The new football stadium Albuquerque Public Schools is building on the West Side will be, as widely expected, the site for the 2013 season opener.

Here’s the catch: Everybody in APS – everyone except La Cueva – will have season openers at the new stadium.

On the same weekend.

APS has released its football schedule for this coming season, and the first weekend will include seven – yes, seven – games at APS’ latest multipurpose facility.

The games stretch out over what should be a memorable four-day period.

In another twist, the season opener will take place on a Wednesday night, Aug. 28, between Manzano and Volcano Vista.

Valley and Cibola play there Thursday, Aug. 29.

APS has a doubleheader Friday, Aug. 30. Eldorado and Atrisco Heritage play at 5 p.m., with Sandia – last year’s state runner-up in Class 5A – facing West Mesa at 8 p.m.

There are three games scheduled Saturday, Aug. 31.

St. Pius and Albuquerque High get it started at 10 a.m. That is followed at 2 p.m. by Del Norte and Rio Grande.

The wild weekend ends at 6 p.m. with Rio Rancho and Highland.

Milne Stadium hosted a tripleheader on the last day of the 2012 regular season, something that was believed to be a first for that venerable stadium. This year, for the first time in decades, Milne and Wilson will be dark on Week 1.

All Week 1 games are part of APS’ East vs. West Kickoff Clash.

The eighth game in this year’s East-West package has La Cueva visiting Cleveland on Friday, Aug. 30.

The Bears and new coach Brandon Back will headline the second week at Community Stadium – that’s the name it is being assigned until, or if, APS decides to call it something else – with a game Thursday, Sept. 5, against Valley.

West Mesa, Atrisco Heritage Academy, Volcano Vista and Cibola will be calling this stadium their primary home.

Valley has two home games at the new stadium – one against La Cueva on Sept. 5, and another against Eldorado on Sept. 19. The Vikings also have a home game Sept. 12, but that one, against Capital, is at Milne.

♦ Also as expected, the extra stadium is going to allow APS to do away with those pesky 5 p.m. Saturday kickoffs. There is not one of them on the entire schedule.

And there are four Saturdays – Sept. 28, Oct. 19, Oct. 26 and the final weekend, Nov. 9 – with no home games involving APS programs.

The trade-off is a heavier package of games Thursday and Friday.

In fact, for the final four Thursdays of the 2013 season – Oct. 17, Oct. 24, Halloween and Nov. 7 – there will be games at each of the three APS stadiums, including Milne and Wilson. Most weeks, there will be varsity games only at two sites.

PLAYOFF SEEDING/SELECTION MEETING: The New Mexico Activities Association has in previous years been announcing its football playoff selections on the Saturday night of state soccer, which this year is Nov. 9.

But at the most recent NMAA board meeting, the organization decided that it is better served doing it Sundays instead. This year, the brackets come out Nov. 10.
— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal