SANTA FE FOOTBALL LOOKING TO IMPROVE EACH AND EVERY DAY
Injuries can take down any team or program and the Santa Fe High School football team had a rough ride last season, finishing with a 1-9 record. Head coach Andrew Martinez says this year’s group grew a lot during the offseason and they are stronger both physically and mentally. “This team has a desire to improve and get better, and a great team camaraderie, we’ve noticed it from day one in the summer,” said the head coach. “They are a little more connected with each other. They are working hard to right some things that were wrong and obtain their goals this year.”
“We have a lot of dogs now,” senior wide receiver Juan Ortiz described. “This year we want it bad, and we want to win.”
“We got a lot of points scored on us last year and we hate that as a defense,” said senior defensive end Mateo Griego. “We’re ready this year and we’re not going to let that happen again. It’s a revenge year.”
Quarterback Michael Abeyta returns to the field after suffering an ACL injury in week two last season. “I’m very excited and super happy that I’m back out here, it’s a big weight lifted off my shoulders,” said Abeyta. “I was so antsy the nine months that I was out, so I’m really joyful for it.”
“The knee injury he had in week two and four months later he was almost already jogging,” said coach Ortiz. “He was immediately watching film, he’s just a student of the game.”
One of the targets Abeyta will have is speedster Bryce Melton. Melton, a junior, won the 100-yard dash at the state track and field championships last spring and finished second at the National Junior Olympic Championships this summer. “You can play him (Melton) one-on-one and you might get him a couple times, but if you try to do that every play, you’re going to get beat at some point,” said coach Ortiz. “That helps our whole offense and spreads us out and they can’t just run man and blitz on you.”
“If I get a good release on them, if I get past them, most of the time they can’t catch me, which is pretty nice,” Melton joked.
“He’s really good, obviously the fastest guy in the state,” said Abeyta. “It opens up spots for other guys on the offense.”
The goal this year is to get better each day, beat their Santa Fe rivals, and get to the postseason. “I know it’s coaches speak, but one percent better every day,” he said. “Let’s get better, let’s learn from it. Our goals are always to win our city games, we want to get a district championship, and we want to go to the playoffs.”
Step one is the opening week challenge against West Mesa at home on August 18th.
