Handicapping the city football teams.

OK, so maybe a little bit of Geoff Grammer, our dearly departed sports reporter (only to news, though. He lives, if you haven't been reading our paper), is rubbing off on me. But for some reason, I'm liking these two subjects:
Santa Fe High.
State playoffs.
Now that you've picked yourself off the ground and FINALLY stopped laughing, hear me out.
Yes, the Demons just completed an 0-10 season - but in Class AAAAA. The move to AAAA no doubt will help. In fact, I venture to say if Santa Fe High was in AAAAA, it would win three games and position itself as a contender in (likely) 2AAAAA.
But the powers that be at the New Mexico Activities Association saw fit to put the school in AAAA, and the football team will benefit.
How much so? I'm calling them the co-favorites with Bernalillo for the district title. I say this because head coach Ray Holladay is in his second year, and he has 70 kids out for the team. He has plenty of skill players returning, even with the departure of Bobby Chavez to Las Cruces Mayfield (allegedly).
Jason Fitzpatrick looks like an All-District quarterback. But one thing Holladay said after Monday's first practice is that he doesn't know if his junior can make the reads and the throws when it matters the most. Why? Well, last year, he was running for his life behind a pourous offensive line that was no match for the likes of Albuquerque La Cueva, Sandia and Valley.
It's hard to tell what kind of a quarterback you have when he's trying to simply survive.
But Fitzpatrick can move (as last year's test proved) and he's got a good arm - good enough to make almost any throw he needs to.
The other thing is that 2AAAA has no giants. No La Cuevas, no Sandias. Heck, maybe not even an Albuquerque High.
Add to that the departure of coaches at Los Alamos (Hello, Garrett Williams), Capital (welcome to New Mexico, Josh Wallace) and Española Valley (Does Joe Jiron really look good in red and gold as opposed to Capital's turquoise and black?), the Demons are in a ripe position to reverse two trends:
No playoff appearances since 1986.
A second winning record in the same span.
They have experience, they have depth (something sorely lacking from last year's team), and they have an offense that could be potent.
As far Capital, measuring this team will be better in October than in August or September. Wallace has a lot of work to do to get the program where he needs it, but he can and probably will if he's given time. The numbers for the first day of practice are not much lower than when Steve Castille was there. The question is will those players stay as they struggle through the first half of the season (and make no doubts, they will struggle because they are learning a new offensive and defensive game plan on the fly)?
If Wallace keeps his nose to the grindstone, he will. Another piece of advice (which I am sure he already knows): If the upperclassmen show any kind of resistance, go young. Holladay had to do it last year at Santa Fe High. Castille had to do it his first year at Capital.
It might mean those sophomores and freshmen will take their lumps, but what they will do is listen and work hard. Upperclassmen - and especially seniors - seem to shirk at the idea of slugging their way through a season, especially as the losses mount. However, this group is accustomed to success and might try to fight it out to the end. Besides, talent-wise, there is no real difference between Capital and Santa Fe High.
The measuring stick is in where the Jaguars are under Wallace in Year 1 as opposed to the Demons under Holladay in Year 2. Patience is the word.
St. Michael's will be ... Well, St. Michael's. Russell Disch is a potent 1,000-yard rusher with George Dominguez as a capable - and speedy - No. 2 guy. Michael Lamb, who is getting looks at some Division I schools, is a beast of a linebacker and faster than he looks. The key is in the hands of Michael Weigel and the receivers. Fernandez likes his receivers and he feels that Weigel  can inject some oomph into a passing game that has been sorely lacking for the last two years. If they can make opponents pay for stacking up the line of scrimmage, the Horsemen will go far.
Like state championship game far.
They're that good.