This 344-page edition includes the 2011 season data and information.  Two other features have been added to this new volume.  It contains most school scores from 1950-1952 along with a narrative of the 2011 season right through the exciting championship games of December 3rd.

It is a revised and updated edition to Volume II.  Volume III has everything that is in the previous volume and much more; scores of every team and every year, statistics, league standings, coaching records of the leading legends, North-South All-Star results, and playoff records.  Which school has won the most games in state history?  Who has the longest winning streak right now?  Which team has now lost 25 straight?  It’s all here in the expanded 2011 edition of Volume III.

Copy and paste the website below to order your book(s) today through Amazon.com.  Surprise dad, brother, boyfriend or husband who has been telling you for years about his high school exploits.  The new and expanded Volume III is priced at $24.95.  Volume II is $19.95 as is the companion history of Volume I.  All books are paperback and fits your sports bookshelf at 9.7”x7.5”. 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=New+Mexico+High+School+football&x=13&y=18

                                                                        

Another interesting look at team scoring.  It is no surprise that St. Mikes beat Hope Christian last weekend, 8-7.  They are the two best scoring defenses in New Mexico this season.  After 13 games Hope gave up 97 points (7.46ppg).  St. Mikes has played only 12 games and has given up 86 points (7.16ppg). 

Of course Hope’s season is now over.  They will sit back and "hope" that St. Mikes gives up 12 points or more to the Lovington Wildcats.  Lovington is averaging 27ppg but had only the 5-0 win last week. 

No other team has a change to capture the defensive scoring title.  It will all boil down to whether the stingy Horseman defense can shut down Lovington.

I keep a list of the scoring leaders for defense and offense going back to 1953.  The leader is Cuba who, in 1980, played 10 games and gave up only 12 points (1.2ppg).  Unfortunately for the Rams, their 10th game was a semi-final tie with Estancia, 6-6.  Estancia won the game on penetrations (ball possessions inside the red zone) which was the tie breaker at the time.  Cuba  finished the season 9-0-1.

Unscored-upon teams were not that unusual prior to 1945 or so.  Menaul was the last known team to do so in 1941.  Every two or three years before that, a school would have such success in years where eight games were plenty and a 14-0 score was a blowout. 

In recent years the best scoring defense has given up double digits points.  Belen won the honor in 2010 but gave up 11.6ppg.  Can you imagine?  That was the best in the state.  The usual winner gives up less than 6ppg.    

      

The table below has the highest scoring teams of all time.  Aztec and Cleveland each have a chance to climb higher in ranking with a championship game on Saturday.  Both should easily leap over #6 Artesia’s 612 points by halftime.   

HIGHEST SCORING TEAMS IN HISTORY (11-Man)
Rank        Team                         Total Pts
     1     Hatch Valley – 2004             699
     2    Aztec – 2010                          657
     3    Belen – 2009                          644
     4    Lovington – 2010                  637
     5    Aztec – 2008                          633
     6    Artesia – 2007                       612
     7    La Cueva – 2003                   606
     8    Hatch Valley – 2003             600
     9    Aztec – 2011                            600*
   10   Aztec – 2005                           596
    11  Cleveland – 2011                     593*
           *   Playing one more game

The scoring race in the table below is interesting.  If the season ended today, Aztec would be the 2011 scoring champ for best average.  But Valencia could likely take the title away because they are through and finish at 49.3.  Aztec will have to score 41 points or more against Goddard to keep its title away from Valencia.  Cleveland will need to score 48 points against Mayfield.  Comparing just Aztec and Cleveland, Cleveland will need at least 48 points and outscore Aztec by 8 points for the scoring title.  No other school is in the running.

   2011 HIGHEST SCORING AVERAGE
     Team         Games   Points     Avg
     Aztec*               12         600          50.0
     Cleveland*       12         593           49.4
     Valencia            12         592           49.3
                 *   Playing one more game

Check out my book for a year-by-year look at the highest scoring teams and the best scoring defense for each year since 1953.  (Did you know that Cuba holds the record for lowest scoring average when they gave up 12 points in 10 games in 1980?)

