield each had one more short, uneventful possession before heading to the locker room for halftime.

Bloomfield was making steady progress on their final possession of the quarter when the Tigers’ Clayton Demas flung the quarterback, Gonzales, to the ground, turning the Bobcats second-and-5 into third-and-15.

Then Demas ended the drive by bringing Marquez down far short of the first down.

T H E F O U R T H Q UA R T E R sustained the excitement.

Taos, then Bloomfield, had short drives. It was Dominic Lopez with a tackle for a loss that turned the Bobcat second-and-3 into third-and-4 and Lopez again with the sack that brought up the punt on fourth-and-8.

Taos got the ball on their own 20 with 7:37 left in the game. After two runs

by Good, Taos was faced with third-and-11. Then Good connected to Armijo for a gain of 20 and a first down, keeping the ball under Taos control until only 3:35 remained in the game, when they punted.

W H AT H A P P E N E D N E X T is a tale for the ages.

A big Bloomfield play would have been a touchdown if not for Justin Good pushing Kenyon Mosley out-of-bounds at the Tiger 2-yard line.

The Taos defense was nothing short of brilliant – so good their stand is its own story. See story “Four downs and a legend” on page 16. The game was all but won after a tackle by Valerio, then one by Moraga, then tight coverage by Maestas that prevented a touchdown reception, and finally the drive-ending sack by Martinez.

All that was left for Taos was to snap and kneel three times.

As the Tigers put their fingertips to the field for the final plays of their best season ever, knowing that in only seconds the championship was theirs, they remained aware of the Bobcats, who stood helpless on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Between two downs, Martinez, who was setup across from the Bobcats’ Noah Gurule, stepped over the line dividing the two teams to offer him consolation—an arm around his shoulder and a word.

T H E T H I R D Q UA R T E R was again a defensive showcase.

With Maestas on the sideline demanding noise from the crowd, Valerio and Isaiah Martinez brought down the kickoff receiver at the 20. Taos shut down the Bobcat drive in three downs and barely over a minute.

CONTINUES page 40

The Tigers weren’t able to get far on their next drive.

Bloomfield had the ball back with 8:56 left in the third, but they were punting again 1 ½ minutes later after facing tremendous pressure, including a sack by Aidan Leblanc for a 17-yard loss and a fumble (recovered by Bloomfield).

Moraga carried for 3, then Garcia bored through the defensive line for a Taos first down, but after a sack on second down, the Tigers punted on fourth.

Constantly pursued by Taos defense, Bloomfield went 3 up, 3 down again and was punting from their own backfield on fourth-and-11. The punt was nearly blocked by Leblanc.

A penalty on the Bobcats called back the kick, forcing Bloomfield to punt again 10 yards farther back, snapping the ball from their own 8-yard line.

Under pressure from Leblanc and the rest of the Taos line once again, the punter fumbled.

Armijo was ready. He recovered the ball in the end zone, putting 6 more on the board and, with the extra point, establishing the 14-7 lead that Taos maintained for the final quarter.

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

JOHN DENNE

AS NOAH ARMIJO RECOVERS THE BLOOMFIELD FUMBLE FOR A TOUCHDOWN, giving the Tigers the lead in the state championship, Aidan Leblanc, Clayton Demas, Isaiah Martinez and Estevan Valerio celebrate.

THE TAOS NEWS

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from page 38

TAOS' DEFENSIVE LINEMAN DOMINIC LOPEZ reacts to successfully shutting out the Bloomfield offense on fourth-and-goal with less than a minute and a half left in the game.

It wasn’t long before the clock expired, and the Tigers were officially declared the 2018 4A state champions.

Players poured onto the field, embracing before they lined up to shake hands.

The sportsmanship and compassion shown by Martinez in his hour of triumph was clearly supported by the coaching staff of the Taos Tigers. Rather than celebrate with his team immediately, assistant coach Abreu Sr. stood and shook the hand of every player on the Bloomfield team.

Though the announcers did their best to organize the delivery of the trophy and banner, the Tigers’ side of the field was joyus chaos.

MORGAN TIMMS

Deliriously happy players and coaches circulated about the field with tear-filled eyes while fans and family members encircled them with hugs and congratulations.

When the players knelt to be addressed by head coach Art Abreu Jr. for the last time this season—and for the seniors the final time in their high school career—he approached them saying, “I don’t know how many tears I have left!”

“What you just did on that goal line, people will talk about for years to come,” he told them. “I’m proud to say that I’m your coach, your friend, and your brother.”

When asked by Razor Sharp Productions how he felt about the graduation of his 13 seniors, Abreu Jr. responded, “I lose 13 parts of my heart.”

Speaking to and for his team, coach Abreu Jr. said, “We will always be connected.”

