St. MIchael's Horsemen ranging far afield to collect wins

Road trip! As anyone who has ever played high school sports can attest (or done an impromptu college roadie, for that matter), some of the best memories of your youth come from road trips with your buddies.

For the St.

Michaels football team, life on a bus has been a real thing over the past week or so.

For the second time in eight days the undefeated, top-ranked Horsemen pack their bags for a game far away from the friendly confines of home.

Last week, it was 660 miles round-trip to Eunice.

On Friday, its 352 miles to get to and from Raton.

Thats a robust 1,012 miles and about 20 hours staring out the window of a bus to play four 12-minute quarters.

Horsemen head coach Joey Fernandez said he usually has the players pick a movie everyone can watch to kill a little time.

The trip to Eunice was especially tough, requiring about seven hours to get each leg out of the way.

I dont think we even watched a movie this time, Fernandez said.

All I remember is going out to eat in Hobbs and having it take forever.

We usually get to the field about three hours before a game and it was around 4:30 by time we got [to Eunice].

Junior receiver Brayden Hollis said the players just did their own thing to pass the time.

Thats a long time on a bus, but we just talked or played games on our phones, he said.

You can try to sleep or something but it seems like it takes forever to get there.

The trip to Raton is at least a familiar one.

Until this season the Tigers and Horsemen were rivals in District 2-3A, requiring St.

Mikes to make the drive every other year for football and every season in most other sports.

Heres a look at this weeks games involving teams from the Santa Fe area: Simply put, this is perhaps one of the most anticipated regular-season games in Sundevils history.

This is the litmus test weve all been waiting for.

Are the Sundevils for real? Is their aversion to throwing the ball (just two pass attempts all season) truly going to work? Well get a pretty good feel after this one, a battle of the second- and third-ranked teams in the 4A coaches poll.

The Spartans are led by quarterback Uriel Castro, the single most talented player Espanola has encountered.

He alone accounts for about two-thirds of Bernalillos offense.

If the Sundevils can dominate time of possession and continue to crank out 300-plus yards rushing per game, it seems well have the answer to the above questions.

Prediction: Bernalillo 26, Espanola Valley 16 The last time these former district rivals met was last years 3A state quarterfinals, a game in which the Horsemen clawed their way out the depths to score three times in the fourth quarter to win and set the tone for a state title two weeks later.

Raton has dropped down a weight class, losing to a pair of still-undefeated teams while adjusting to its new surroundings.

As stated several times before, this Horsemen team is different.

The defense has been absolutely dominant and the mental discipline the entire team has shown puts it on a different level.

Hard to expect anything new at this point.

Prediction: St.

Michaels 48, Raton 6 There are no off nights in 6A, something the Demons have learned over the years.

On paper you might think this game is a toss-up, but look closer.

The Eagles are a solid playoff contender and one of the better teams in a top-heavy Albuquerque market.

Their offense has struggled this season and managed just 14 points in consecutive losses to top-10 teams Los Lunas and Volcano Vista.

Theyll be looking to make a statement heading into next weeks date with top-ranked La Cueva.

Prediction: Eldorado 46, Santa Fe High 18 Things have had a tendency to go bad pretty quickly for the Jaguars this season, and injuries are the major reason.

This teams much more efficient with Deaven Montano at quarterback, but his ankle is likely going to derail the Jaguars the rest of the way.

Fortunately, theyre faced with an opponent who has it worse off than them.

The Ravens are giving up 54 points a game and have won just one game against a team outside of the Four Corners area since 2019.

Prediction: Capital 43, Rio Grande 12 All those really looking forward to the regular season finale on Nov.

1, raise their hand.

Theres a lot to get through before we can watch St.

Mikes visit Cardinals Stadium, including this visit from a 2A top-10 team.

Cards will have no problems heading into their district opener next week against Pojoaque.

Prediction: Robertson 54, Tularosa 8 The host Bobcats have been on a rampage since last years upset loss in the 4A state semifinals derailed their run as the top team in the state.

All theyve done through the first four weeks is prove theyre every bit as good, if not better.

The Tigers have shown theyre no pushover.

Their blowout loss at St.

Mikes to open the season has been followed by three solid, double-digit wins leading into last weeks bye.

Taos is rested, ready and in a position to surprise a few people.

Prediction: Bloomfield 41, Taos 14 What in the name of space lasers have the Hilltoppers cooked up? After two losses by a combined three points in the opening weeks, their offense has erupted to the tune of 112 points the last two weeks to put them back on the map for a district title.

Unbeaten and tied for the lead in 1-5A, they can set up a massive game next week at co-leader Belen.

Prediction: Los Alamos 55, Del Norte 12 If theres a team in 2A capable of jumping into 3A and making some immediate noise, its Texico.

The Wolverines have the size and depth to make things interesting at the next level.

They enter as the top-ranked team in 2A.

Prediction: Texico 34, West Las Vegas 27 Why all the hate? These teams records are inverted, yet the host Lobos are ranked higher in this weeks 8-man poll.

We all know that doesnt amount to a hill of beans, but it does serve as some bulletin board fuel for the Wildcats.

Prediction: Questa 30, Escalante 29 The Bobcats took a licking last week at Legacy Academy.

It wont be easier against a Skyhawks team that owns wins over Gallup and Santa Fe Indian School.

Prediction: Newcomb 36, McCurdy 20.

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