Panthers face Tularosa at home Friday
By John Earp
After a strong showing last week, defeating Centennial JV in Las Cruces 42-28, defending state 2A Football champions the Jal Panthers (ranked #2 in state in the coaches poll), will face off in Panther Stadium against Tularosa, which is ranked #5 in the same poll. Coach Dusty Giles says he expects Tularosa to throw the ball really well, though they can also run the ball. He says Tularosa has “big physical kids that can get after it defensively. They’re going to throw something at us like last year. It was an eight-man front, kind of like a 6-2, but it really wasn’t. It was kind of like a little makeshift thing. So, I’m expecting something similar to that. It’s going to be one of those games where we’re going to have to see what’s happening and make some adjustments kind of early in the ball game. I think Tularosa is definitely a contender and a team that is definitely on the rise.”
Giles says he thought last week’s game against Centennial “was a good game for us, especially from the secondary standpoint. It’s really not just the secondary—I’ve got two new outside linebackers that are also heavily in coverage and all those guys, essentially, they’re new. Centennial ran the ball the first couple of series, and after that they kind of pretty much aired it out, so we got a lot of good work in that and so to be able to get that kind of work, learn from the mistakes that we made, and come out with victory, that’s always good.”
The Panthers will play Hobbs JV next week, which will afford the opportunity for the team to develop their skills prior to district play. Giles says, “We should be well-versed before we go against Eunice.” Regarding Eunice, he said, “They’re going to be tough. I watched their first game. They did very well. Like I say, 2A is going to be very interesting. Santa Rosa came out and got after Cleveland JV, which I’m sure is much above average JV. So, they’re definitely in the mix. Texico is ranked #1, deservedly so. I think there’s like five teams you can look at right now and say, ‘Hey, they’ve got a shot.’”
At the meet & greet event at Panther Stadium this past Tuesday night, the JHS Varsity Football Team was introduced. Players included Zadyn Lujan, Andre Rodriguez, Coby Vargas, Diego Porras, Ito Arroyo, Nolbert Cervantes, Sebastian Arroyo, Gerardo Bustillos, Daniel Ornelas, Luke Guinn, Hayden Green, Xckius Ramos, Christian Diaz, Kovie Roberson, Jose Valenzuela, Austin Giles, Elijah Wagner, Brandon Houston, Jesus Carreon, Cash Taylor, Elijah Chavez, Christopher Baxter, Xavier Villa, Hector Barrera, Gabriel Juarez and David Gaytan. Managers included Aaliyah Roberson and April Peugh, with Jayden Walker, Arian Lujan, and Landon Edwards assisting.