     Lovington and St. Michaels are not strangers to each other in the playoffs going all the way back to the title game in 1958.  They have played 10 times, five of which were for the championship.  The Wildcats have won eight times but only lead 3-2 in championship games. 

     Perhaps not too surprising since they are 285 miles apart, these two schools have never played each other in a regularly scheduled game. 

     Last week Lovington won, 5-0, while St. Mikes won, 8-7.  That doesn’t quite jive with history.  The winner of games between them have averaged over 30ppg and loser hasn’t done bad either with a 15ppg average.  They last played in the quarterfinals last season with the Wildcats prevailing 42-26. 

     I’m one of these guys that always gives the edge to the southern team due to the history of the matter.  Last season the northern most champion for all of the seven football classifications was the Santa Rosa Lions.  In fact, if you take Mayfield out of the mix, the western most champion was the Artesia Bulldogs.  Basically, the closer you are to the Texas border, the better football you play.  That might explain Aztec’s 58 year title drought.

     However, is all that changing?  La Cueva started the whispers about an Albuquerque dynasty with its 2003-04 titles.  How about Santa Rosa’s exciting repeat over Eunice last weekend.  Eunice was 12-5 in title games and just doesn’t lose when they have a good team like this year’s version.

     The magical  year of 2007 saw a changing of the guard in 3A for the Yankees as all four finalist were from District 2.  It is the only time in history that four teams from the same league were in the Semi-finals (St.Mikes, Robertson, Raton, Academy).  Surely that is a signal of a shift. 

     All of this being said, St. Michaels looks like the better team on paper but Lovington is the defending champs and, well, they are closer to Texas.

Lovington 28 St. Mikes 26

 

Lovington beat Silver last weekend, 5-0.  According to my records, the only other 5-0 game in New Mexico history going back to 1950 was an Academy victory over Espanola in the season opener in 1979.  Amazing isn't it!  

Now, back prior to 1912 scoring was different.  At one time 5 ponts were awarded for a touchdown.  So, there were probably some 5-0 games back 100 years ago.  

Speaking of odd, the 8-7 game with St. Mikes beating Hope Christian has not been duplicated in playoff history.  That wouldn't seem to be a very unusual score but the last time it was done was way back in 1989. 
  

AZTEC/GODDARD HISTORICAL PREVIEW

     Goddard High School opened and became the second public high school in Roswell in 1965.  The Rockets were immediately assigned to the biggest school classification (AA) and won only two games in their first two years.  In 1967 they were dropped to Class A and found success.  They played Aztec (I saw this game) in the semifinals.  Trailing 14-0 early Goddard used the powerful legs of Tank Holland to overwhelm the host Tigers 27-14.  The Rockets went on the win the title the following week by edging Cobre, 14-6.  It was their last playoff appearance until 1988.

     Since that initial game the Rockets and Tigers have split four times.  All games have been in the playoffs.  They have never scheduled each other in the regular season.

     Aztec’s wins were in 2003’s first round (26-22) and in 2005’s semi-finals (35-30).  Goddard won the next two by equally close margins.  David Vega and his young Rockets took advantage of a cold and wet afternoon in Aztec in 2007 and upset the pass-happy Tigers, 21-16, in the semi-finals.  Then in 2008 they met again at the Wool Bowl for a memorable title game matching explosive offenses.  Goddard won, 49-45. 

     Two of the leading coaches in New Mexico will be battling each other.  Coach Sam Jernigan has been the Head Coach at Goddard since 1991.  His 201 coaching wins (191 in New Mexico) rank him seventh all-time on the NM win list (Eric Roanhaus 310).  The Abilene/Amarillo native, surprisingly has his first undefeated team in this year’s 12-0 Rockets.

     Meanwhile, rumors circulate in San Juan County that Aztec Coach Brad Hirsch will be coaching his last game for the Tigers this Saturday.  The very successful Hirsch is completing his seventh year at the helm.  He previously was an assistant at Farmington and has his roots in California. 

     For years there has been talk that Hirsch aspired to go to the college ranks and, as D1 prospects came through his program at Aztec, rumors linked him to an exodus with those athletes to the college game.  Hirsch sent several athletes including his son and last year’s quarterback Brycson King to a junior college program in California.  Now, his oldest son is graduating from Aztec and, for other personal reasons, Coach Hirsch is said to be cutting his ties with the Tiger program and will perhaps land back in California.