SHEILA MILLER

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

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PLAYER SPOTLIGHTS

MORGAN TIMMS

ARCENIO TRUJILLIO

The Good guard Tyler Gomez

BY ARCENIO J. TRUJILLO

“Good enough is not enough.”

This has been the mantra constantly used with Taos Tigers linemen by coach Art Abreu Sr. since he arrived in early 2015. It is a simple expression used to motivate his big guys to keep learning and improving the way they execute their positions.

A true believer and devotee to the Tiger cause was Tyler Gomez, who played guard for the older Abreu and took this phrase to heart from the beginning. His main job was to protect this year’s quarterback, Justin Good. He was also tasked with carving a path forward for his running backs.

Gomez, a resident of Taos Pueblo has been a quiet but formidable force during the recent run-of-the-table stretch that yielded a state championship.

“Tyler has been a major part of our line,” said Abreu, who acknowledged that this has been one of the best lines he has ever coached. “He is a humble champion, and it has been an honor to coach Tyler.”

Gomez and his younger brother, Warren, were the only two siblings on the team this year. In many ways, his mother, Tammie, could also be considered a teammate. She followed the team to every game and was a constant presence in the bleachers rain, snow or shine.

Wearing his new letterman’s jacket, Gomez explained how he stayed committed to his team and his coach. “I come from a long line of hard workers,” said Gomez, alluding to his mother and his grandfather, whose faded “T” from his playing days 50 years ago was sewn on his left sleeve. “I’m proud to be able to represent my family and my team with this accomplishment.”

Now the football has been handed off to Tyler’s younger brother, Warren, who will be a sophomore next year. And with the prospects of another championship a real possibility, team Gomez will continue to be a big part of the Taos Tigers.

Apparently, good enough, is not enough for Tyler Gomez. He hopes to play football in college.

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

MORGAN TIMMS

Ready for more

Once upon a dream

Brian Moraga

Clayton Demas

BY SHEILA MILLER

BY SHEILA MILLER

Brian Moraga comes from a basketball family.

Clayton Demas started dreaming of a state championship when he was 8 years old playing with the Taos Young America Football League. Together with his YAFL teammates, they “always talked about it.” As they bonded during those early years of play, the dream was constantly on their minds.

As a little kid, he watched football, but “didn’t really understand it.” Around middle school he started to play.

Sometime long before the Taos Tigers met Aztec this season, he figured the game out. In that one game he had “3 picks (two of them pick-6’s), two touchdowns, and one 2-point conversion.”

Moraga made a choice for his life to go this way, and he had help.

Moraga’s freshman year, he was faced with a challenge. His parents separated. Though they both remained fully supportive of him as a person and as an athlete, it ended the way of life he had known.

Right around that time, coach Abreu Jr. taught him to run. Through hours and hours of training, of hearing coach shout, “Pick up your knees!” he learned how to move forward.

Over the years, Moraga grew not only physically but also as a person. Freshman year he “looked like a piece of flatboard running,” he claims, and struggled with every loss. Football helped him grow into himself, a young man who can manage setbacks when they come and is “ready for more.”

“You know life is going to sit you down,” he said.

“You gotta get back.”

Moraga learned to exceed the standard, how to set his own priorities and that he “could handle so much more,” he said. Seeing “your whole team back you up,” no matter what, together with playing for Abreu – or as Moraga puts it, “having another dad” – has made a lasting impact on him.

Moraga and Clayton Demas together recounted a favorite memory that was far from the football field itself.

MORGAN TIMMS

Good Garcia / Garcia Good Jonathan Garcia & Justin Good

BY SHEILA MILLER

It’s about finishing, they say.

Jonathan Garcia and Justin Good seem to be most often together, both on and off the field.

The dream they realized Dec.1 began when they played on Justin’s father, Tom Good’s, YAFL team.

As young boys and aspiring football players, they used to watch the high school team play. Seeing the older kids win, especially “Isaac Gonzales, No. 18”, captured Garcia’s imagination.

Why Isaac Gonzales? Because he “scored all the touchdowns!,” Garcia said.

The chunk of 22 or 23 freshman that went out for the team when head coach Abreu Jr. arrived was eventually whittled down to the 13 seniors who took the blue trophy earlier this month. The ones who stayed are those who trusted “what coach was doing,” Garcia said, and who believed “the promise he made” that first day, Good added.

It was a promise that if they did it his way, they’d bring home a state championship. And they did.

But they got more, too. Garcia says he’s “a lot more disciplined” now, and Good knows that he’s “a better person,” most especially in ways he can’t yet fully apprehend. We’ll “see it better when we’re grown,” he said, and indicated that he expects the impact of this experience to be lifelong.

One day they, together with Estevan Valerio, showed up at coach Abreu’s house unannounced. They knocked and waited to see what would happen.

Their friendship certainly will be. In addition, of course, to the championship game itself, Good’s favorite memories are of being around all his friends. “We’re brothers.” Garcia agrees that is the secret ingredient to their success.

When coach asked them what they were up to and they responded that they were just hanging out, Abreu’s wife, Chloe, stepped in, welcoming the boys into their home.

That connection extends beyond graduation.

Last year’s seniors and their parents were a core of support, cheering the Tigers on all season.

“There’s food in the kitchen,” they remember her saying.

What’s the secret to finishing? “A lot of it’s the mental part,” Good said. “Once we get here, it’s fine.

As family, they ate.

“The hard part is getting up.”

It wasn’t always easy. It’s just before Christmas his senior year and Demas can now enjoy his first-ever lunches at liberty. For the rest of his high school career, lunch has been accompanied by films and study hour. Demas’s commentary on this sacrifice? A shrug and “keeps you out of trouble.”

Even with lunch hour occupied, trouble has ways of finding people. After a particularly bitter loss to Robertson, a game they lost not by getting beat but by “fighting with each other,” Demas knew they were in for it at practice on Monday. “300 yards of bear crawls,” he anticipated.Demas decided he “didn’t want to go through with the punishment,” so, without telling anyone, he and two other players, Tyler Gomez and Isaiah Martinez, decided not to. They ran off to Baskin Robbins instead of going to practice.

Seated around a table, they joked about the far-fetched possibility of coach Abreu driving past and seeing them there. Of course, he didn’t drive by. He walked in.

A few words later, they were on their way to practice. “He saw what we didn’t see,” Demas said.

“You can push through more than you think you can,” Demas says. Football “made us more tough and taught us to believe in each other.” Now, Demas has “higher expectations.”

No matter what next year brings, Demas knows what it takes to bring an idea from a dream to a reality.

“Football’s made life easier,” Demas said.

THE TAOS NEWS

43

PLAYER SPOTLIGHTS

From doubter to defender Ronnie Salazar

BY SHEILA MILLER

Though Ronnie Salazar, Taos Tiger class of 2017, was chosen by Art Abreu Jr. to coach middle school football and help out with the high school team, it wasn’t clear from the start that their relationship would go that way. He and Abreu “didn’t get along,” as Salazar put it.

People, including Salazar, didn’t understand what Abreu was trying to build and didn’t always appreciate his “Work hard, get what you get out of it” approach. He was trying to “mold us into men,” Salazar said.

MORGAN TIMMS

There to play Estevan Valerio

BY SHEILA MILLER

Estevan Valerio comes from a wrestling family. His father, Gilbert Valerio, himself a twotime state champion, has been supportive of Estevan “in every way he possibly could be.”

At 8, Valerio added football to his sports arsenal, playing with the Taos Young America Football League. Even then he “liked hitting people,” something he’s become very good at doing.

In 8th grade his YAFL team went undefeated until the last game.

Perhaps this taste of excellence prepared him for Abreu’s championship mindset. Valerio “always believed in Abreu.” He also claims to be Abreu's secret favorite, an exhibit of Valerio’s playful demeanor.

“I started off (high school) as an extremely immature individual,” he recounted. “Now I do my best to be a leader,” filling a void left last year when the team had many juniors but almost no seniors.

Assuming such roles can take a toll. In learning to manage the new stresses of leadership, Valerio turned to his mom, “a very spiritual woman.”

Dealing with adversity seems to be a Tiger specialty. Valerio learned from wrestling how to turn failure into growth.

It “humbles you and makes you better,” he said. Adding that “how we react to failure” was crucial to the Tiger football title, and especially to coming back from the loss to St. Pius. “We knew who we were,” he said.

Before each game “our team would walk the field. You could tell by the look in my teammates’ eyes they were there to play, and if they showed up, we’d win.”

They showed up.

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

Abreu was strict. No cussing.

Year-round practices. Five a.m. starts six days a week during the summer. It wasn’t, of course, for nothing.

He wanted to change the Taos football program, to “bring the community out,” as Salazar said.

“And to do that, you have to win.”

PHOTOS BY MORGAN TIMMS

It’s just a little adversity Anthony Maestas

BY SHEILA MILLER

When things don’t go their way on a play, or when the crowd is a little bit quiet, Anthony Maestas is there, elevating his arms and the attitudes of those around him.

When asked if this encouraging leadership style comes naturally to him or it’s something he’s intentionally cultivated, he indicated it was the latter.

“My sophomore year I had a lot of people that would help me out when I would get down.” Maestas cited Ronnie Salazar and Jude Suazo as particularly helpful in helping him “keep his calm,” knowing “it’s just a little adversity that you can overcome.”

