With volleyball wrapping up the week before and Centauri the only SLV team still battling in the football playoffs, our Colorado Preps Weekly update on the Valley looks at the fast approaching basketball season.
Football
Centauri had no trouble with the undefeated Buena Vista Demons on Saturday afternoon, starting the running clock in their game in the third quarter on the way to a 42-6 victory in the 1A semi-finals. The Falcons moved to 11-0 with the win and will now head to Pueblo for a state title game tilt with fellow undefeated Limon, after the Badgers defeated Wray in their semi-final.
The Falcons set the tone for the game with their first two touchdowns coming on 40 plus yard touchdown runs, as they held a 21-0 lead at the half. The third quarter is where the game exploded though, with the Falcons scoring three times, including a final passing touchdown with two minutes remaining to start the running clock.
Sanford’s Cinderella run through the postseason came to a close on Saturday in Mancos, as the Bluejays put an end to the season with a 26-16 win in their 8-man football semi-final matchup.
Turnovers would be the big issue for the Indians, with three interceptions being joined with three fumbles stopping several promising drives, including one which came in the Mancos redzone at the end of the first half. Add in a turnover on downs, and the Bluejays defense did what it needed to to keep the high power offense of the Indians down. Senior Kelton Gartrell had a big day, pulling in nearly 100 yards worth of receptions while also running for over 100 yards, but he was limited to less than 25 yards of rushing in the second half.
The Indians will bring back a good core from this year’s team, but will need to hope for some depth to come up from the middle school, as they are graduating nearly a third of their team, with five seniors from the 16 man roster moving on.
Basketball preview
Boys
Let’s start off in 3A, where both the Alamosa Mean Moose and the Centauri Falcons were able to qualify for the postseason, but both eventually were eliminated by the same team in Colorado Academy.
Alamosa entered the postseason as the 21 seed before they exited in the first round, and Centauri would enter as the fifth seed, earning a first round bye but failing to slow down the Mustangs who defeated them in the second round.
While the Falcons are graduating one of their top three scorers, both Mason Claunch and Baron Holman averaged double digits for them and will be back for a senior campaign. In fact, Centauri is bringing back four total seniors to this years team who played significant minutes during last years 12-2 season.
Alamosa on the other hand, is returning their leading scorer in Damian Orozco, but lost their next two, with Dylan Mendoza and Kane Absmeier both leaving the roster due to graduation. It will be interesting to see what Kade and Kasey Jones can do as juniors, especially after watching them thrive on the football field.
Monte Vista’s boys made a run to the second round of the postseason last year, and will be looking to build on the success. It will be difficult with the loss of nearly 15 points per game from Tyrese Otero and another nine points per game from Andres Maestas and seven points from Nick Torrez. In fact, six seniors moved on from the Pirates, leaving the reins to an upcoming class which only accounted for about 10 of their 51 points per game last season.
The Sanford Indians also were in the postseason last year at the 2A level, and after getting the first round bye, they fell to Ignacio in the 10/7 second round game. No numbers are up for the Indians from last season, but they are returning a core of battle tested veterans, led by Ethan and McCray Larsen, who will be a tough one-two punch on the inside for any team to handle. The Indians also are going to get help on the inside from Parker Vannoy, who has more strength this season to assist on the inside.
At 12-4 last season, the Del Norte Tigers were possibly one of the better teams to come out of the San Luis Valley last year on the basketball court. The Tigers made a run to the second round last year, earning the 11 seed, and are bringing back their best weapon from that team as junior Ben Parra is returning after averaging 15 points a game. The big name to replace for the Tigers is Logan Crestone, who’s 14 points per game will need to be picked up. With three returning juniors and one senior from last year’s team who all saw good minutes, the Tigers should be on the radar for most of 2A as a threat though.
