Help the homeless, get suspended ...

St. Cloud's head football coach Bill Buldini learned what happens when he reached out to a homeless player that he took in. The gesture was in good faith, too bad it violated Florida High School Athletics Association bylaws. After a mea culpa, he was reinstated.
There's the story from the Osceola newspaper

The week that will be: Sept. 28-Oct. 2

The intensity ratchet ups a few notches as the district season begins for those teams that haven't started yet - specifically District 2AAAA/5AAA/2AAA/2AA volleyball; 2AAAA soccer - and the opening week brings some big events.
Let's start with tonight District 5AAA volleyball begins - Yes, folks, get used to saying 5AAA instead of 2AAA if you haven't already. Tonight Pojoaque Valley, losers of its last three matches against Class AAAAA's No. 3 (Rio Rancho Cleveland) and No. 2 (Rio Rancho) plus AAAA's No. 3 (Artesia) team, play Santa Fe Indian School in a big match right off the bat.
The Elkettes are the No. 1 team in AAA; the Lady Braves are No. 2. But SFIS is hurting badly- it lost hitter Lakeshia Padilla to a knee injury that appears season-ending (that goes for basketball too). SFIS at less than 100 percent isn't a match for battle-tested Pojoaque.
Can the Lady Braves win a game? That might what they hinge their hopes on.

About a mile away - in Perez-Shelley Gymnasium at St. Michael's - the No. 3 Lady Horsemen entertain No. 5 Albuquerque Sandia Prep in another 5AAA opener. The Lady Sundevils have wins over AAAA Moriarty (twice) and Roswell Goddard plus AAAAA Highland (warning here, though: Capital owns a win over the Lady Hornets, too). St. Michael's struggled for a weekend without hitter Alexa Chavez, but the team's most vital offensive piece returned last week. St. Michael's has been tested time and again, which will only bode well in this district. This will be the more exciting match of the two, but give the nod to the hosts.

Thursday
District 2AAAA volleyball
Santa Fe High at Española Valley, 7 p.m.
The skinny: Welcome to District 2AAAA volleyball, Demonettes. They bring one of the best hitters in the North in Shivaughn Hatt, but Española has a bit more depth in the hitting department. While Los Alamos is the favorite in the district, the gap between the rest and the Lady Hilltoppers is not as great. So a good start is essential for both teams.

Nondistrict football
St. Michael's at Albuquerque St. Pius X, 7 p.m.
The skinny: The state's largest Catholic schools battle to see who prays better to the same God. Seriously, This will be another tough game for the Horsemen, as the Sartans are battle tested as well. Don't let a 1-4 mark fool you. St. Pius has played tough in all of its games. Even a 63-28 loss to Aztec was a 42-28 score to start the fourth quarter. St. Michael's comes off an in credible rushing performance as it collected more than 500 yards on the ground. If the offensive line keeps up its dominating push, the Horsemen should be able to run crazy again.

Friday
District 2AA volleyball
Peñasco at Santa Fe Prep, 6:30 p.m.
The skinny: In past years, the Blue Griffins had to concern themselves with getting by Mora in the district. In a newly formed 2AA, add the Panthers to that list. Peñasco comes in with an 11-1 record and a lot of momentum, having won two regular season tournaments in the process. Santa Fe Prep comes in at 8-2 and with one of its stronger teams in years. The winner gains the upper hand in the quest to dethrone the Rangerettes.

Note to Demons fans: Yes, Santa Fe High plays Friday. But it's Taos. In fact, the Demons should be 4-3 heading into the meat of its district schedule in mid October: a finish of Los Alamos, Bernalillo and Capital.

Saturday
District 2AAAA soccer
Capital at Los Alamos, 1 p.m.
Skinny: The Jaguars proved its one of the top teams in AAAA after beating Piedra Vista and Farmington on back-to-back days 10 days ago. But these are the Hilltoppers, the kings of this district. Beat them, and Capital just might be a dark horse for next month's state tournament. If you don't, the pretender tag stays.
Your move, Capital.

The weekend that will be Sept. 17-18

I'm trying a new idea for my blog by giving you the heads up on what is coming this weekend around the area. I might - or might not - provide my predictions (if it strikes me, so sue me. Seriously, I'd like to know the grounds so that I know where I can and can't tread. It's not a threat. just a challenge.)
The next two days has plenty for a high school sports fan to chew on - and get heartburn. And just about every sport will be represented (but shouldn't they always?). So without further ado, let's go to the highlights:

Football
St. Michael's at Las Vegas Robertson, Friday, 7 p.m.
The skinny: The former district rivals meet for the first .... blah, blah, blah. You've read enough about that. This game really will determine who is the best in the North. Thanks to Socorro's win over Raton, the margin between the Ponies, the Cards and the Tigers is paper thin. Maybe even smaller.
This game features two teams that love to do two things: run and play defense. If this game is over in an hour, I wouldn't be shocked. What I will be shocked about is if either quarterback Robertson's Daniel Martinez or St. Michael's Michael Wiegel pass for more than 100 yards. If they do, it's not a good sign.
So I will say the winner will be the team that passes for the least amount of yards.
The loser? West Las Vegas, which plays Ruidoso at home - the newly renovated Frank Herrera Complex. I hear it's a nice place. But just like a tree in a forest, if nobody is around to look at it, does any one care?
Bold prediction: St. Michael's 24, Robertson 20. (To avoid last-second field goal drama for newbie Will Webber).

Note to the Santa Fe High and Capital football fans. Yes your teams play Friday, but it's ROBERTSON-ST. MICHAEL'S!!!! Just like next week it will be ST. MICHAEL'S-SANTA FE HIGH!!!!