Maestas started playing football with YAFL when he was five, continuing a family tradition. The coaches told them they could win a championship, and this year, it finally came true. Maestas played for his uncle and for his grandfather an expression of his a love for his family and a desire to make them proud.

Football has helped him be “more humble,” and to see that “not everything is just that bad.” He feels that coach Abreu has prepared him follow in the footsteps of his aunt and succeed in college by teaching him to put mindset first – to “always think positive” – and to get things done.

“He was always there for us, making sure none of us were on bad terms with anything,” Maestas said of coach Abreu. “He just made sure that we never went without knowing that he would be there for us, not only now but in the future.”

It took some suffering for Salazar to see it coach’s way. His junior year, the first round of playoffs was “heartbreaking.” More heartbreak was to come until, finally, after last year’s playoff loss to Portales caused by “a couple mental errors and penalties,” Salazar “saw the attitude switch.”

We realized, he said, that “we were good enough to get there and win and continue to win.”

Red

MORGAN TIMMS

Dominic Lopez

BY SHEILA MILLER

Not every young man you meet is going to tell you to “take smart risks.” Peñasco resident Dominic “Red” Lopez will, and he credits his football training with teaching him the value of doing the “things that might help you out but that you’re scared of.”

One example might be the most recent max-out week for weight lifting. “All the Abreus […] affect you in their own way,” Lopez said.

On this occasion, coach Ramon Abreu pumped Lopez up for his squat max-out attempt, showing him videos of the defensive linemen at Cruces and reminding him, “This is what you’ve worked for.”

Abreu encouraged him, “Don’t be afraid to be great.”

Lopez set a personal best – 585 pounds.

That’s 270 pounds more than his first ever max-out week with the Abreus where in the eighth grade he managed a very respectable 315 pounds.

Lopez still remembers his first encounter with Art Abreu Jr. He was eating at Pizza Hut when the coach came and introduced himself and talked to him about playing football. Lopez had been playing with YAFL for years and “trusted in the process” initiated by Abreu.

Four football seasons and 46 consecutive starts later, Lopez and his teammates went out for a celebratory breakfast at IHOP and, local celebrities that they are, their breakfast was ok in exchange for a photograph.

Still, all this fame isn’t going to his head. Perhaps it’s the leadership courses he took through his Taekwondo school, in which he earned a 1st degree black belt. They taught him “how to talk to people,” and “how to handle every situation with respect.”

Leadership training and natural ability weren’t fully enough to prepare Red for the Abreus.

“Flip the switch” is something Abreu says often with reference to whether a player’s mindset is dialed to win or to fail. Salazar recalls that after that loss to Portales, there were no more holdouts, no more doubters, left on the team. “Every football player on that roster switched.”

“The ‘sir’ stuff was new to me,” Lopez recalls. Even though he didn’t really connect with it at the start, assistant coach Art Abreu Sr., “an old-fashioned type of guy,” led by example. He didn’t just tell them to have some pride in what they did. He did so himself. He held doors open for people. He stressed how important it was that the players help out in the community whenever they had the opportunity, “like if someone needed help carrying something heavy,” Lopez said. With time, Lopez realized he was learning not only how to be a champion football player, but also “how to be a young man.”

Though Salazar graduated two years too early to be on this year’s state championship team and is now a full-time student at UNM-Taos, the rewards such as having been on the team continue.

In his new role as a coach, he sees the coaching staff differently, “how easily players do things and get noticed and how much the coaches let things slide,” like players goofing around.

All football families make sacrifices for the sake of their children, but Lopez knows that the sacrifices of his family were extraordinary.

Though he took the RTD bus to school during the school year, there was no bus early enough to get him to 5 a.m. practices in the summer. So his family brought him. Laughing at the recollection, Lopez said that he showered at night so that he didn’t have to get up until 3:50 a.m.

Salazar has come full-circle, from resistor to enthusiastic supporter.

Reflecting on how to face challenges, Lopez said, “All your obstacles lead you down a good path.”

Those practices are in the history books, but Lopez looks forward to the future .

Twenty years from now, Lopez hopes to be a Game Warden in Northern New Mexico with a family and a house of his own. He looks forward to checking in on coach Abreu.

THE TAOS NEWS

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45

Taos coach’s father key part of title run Abreu Sr., who coached son, now works in coaching booth

By James Barron / The New Mexican

sity in South Carolina in the mid-1970s.

nized the stigma of being “the coach’s son.”

His dad was a multisport talent who graduated from Taos, played football and basketball at Highlands and got a tryout with the USFL’s San Antonio Gunslingers and the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers. He was head football coach at Robertson from 1991-2003.

Reflecting on those days, Abreu Sr. expressed some regret at his actions although he feels it helped shape his son.

Abreu Jr. understood early on what it meant to be a part of the family.