     Aztec is tough on coaches.  Even legendary coach Fred Cook, for whom the stadium is named, had his critics.  The only way he could escape full vilification was to die.  The football-crazy town is football savvy and is tired of losing championships.  Hirsch is an offensive wizard but can’t put a defense together to stop tough running teams in championship games.  Aztec is 1-11 in title games, having won the first one in 1953 and has lost 11 straight since, three of them on Hirsch’s watch. 

     Barbershop talk says he puts his best athletes on offense, leaving the defense with lesser athletic players and that he doesn’t have a running game to match his high powered passing attack.

     He can successfully defend the running criticism with two of the all-time leading rushers in NM history in Mike Hathcock (2005-2008) and Seth Cain (2002-2004).  Each retired with over 3,000 career yards rushing.  This season his defense has put together three shutouts but did give up 41 points to Valencia last Saturday.

     Coach Hirsch is the second winningest active coach in New Mexico (84-16 .840% with his 100th game last weekend).  He trails Michael Bradley’s 65-12 .844% record among active coaches.  Both trail Carrizozo’s Bernie Laabs (1959-66) for all coaches who have at least five years as a head coach in New Mexico.  Laabs stands at .851.      

     My Prediction:  Goddard 52  Aztec 34. 

New Mexico high school football_ playoff Quiz. 

Answers are from The History of New Mexico High School Football, Volume II.  Answers will be posted by Sunday, November 20th.

1.  Predominately Native American schools in NW New Mexico are 0-57 in 11-man playoff competition?  There are 10 such schools, not including private schools like McCurdy, Navajo Prep and SF Indian.  That’s right, 0-57!  The losingest school is 0-16.  Which school has that distinction?

2.  The school with the most championship game losses actually won the very first state championship played in 1953.  Now they have lost 11 straight.  Can you name the school?

3.  Lea County schools have won 45 state championships.  Which of the five Lea County schools has played the most playoff games?

4.  There were exactly 100 schools playing 11-man football in 2011.  Six of those schools haven’t made the playoffs.  They are newer schools with the oldest starting football in 2002.  Name them. 

5.  With 50 schools qualifying for the 11-man football playoffs each season, you would think that everybody makes the playoffs sooner or later.  The two schools that have suffered the longest without qualifying for the playoffs have waited over 20 years.  Second place is Albuquerque High, the legendary school from the first half of the 20th century.  They last qualified for the football playoffs in 1989.  The school that has waited the longest has done so for 45 years!  Name that school. 

6.  The national record for the most football championships is held by Sioux Falls, SD with 36 titles.  Little Rock Central, Lawrence, KS, and Omaha Creighton trail the South Dakota school.  A New Mexico school is 5th .  However, those other schools dominated their states prior to 1950 and the NM school has won all of its titles since 1950.  Name that New Mexico school.  How many have they won?  ( come on, surely you know this …)   

The attached Word file shows every possibility for the location of playoff games in New Mexico in 2011.  Want to know where Las Cruces and La Cueva will play if they meet each other in the playoffs?  How about Academy and Silver City?  Click below and find out. 

Thank you to those who have made some nice comments about this site and my records.  I am in conversations with the NMAA about printing a book that will contain so much of the information on high school football in New Mexico.  Here is one of my favorite stories.  

In 1972 Corona High School was struggling through a miserable period.  They had won only three games out of 53 in a seven year span.   Due to dwindling enrollment they would stop playing football all together in 1973 and return later to the 6-man version in the 1980s.  The highlight of that streak (or lowlight as it may be) was in 1968 when they took 14 boys to the season finale at Capitan.  Four boys were hurt in the first half.  As was the habit in those small schools, the Cardinals loaded the team on the bus for the intermission.  The bus was conveniently parked just beyond the goal post for the afternoon game.  After a few minutes the bus pulled away and left the area.  This was highly unusual but puzzled fans and officials assumed they were going to the local convenience store for a rest room break.  After a considerable period of time it became apparent that the Corona Cardinals had gone home!  Even though the coach was severely repremaned for that decision, it may have been the smartest move he made all day.  The haftime score was 51-0.