The season hasn't even started yet and the pundits are already crowning La Cueva state champs. Ronnie Daniels and his Bear squad will first need to go through your Volcano Vista Hawks TONIGHT at Wilson Stadium beginning at 7 PM.
We have just been moved to 5A and have the most challenging schedule of any other team in 5A, hands down. The Hawks have talent and could be the first team to upset those Bears but REALLY need fan support to encourage them in their efforts!
Hope to see you ALL there!
Go Hawks!
Hawks Looking for a Big Push
James Yodice
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Editor's Note: The Journal is counting down the top 10 prep football teams in the metro area.
For all its X's and O's, for all its scheming and game-planning and film watching, for all its various complexities, football sometimes is merely a matter of sheer mass -- and the ability to effectively displace other human beings.
Football vernacular describes this as "smash-mouth."
With that, let's get better acquainted with the Volcano Vista Hawks, a team with nearly 1,400 pounds of mass along the offensive line.
"I think it's going to be a big part of our success," said senior guard Erik Crum, "and I like it that way. There's no one else to put it on when things go wrong."
Volcano Vista is No. 9 in the Journal's countdown of the top 10 teams in the metro area. As the Hawks -- 10-2 last year in Class 4A -- make the leap into the 5A classification, as much as anyone, they will be dependent on their space eaters.
Crum, Anthony Kennedy and Randy Williams form the bulk of the…well, bulk, for the Hawks.
Kennedy goes 6-feet-5, 280 pounds. Williams is 6-2, 270. Crum is 5-11, 305. These guys need a nickname.
"We're gonna get behind those big guys, move the chains and get our 4 yards a shot," VVHS coach Chad Wallin said. "But they're all super athletic, too. I think all of them bench right at 300."
Crum and Williams play guard. Williams is moving over from center, a spot now occupied by junior Nick Throgmorten. Kennedy is at one tackle; his cousin Austin Kennedy is on the other side.
"We need to win up front," Wallin said. "That's where the athleticism on our lines will benefit us."
Anthony Kennedy has gotten the most run during the offseason, primarily because he committed to New Mexico State. But Wallin won't call him the Hawks' top blocker.
"Erik is our best lineman," said Wallin.
Most of the group has been together since YAFL, ascending up through the ranks.
"We're experts now at what we do," said Williams. "We know the steps. It's like second nature to us."
In the, well, bigger(?) picture, Volcano Vista's pyramid begins with that offensive line. They obviously will present matchup problems.
They'll need to be powerful and quick, because one of the Hawks' question marks coming into 2010 is how they'll replace two very effective players in the backfield: quarterback David Lehocky and tailback Matt Sandoval.
Senior Kyle Byer, last year's JV quarterback, takes over for Lehocky.
"He's smart, he's athletic ... I don't think he has quite the arm that David has, but he's good at recognizing schemes," Wallin said, describing Byer as someone who really only needs to manage the offense.
The Hawks haven't settled on one replacement for Sandoval; they have several, including sophomore Andre Vigil, junior Thomas Cantrell and senior Isaiah Nix. And perhaps others as well, Wallin hinted.
Defensively, Volcano Vista was victimized a bit by good passing teams last year and by teams with speed. It is no coincidence that the Hawks' two losses came against Belen and Goddard; Volcano Vista was routed by Goddard in the state semifinals.
Wallin said the secondary is stronger, and the defensive line is anchored by senior end Zach Clouse and 320-pound tackle Adrian Trujillo.
If Volcano Vista has an issue, it's at linebacker, where the Hawks are still trying to find the right mix. There won't be much time to adjust to 5A, either, not with La Cueva, Eldorado, Las Cruces, Manzano, Oñate and Sandia all part of a brutal nondistrict schedule.
"We had success last year," Wallin said, "but what we didn't have is experience to draw on. The biggest thing we lack is tradition."
Said Crum, "I like the pressure. I'm happy about that. Pressure makes diamonds."
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