“Being an Abreu, there is a set of expectations for you,” Abreu Jr. said. “You need to excel and do your best. You need to be an outstanding member of the community.

You have to carry that torch, that 18 wheels of expectation. As an Abreu, you’re raised to put that thing on your back and carry it.”

— E Y E I N S K Y— But Abreu Jr. wasn’t alone in carrying that load into the 4A championship. In the coaches’ booth above Anaya Field was Abreu Sr., who is the Tigers’ offensive/ defensive line coach and one set of “eyes in the sky” for his son. The father-son tandem has been together for the past four years at Taos, and it has been a roller coaster of fun for Abreu Sr. “What a ride,” Abreu Sr. said. “There is nothing at Disneyland or Disney World that compares to what I have been on. And I got to do it twice.”

SHEILA MILLER

COACHES ART ABREU JR. AND SR. EMBRACE during the final minutes of the 55-7 Taos win over Lovington (Nov. 17) that kept them on the road to the championship.

A

It seems that everywhere Abreu Jr. went, dad was always in tow. rt Abreu Jr. knows exactly when he knew what kind of person he wanted to be, and he has the Dallas Cowboys to thank for it.

It was in the mid-1990s and a group of Cowboys came to Las Vegas, New Mexico, for a charity basketball game against a team of New Mexico Highlands University alumni that included the likes of Gene Mathis, Mark Cassidy and Les Montoya.

It was supposed to be a friendly game, but that’s not how it played out.

“It was Michael Irvin, Eric Williams, the ‘Great Wall of Dallas’ (linemen) was there, and they were supposed to let the Dallas Cowboys win the basketball game,” Abreu Jr. said. “Well, whatever happened, they pissed off the wrong group of basketball players.”

The game came down to a final shot for the Cowboys, and Abreu Jr. recalls Irvin driving the lane and a Highlands player – all 6-foot-4 of him – swatted the shot away.

On the alumni’s ensuing possession, the same player went to the other side of the court and completed a 3-point play after getting fouled by Irvin to win the game.

That player? Then-Robertson head football coach Art Abreu Sr. Even though he was a decade older and nowhere near the size of some of the Cowboys, Abreu Sr. didn’t back down from the challenge.

46

It was 17 years ago on a Saturday that the Abreus took the same path, albeit in a different manner and with a less thrilling outcome. Abreu Sr. was the coach and Abreu Jr. was the tight end and defensive end at Robertson when it faced an undefeated Lovington squad that rolled to a 59-3 win. That was just one stop on the pair’s journey, though.

YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

“I mean, my dad vanished behind Eric Williams (guarding him), and my dad is a huge man!” Abreu Jr. said.

Still, the huge shadow the big man cast during his time with the Robertson High Cardinals stuck with Abreu Jr. If anything summed up how he felt about his father, it was when he asked Abreu Sr. to be his best man at his wedding in 2015. Abreu Jr. felt his dad taught him the most valuable lesson about what it means to be an adult.

“A man does what he has to do, not what he wants to do,” Abreu Jr. said.

— L E G A C Y— That motto might very well underscore the Abreu family legacy, and it helped Abreu Jr. reach the pinnacle of a coaching career Dec. 1.

Abreu Jr. put his stamp on the family coaching and athletic tree when he guided the Taos Tigers to their first state football title that Saturday with a 14-7 win over Bloomfield in the Class 4A championship at Anaya Field.

His grandfather was Leland Abreu, who coached multiple sports in Northern New Mexico and is best remembered as a head basketball coach at West Las Vegas, Peñasco, Taos and Highlands. An uncle, Ernie Abreu, led St. Michael’s to a state football title in 1964, while another, Ed Abreu, played football at Clemson Univer-

— C OA C H - P L AY E R T I E — After Robertson, they paired up at Highlands as Abreu Jr. played tight end and Abreu Sr. was the line coach in the mid2000s. When Abreu Jr. joined the Cowboys coaching staff, his dad went to the radio booth and called games until 2011 before Abreu Sr. decided to retire.

That all changed, though, in 2015, when Abreu Jr. left his job as an assistant coach at Highlands and took the job at Taos.

Abreu Sr. said he was blindsided by the decision.

“I didn’t want him to take over a struggling program, but obviously that was the best move for him,” Abreu Sr. said. “He didn’t even give me a chance to give him any advice.”

Nor did Abreu Jr. give dad a chance to decline a position on his staff even though Abreu Sr. made it clear the “retire” sign outside his home was permanent.

Well, that’s his story.

“Oh, all 6-4, 300-pounds of him I had to drag (to Taos) – my ass,” Abreu Jr. said.

Besides, even dad knew it was inevitable that he’d find his way back with his son.

— T O U G H FA T H E R— When his son started playing for him, Abreu Sr. admitted he was harder on him than the rest of the team because he recog-

“I think some people thought I was abusive to him,” Abreu Sr. said. “You try to train them the same and treat them the same, but in reality, they have to be the example.

