NMMI Sports Press
The New Mexico Military Institute Colt football team has put together a solid 5-3 record on the season, but is still searching for their first win in district play.
NMMI dropped their first district contest last week at Dexter, 28-18, in a game where 14 of those Demon points were scored directly due to turnovers, including two pick-sixes, one for a 92-yard return to put Dexter up 7-0, after NMMI had driven down to the Demon 11-yard line.
This week’s district opponent is Class AAA’s top-ranked team, the Tularosa Wildcats.
“Tulie’s No. 1 in the state for our class,” said NMMI head coach Randy Montoya. “They are going to be a tough opponent. They make no beans or bones about what they are going to do – come running right at you, old school style hard-nosed football – and try to impose their will.”
“We’ve got to be ready to play, no matter what the elements are tomorrow,” continued Montoya while acknowledging the continued cold and possible wet forecast for Friday’s home 7:00 PM game on the NMMI campus. “We’ve got to focus in on our keys. On defense, we need to line up correctly, make sure we read our keys and flow to the ball. Offensively, we’ve got to take care of the ball – that killed us last week, too many turnovers. And on special teams we’ve got to make sure that everyone takes care of their job and doesn’t take a play off.”
Despite the loss last week in Dexter, Montoya knows his team learned a few things about themselves.
“I was proud of the way our kids played last week, minus four or five plays. I think our kids gained some confidence knowing they can compete with some of the best teams in the state in our classification. But when you’re playing good teams like that, you just can’t give away points like that.”
As for the tale-of-the-tape about Tularosa, the Wildcats will come into Colt Field with a 6-1 overall record and 1-0 in district after man-handling Tucumcari last week, 53-0.
“They’ve only lost one game this season, and that was to a team in a higher classification,” explained Montoya. That loss was at home four weeks ago to Class AAAA Ruidoso, 33-18.
“Tularosa’s defense is solid up front,” continued Montoya. “Their box is one of the best in the state. They usually run a split 4-4 and those front eight are very aggressive.”
And on offense, as coach Montoya mentioned earlier, the Wildcats like to run, and run, and run the ball, usually in that order. They’ve collected over 1,526 yards on the ground in seven games this season, led by senior QB Traiton Griffen who accounts for over a third of that total with 522 yards on 85 carries.
“We just need to do focus on ourselves and match [the Wildcats’] aggressiveness,’ said Montoya. “With both teams trying to win, playing tough, it’ll come down to who makes fewer mistakes.”