After a 7-5 season last year left them on the outside of the postseason looking in, the Center Vikings are poised to change that this season on the boys side. They do lose 12 points per game from the graduation of Habran De La Cruz and nine more from senior Diego Velez, but are bringing back Abraham Echauri and Victor Almeida for their senior years after both averaged 10 points per game last season. The Vikings won’t have a lot of varsity game experience on the court, but if a few pieces develop from their youth, they could be in the conversation at the end of the season for a postseason spot.
The final team from the 2A ranks in the SLV looking for a huge turnaround is Sargent, and after the Farmers went 0-13 last season, there really isn’t anywhere to go but up. Sargent does graduate a pair of seniors, but with two juniors and three sophomores returning this season, as well as senior Antonio Martinez inside, the Farmers have a good base to build on and could pull a few upsets on the court this season.
1A basketball in the SLV didn’t see a whole lot of teams qualifying for the state playoffs last season. In fact, Sangre de Cristo was the only team to make the field of 24. The Thunderbirds were a second round exit with their loss to Cheraw in the second round, but look to make a return this season. The T-Birds graduated Kevin Enriquez and four other starters and during the off-season, also lost Luke Christian (Alamosa) and Leighton Curtis (Centauri) to transfer.
Sierra Grande came up just shy of a postseason spot, finishing the season at 8-4 last year, but they are bringing back one of the best weapons in the 1A ranks, with senior Isiah Chairez back after averaging 17 points per game last season. Not only that, but sophomore Brian Ontiveros is also returning after nearly putting up 10 points per game. The Panthers are only graduating two seniors from last year’s team, and should be a favorite for not only a postseason spot, but possibly the chance to host a regional if it all comes together for them.
When you talk about big weapons, the Antonito Trojans are graduating one of the best from last season, with Josh Duran taking his 22 points on to the next adventure. While losing him wouldn’t be a death blow, the Trojans do graduate four seniors who accounted for nearly 40 of their 51 points per game last season. It might be up to Dalton Romero alone this year as a returning senior who averaged 9 points a game, unless something else develops at the south end of the valley.
If you head up into the mountains from the valley, you will find another team looking for answers on who will be their leader this season. The Creede Miners are moving on from the Fisher Leggitt era, and will have to find a way to replace the seniors 25 points per game. The good news, there are plenty of faces returning who could help spread the points out. Expect Stone Thompson to play a big role after averaging seven points and nine rebounds per game last year as a junior, and fellow senior John Twite and upcoming junior Ryder Whitehorn will also be keys in replacing the lost energy of Leggitt.
Another interesting team to watch this year that is coming off of a tough 2021 are the Moffat Cowboys. They enter the year with only one senior graduating last year, and only costing them 2.7 points per game. Seniors Dylan Wingate and Tristan Martinez should be consistently around 8 to 10 points per game, and returning sophomore Ziah Pesqueria averaged nearly eight points per game in his first varsity year. Expect for the Cowboys to be looking for one of the 1A postseason spots this season.
Finally, we head to Centennial, where the Rams are bringing back their full team from last year’s 0-7 campaign. While we aren’t expecting a massive turnaround from the Rams, they should be able to be more competitive than the past season, especially since their final few games of last year showed improvement, with closer games against Cotopaxi and Moffat.
Girls
It was the Centauri Falcons who made the San Luis Valley famous last year in girls hoops, with the Falcons getting the second overall seed and taking their postseason to the quarterfinals before being upended by the University Bulldogs. What does that mean for this year for the Falcons though? It means finding 30 points to replace Courtney Hamilton and Brenna McDaniel after the two seniors graduated last year. In fact, the Falcons graduated their top four scorers from last year, and six of their top seven. Abbey Smith is the only real returner with much varsity time, so the early games this year for the Falcons will answer quite a few questions.
Up the valley, Alamosa is looking for a rebound from a rough go of it in 2021, only goin 6-7 on the year. The Mean Moose were a young team last season with five sophomores following Emily Lavier for the lead in team scoring. This could be a way for them to take some teams by surprise this season, as not only do they bring back scoring, but they are also bringing back most of their top rebounders as well. Look for the Mean Moose to have something to say in the always tough 3A Intermountain League.