You want them to have the same experience as their teammates, but you have to get that respect from them. So you have to work a little harder, and you pick on your son to get messages through to them, to be a role model to the rest of the team.

“That is a little unfair and he put up with it.”

—MOTHER, REFEREE— Roberta Abreu, Abreu Sr.’s wife, acknowledged that the ill will occasionally made it to the dinner table, and she had to play referee.

“There were times when the work came home,” Roberta Abreu said. “But there were times when I had to say, ‘Stop. We’re going to sit here and be a family. Let’s eat.’ And they did.”

Abreu Jr. acknowledged that at times he bristled at the treatment, but he also understood the delicate situation his dad was in.

The side effect was that Abreu Jr. became an excellent football player, earning AllDistrict 2-3A player of the year honors and a spot on the Class 3A North-South team.

“At the time, I might have felt a little sorry for myself, that he was picking on me,” Abreu Jr. said. “I wouldn’t be the man who I am today without those lessons.”

— C OA C H I N G B E G I N S — What surprised Abreu Sr., though, was that his son came to Highlands after a year at the New Mexico Military Institute while he was an assistant and stayed at the school as a fellow assistant, too.

“I thought he’d go to Mars, get as far away from me as possible,” Abreu Sr. said.

When his son got his first head coaching job, it was with the caveat that Abreu Sr. would come with him. Of course, it took the blessing of Roberta Abreu for it to happen, and she thought her husband would only stay for a year. She has been the backbone of the family, a role she said she accepted because she understood what Abreu Sr. wanted to do in his career, and later, her son followed suit.

“They told me, ‘We’ll go for one year. He’ll help me set up the program and he’ll go home,’ “ Roberta Abreu said. “I said, ‘OK, I can handle that for four months, six months, a year.’ And here we are four years out, but look at what it became! These guys go after it, they get after each other, but in the end, they’re still father and son.’ “ And what a pair they were.

As the sun settled behind the stands of Anaya Field, Dec. 1, several players wanted one more photo with their head coach— this one with him lifted on their shoulders.

As they picked Abreu Jr. up and he raised his right hand in a “No. 1” pose, there was dad, with his hand on Abreu Jr.’s back subtly offering support.

It’s a hand that has never really left.

THE TAOS NEWS

WAY TO GO,

TAOS TIGERS

STATE CHAMPS

2018!

Congratulations Taos High School Tigers!

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Tiger Coaches SHEILA MILLER

ASSISTANT COACH RAMON ABREU celebrates the Taos Tiger victory with Anthony Maestas immediately after the state championship game.

MORGAN TIMMS

AFTER BEING DOUSED WITH ICE, TAOS HEAD COACH ART ABREU JR. reacts to his team's win Nov. 17 at Anaya Field.

CHLOE ABREU SMILES AT HER HUSBAND, HEAD COACH ART ABREU JR., as he gives an interview Dec. 1 after Taos’ state-championship win against Bloomfield at Anaya Field in Taos.

SHEILA MILLER

TAOS COACHES Eric Welch, Art Abreu Jr., Art Abreu Sr., Miguel Lucero, Tom Good, Ramon Abreu

MORGAN TIMMS

MORGAN TIMMS

TAOS ASSISTANT COACH ERIC WELCH embraces junior wide receiver Angel Limas Dec. 1 after Taos’ state-championship win against Bloomfield at Anaya Field in Taos.

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

Coach Abreu talked a lot about sacrafice with his players. When asked what he himself sacraficed to get his team to the championship, he immediately replied: ”Time with my wife. She’s an angel of God. Without her, none of this would have been possible. I appreciate everything she’s done.” To Chloe he said, ”I love you” and ”Thank you.”

MORGAN TIMMS

ASSISTANT COACH TOM GOOD encourages Tigers during their warmup Oct. 12 before Taos’ 56-0 victory against Española Valley at Anaya Field.

SHEILA MILLER

ASSISTANT COACH ART ABREU SR. commending each player on the Bloomfield team before celebrating with his own state champion players after the title game Dec. 1.

THE TAOS NEWS

49

A community of champions

By Jesse Moya

By Jesse Moya

The Taos Tigers football team worked hard to earn their championship title, but they were not alone on the journey to the top.

Long-standing Tiger fans have waited years to see a football team reach the championship game, and many were certain this was going to be the team to do it. Through decades of watching from the sidelines, the stands or the press box, Tiger fans have turned out to show their support for the students, wearing their stripes proudly at every game on Anaya Field.

“The whole community feels like champions,” said longtime Tiger sports announcer Daniel Gonzales. “All of us that have participated feel like (the team) did the job, but they also brought us along with them.”