Fort Sumner at McCurdy School, Saturday, 1 p.m.
The skinny: Remember the whole Charlie Brown-kicking-the-football comic strips? Well, Lucy (Fort Sumner) insists that this time she won't pull the ball away. Good luck with that, Charlie (Bobcats.)

Volleyball
Tournament of Champions, Friday and Saturday
The skinny: Are you bored of watching Pojoaque Valley dominate? I'm sure the rest of the North is, too. So here's your chance (Santa Fe High, Robertson, Capital, St. Michael's, West Las Vegas, Española Valley, Santa Fe Indian School, this means you!) to stop the carousel. Chances are you won't. Wait, make that you won't.

Boys soccer
Santa Fe Preparatory at Albuquerque Hope Christian, Friday, 3 p.m.
The skinny: Read the following statements on Saturday:
- The Blue Griffins are 7-0.
- They are Class A-AAA contenders.
- They avenged themselves against the Huskies, who beat them in a monsoon-soaked shootout 3-2 last year.
- They just beat the No. 3 team in A-AAA.
You know what you want to read, Santa Fe Prep.
So do it.

Monte del Sol at St. Michael's, Saturday, 1 p.m.
The skinny: Desert Academy is a distance fourth - maybe fifth? - in District 2A-AAA. Monte del Sol has a chance to make this a three-team race. The Horsemen, on the other hand, can turn this into what this district has been prior to 2009: An exclusive club that only Santa Fe Prep is a member of. Besides, the new guy usually fumbles his way around the room at your parties any way. Why bother of letting him in?

Cross country
Valdez Memorial Invitational, Pecos High School, Saturday, 9 a.m.
The skinny: Watch Antonio Varela run. Nothing more needs to be said.

Live blog: Atrisco Heritage-Santa Fe High

I am using coveritlive.com to live blog tonight's football game. Go to coveritlive.com and look for "Atrisco Heritage-Santa Fe High football" under live events.

Soccer rankings, as of Friday

Here are this week's soccer rankings, thanks to the coaches poll with www.nmsoccer.com. First place votes are in parentheses.
Forgive the uncoordinated fonts (stupid cut-and-paste!).
Still, enjoy.


Boys
Class AAAAA
1. La Cueva (7) 89
2. Las Cruces Mayfield (3) 84
3. Eldorado 66
4. Las Cruces 62
5. Cibola 41
6. Gadsden 31
7. Sandia 34
8. Rio Rancho Cleveland 28
9. West Mesa 25
10. Volcano Vista 23

Class AAAA
1. St. Pius X (8) 79
2. Belen 59
3. Los Alamos 58
4. Roswell 56
5. Alb. Academy (1) 55
6. Los Lunas 29
7. Roswell Goddard 25
8. Farmington 22
9. Piedra Vista 20
10. Santa Teresa 17

Class A-AAA
1. Bosque School (7) 70
2. Sandia Prep 63
3. Rehoboth 51
4. St. Michael's 44
5. Hope Christian 43
6. Santa Fe Prep 36
7. Taos 22
8. Ruidoso 15
9. Monte del Sol 11
10. Desert Academy 9

Girls
Class AAAAA
1. Sandia (4) 66
2. Cleveland (2) 58
3. Eldorado 47
4. (tie) Volcano Vista (1) 46
4. (tie) La Cueva 46
6. Las Cruces 35
7. Cibola 24
8. Rio Rancho 22
9. Mayfield 13
10. Carlsbad 8

Class AAAA
1. Alb. Academy (4) 40
2. St. Pius X 32
3. Farmington 30
4. Del Norte 29
5. Los Alamos 27
6. Piedra Vista 20
7. Aztec 18
8. Los Lunas 8
9. Moriarty 5
10. Belen 4

Class A-AAA
1. Sandia Prep (4) 40
2. Hope Christian 33
3. St. Michael's 32
4. Bosque School 25
5. Portales 20
6. Socorro 19
7. Robertson 14
8. Santa Fe Prep 10
9. East Mountain 8
10. Rehoboth 7

ESPN: The World Wide Leader just might invade your town like this ...

ESPN certainly loves to hype sports, and its love - or should I say, its need - to expand its vast empire has reached the high school levels. What's also extended to the prep scene is the WWL's obsessive-compulsive disorder. The network tried to shove its square pegs into the round hole that is the Folsom-Grant rivalry in Northern California. Think the coaches enjoyed the experience?
Check it out right here.

Prep scores for Friday night

Here are scores for tonight's action, as provided by the Rival's New Mexico Preps site. Thanks to Kyle Henderson for all that he does. We wouldn't know a tenth of goings-on around the state without his passion and commitment. If you have a chance, visit his site. Even better if you sign up for it. It's a great way to keep in touch with the prep scene. Now that I am done shilling for a good man, one with the scores:

Artesia 63, Lovington 49
Aztec 42, Los Lunas 0
Blanding, Utah 19, Kirtland Central 7
Cibola 28, Highland 25
Cleveland 47, Bel Air 10
Clovis 40, Alamogordo 0
Eunice 50, Jal 6
Farmington 53, Gallup 13
Goddard 35, Rio Rancho 3
Hatch 35, Tucumcari 18
Hobbs 53, Gadsden 3
Las Cruces 23, EP El Dorado 20
La Cueva 42, Volcano Vista 0
Manzano 61, Rio Grade 13
Mayfield 51, Chapin 8
Moriarty 33, Bernalillo 8
Piedra Vista 28, Santa Fe 27
Raton 46, Clayton 20
Robertson 41, Portales 6
Santa Rosa 56, Estancia 22
Silver 32, Santa Teresa 22
Socorro 41, West Las Vegas 0
Tularosa 47, Hot Springs 19