In 2A, it was the Sanford Indians who took their postseason run the deepest, falling to the eventual state champion Limon Badgers in the semifinals after taking down Yuma and Olathe on the way there. Sanford might be the eventual favorite in 2A girls hoops entering the year, after only losing one senior from that semi-final run. Both Cheyenne and Asia Caldon return as seniors after averaging 24 points a game between the two of them, and as a team, the Indians should be able to build on over 10 assists per game last year and an amazing 11 offensive rebounds per game.
The Del Norte Tigers who also led the way for the SLV, trekking to the second round before falling to second seeded Cedaredge to end their season. Del Norte is moving on from Kaeci Madrid, who averaged 16 points per game last year, but the good news is Kelci Madrid is coming back as a junior, along with the next two top scorers on the team. Only graduating two players from last seasons team means the Tigers should once again be in the hunt for the 2A Southern Peaks League title.
The Sargent Farmers also made a push into the postseason last year, falling in a close game to Olathe in the first round. The Farmers do return top scorer Mary Willis for her senior season, but are looking for a cast to support her with the next three scorers on the team moving on. The questions for the Farmers also rest on the rebounding, where they lost more than half of their rebounding talent under the basket.
The Monte Vista Pirates were on the outside of the playoff chase looking in last year, but not by much. Chevelle Garcia and Lilly Henderhan lead the cast coming back which includes all five of the top scorers last season for the Pirates. In fact, Monte Vista only graduated two seniors from the 8-6 team last year.
Just up the road from the Pirates, the Center Vikings put together a healthy campaign as well. After going 9-6, they were also just on the outside of the postseason picture. Natalia Cendejas graduates with 10 points per game, but coming back behind her is senior Alexis Varela who also averaged 10 points a game along with seven rebounds. In fact, rebounding set the Vikings apart, averaging 30 per game, and 19 of those rebounds are returning this season.
Sangre de Cristo held the torch for the 1A school in the SLV last year, making a run to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual state runner up Fleming. Three seniors who combined for 19 points are gone, but returning for the Thunderbirds is Ashley Mortensen who picked up 15 points per game last season. Finding a way to keep an inside presence with the loss of Avery Palmgren will be difficult, but Sangre is bringing back a huge presence from last years team and should be a favorite to make the postseason again.
Sierra Grande was just on the outside looking in last year after going 9-5 in the regular season. Marianna Loya is back for her junior season after leading the Panthers in scoring and rebounding with 11 points and seven boards per game. The Panthers do lose the next four scorers being Loya to graduation, so questions remain on who will step into that role, but everyone on the 12 girl roster played in double digit games last season, so experience on the court at the varsity level should be there in the early season.
The Moffat girls return Natalie Roberts and most of their roster from a year ago so they’ll look to move up in the standings. Another key returnee is Karmyn Hauger who returns as a junior after leading the team in rebounds last season.
The Antonito Trojans are in the same conversation as Moffat, returning their top two scorers in Shiinei Tallman and Patricia Silvas. Tallman returning is big, after she averaged 10 points and 14 rebounds per game for the Trojans last season. They do move on from two seniors graduating from a small roster, so depth could be a problem for them, look for a better season than the 4-4 they presented last year.
If bringing back your top two scorers is a good sign, most of the 1A teams in the SLV could be primed for a good season. Centennial joins the crowd there as they return JaeLea Maestas and Xiomara Maestas, who combined for 27 points per game last season for the Rams. The Rams will need to pick up the pace on rebounding, with no one averaging more than four per game last season, and depth will always be a question, but look for them to pull off an upset or two as they also look for a postseason bid.
Finally, the Creede Miners wrap up the preview for basketball, after going 0-7 last season with only five girls on the roster. They graduate a pair, so getting at least two more faces out is vital for the program, but depth is the biggest question for them.