Gonzales has announced football games for the Tigers for nearly 30 years and has supported the Tigers through fair and rough seasons. This year’s group of players caught his eye early on, and after a few games, he had a good feeling about this team.

“It was an incredible job this year,” Gonzales said. “They believed in themselves and their coaches and had each others backs, and that’s why they’re state champs.”

The community of Taos has not always been known as a “football town,” but Gonzales remembers a time when his high school team was welcomed back from winning an away game with a parade from the Gorge Bridge all the way back into town. He feels that the spirit from this season will carry over into other sports as well as the next football season.

Community support for the 2018 Tigers could be seen throughout Taos this year with several stores and houses decked out in Tiger gear or messages of praise. One local who went above and beyond was Hilario Serrano, who showed his support for the Tigers in a different way.

“I had a good inclination this year that the Tigers were going to go deep in the postseason,” he said. “I really saw their work ethic and their desire.”

Each season for a decade, Serrano has placed white cups in a fence in front of Randall Lumber along Paseo 50

YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

PHOTOS BY MORGAN TIMMS

HILARIO SERRANO, FORMER RANDALL LUMBER & HARDWARE DIRECTOR OF RETAIL OPERATIONS, replaces styrofoam cups to reflect the Taos High School football team's latest winning streak, 7-0, Monday (Oct. 15) outside the store. The Tigers won their homecoming game against Española 56-0 Friday (Oct. 12), ranking them first in the state among Class 4A teams. “Coach Arbeu's program is doing extremely well right now and we are amped because he is poised for a state championship,” said Serrano, who is also the assistant coach for Taos High School's track and field team. “What I would like to see is a little bit more spirit in the community — businesses painting windows, putting balloons up, doing a makeshift fence like I do or something that brings support to the program. Because these athletes, those are our kids. They’re our community. When they have a backing, people really rooting for them and wanting them to excel, they step up a notch.” del Pueblo Sur to spell out motivational phrases for the Tigers. This year, he used the cups to track the Tigers’ record, right up to the championship game, when they ended the season 12-1.

“It gave the community a real time stat on where our football program was,” Serrano said.

Serrano has been a fan for many years and has even coached some of the players as assistant boys and girls track coach. Knowing their background in athletics on and off the field, Serrano said the boys deserve every bit of praise and glory they receive after winning this championship.

Pride in the Tigers’ efforts and tenacity was rampant across the community, and even volunteers who must remain fair and impartial had a hard time containing their excitement during the season.

Orlando Archuleta is a member of the “chain gang” who marks the football’s position and the line of scrimmage on the field. For the past ten years he has had a front row seat for all the home games.

“That’s one of the best defensive teams I’ve ever seen the Tigers have,” Archuleta said. “I think they’re a wellrounded team.”

Archuleta said he was thrilled to be on the sidelines as

the Tigers held Bloomfield away from the end zone in the final four minutes to prevent the Bobcats from tying up the game.

Back at his Taos High School classroom, the man behind the team’s success – head coach Art Abreu Jr. – is still feeling the effects of the championship game. Abreu said the reality and the gravity of his team’s victory has yet to settle with him.

“There’s hope in this community,” Abreu said. “For a major sport like this, for the first (championship) to come here, it was just awesome.”

Abreu has worked for the past four years conditioning this team both physically and mentally and said he is proud of their accomplishments but is looking at next year’s games already.

“They’re relentless,” Abreu said. “They don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. The bar has been put at another level up.

There’s a new standard.”

Abreu said the win is also for the community and felt a great deal of pride in bringing the first state football championship to Taos High School.

“It’s something that will be with them for the rest of their lives. They’ll be state champs,” Gonzales said. “That can’t be taken away from them.”

THE TAOS NEWS

Hard Work and Dedication Lead to Your Success.

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Tiger Fans

THOMAS MONTOYA, grandfather of Anthony Maestas, at the Taos 35-14 victory in Portales, doing his part to help the Taos Tigers bring home an early Christmas gift.

SHEILA MILLER

JESSE MOYA

TIGER FANS CHEER for their boys during the big game.

MORGAN TIMMS

NOELLE GOOD, sister of Taos Tiger quarterback Justin Good, applies face paint to FAITH POWELL before the game Dec. 1.

Powell, also a standout athlete, is Justin Good's girlfriend.

SHEILA MILLER

FELIPE SANTISTEVAN AND HIS 91-YEAR OLD MOTHER, AGAPITA "PITA" MARTINEZ SANTISTEVAN, who is featured in the book Remarkable Women of Taos and is great-grandmother to Taos Tiger Jonathan Garcia and Simon Torres and Simon's twin sister, Taos cheerleader Cheyenne Torres.

MORGAN TIMMS

FORMER TAOS TIGERS FOOTBALL PLAYER MIKE SUAZO laughs as he lines up Anthony Maestas’ neckline the day before Maestas and the rest of the Tigers played for the 4A championship Dec. 1 against the Bloomfield Bobcats.

JESSE MOYA

FORMER TIGER ATHLETES CHEER ON THE TIGERS as they inched closer to the state championship during the Dec. 1 game.

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

JESSE MOYA

TIGER FANS SHOW THEIR SUPPORT during the first half of the state championship game.

THE TAOS NEWS

JESSE MOYA

TIGER DAD EARL SALAZAR holds a cutout of his son Santiago.

TIGER PARENT PAULA SISNEROS, center, cheers on the Tigers as they realize their victory.

MORGAN TIMMS

TIGERS EMBRACE LOVED ONES Dec. 1 after their statechampionship win against Bloomfield at Anaya Field in Taos.

JESSE MOYA

MORGAN TIMMS

TAOS CHEERLEADERS AND MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL COURT hold hands Oct. 12 before Taos’ 56-0 victory against Española Valley at Anaya Field.

MORGAN TIMMS

TAOS SUPPORTERS WATCH IN ANTICIPATION from the sideline Dec. 1 during Taos’ statechampionship game.

JOHN T. DENNE

MORGAN TIMMS

TAOS SUPPORTERS REACT TO THE GAME from the sideline Oct. 12 during Taos’ 56-0 victory against Española Valley at Anaya Field.

THE TAOS NEWS

TIGER FANS HUNG SIGNS at every game, home and away.

YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

53

The Village PHOTO BY MORGAN TIMMS

By Sheila Miller

Building a state championship team requires feeding, transporting and encouraging dozens of kids for a decade.

The dedication of the players themselves has been mirrored, and sometimes anticipated, by their parents, coaches and members of the community. The combination of these efforts has been “a tremendous unifier within our community,” said Wanda Lucero, whose family is deeply rooted in Taos athletics.

Anaya Field is named for her grandfather, Loren Anaya Sr., who was the facilities director when Lucero was growing up in Taos. The dedication Anaya showed rising early to set the sprinklers on the old grass field, returning home for breakfast then back to the field many times throughout the day, set a precedent for Lucero.

That precedent includes the “generations of Abreus who have given their lives to student athletes,” Lucero said, and food – lots of food. After Leland Abreu, grandfather of Tiger head football coach Art Abreu Jr., led his Peñasco basketball boys to a state victory in Albuquerque, Lucero’s grandfather insisted

54

YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

that the team go to the Albuquerque home of his daughter, Rebecca Lucero, for a meal.

Rebecca Lucero and her then-teenaged daughter Wanda Lucero welcomed and fed the boys that filed off the bus. It made quite an impression on the younger Lucero.

After the 2018 Tigers claimed a state title of their own, she told Coach Abreu Jr., “My grandfather did this for your grandfather.” And now it’s her turn to host a formal banquet for the team, scheduled for January 2019.

The whole Taos community has been involved in nourishing the bodies of the Tiger team. From the advertisers who support broadcasts of the games and contribute money for meals while the team is traveling to the family members who put themselves in the kitchen preparing massive carbohydrate-heavy pregame spaghetti dinners, it takes a small army of love and devotion to keep a football team fed.

Not only did this work ensure that all the players got the same food, it also meant they got to eat together.

One might think that in a decade of playing football, the first thing to come to players’ minds when asked

for a favorite memory would be something from the field. More than half of the players asked responded right away: eating together the night before a game.

Whether it was spaghetti at home or a meal in a restaurant before an away game, those hours spent “just hanging out” and “being together” solidified the bonds between the players. The giant trays of pasta and camaraderie when they weren’t allowed to be on their phones solidified the coaches’ lessons in “how to be young men.”

The felt reality on the team is “we have each other’s backs, no matter what.” Such certainty reflects the thousands of hours of grueling work the players themselves have given, the trust they have developed in one another and their coaches, and the love and devotion of family and community members that made it all possible.

From the 2018 Tigers, you’ll hear again and again, ‘We’re brothers.’

THE TAOS NEWS

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55

TIGER STATS

SHEILA MILLER Data accessed through Maxpreps.com, December 12, 2018.

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

THE 2018 STATE CHAMPION TIGERS prepare to take the field.

THE TAOS NEWS

The offical website for

The Taos Tigers

57

TAOS TIGERS POSE WITH THEIR STATE-CHAMPIONSHIP BANNER, TROPHY AND BRACKET Dec. 1 at Anaya Field in Taos.

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YEAR OF THE TIGER 2018

PHOTOS BY MORGAN TIMMS

THE TAOS NEWS

2018 State Champions!

Congratulations, Tigers!

Your Hard-Work and Dedication Exhibited the Spirit of Excellence.