Yodice: Where's the respect for the Los Alamos Hilltoppers?

What to make of these Los Alamos Hilltoppers?

And why aren’t others making MORE of these Los Alamos Hilltoppers?

That’s a question Los Alamos coach Garett Williams probably wouldn’t mind having answered to his face.

This is the lay of the land for the Hilltoppers. They are 8-0. They are the only undefeated team in Class 5A. Next week, they’ll be at Milne Stadium to play Valley where they can clinch the District 1-5A regular-season crown.

But is there a special carrot that comes with that? Are they getting the recognition they deserve?

If you look at the 11-Man polls, the other three undefeated teams in New Mexico — Las Cruces in 6A, St. Michael’s in 3A, Santa Rosa in 2A — are all ranked No. 1 by the coaches. And by the computer.

Los Alamos is ranked sixth in both.

Which means, in short, the Hilltoppers are anything but a lock to get a first-round bye for next month’s playoffs, even if they finish 10-0 and they almost certainly will do that over the next two weeks. And this is clearly a sensitive topic in Los Alamos

I spoke to Williams on Friday, and when I let him know the reason behind the call, there was a discernible chuckle at the other end of the phone. This is a subject he’s clearly given plenty of thought to. And it’s obvious by his tone that this is all more than just a bit exasperating.

“They need to do what’s right,” Williams said. This was a directive issued probably to any number of entities: the coaches who vote in the 5A poll, the MaxPreps poll, even the New Mexico Activities Association. “Give you a shot to have a bye.”

The top five teams in both the coaches’ poll and the MP poll are from the other district in 5A, the southern district, the one that has been the dominant group of programs in the state’s second-largest classification.

It is certainly conceivable that Los Alamos could pass Goddard and Gadsden in the coaches’ poll between now and Nov. 2, when the postseason brackets are announced. Those same two schools are ahead of the Hilltoppers in the MaxPreps 5A computer rankings.

Of course, there is little Los Alamos can do about the district it is in, which we all know is vastly inferior, top to bottom, to the southern district.

But does that necessarily mean the Hilltoppers deserve to be punished, so to speak? Clearly the strength of schedules between 2-5A teams and 1-5A teams contribute heavily to tipping the scales in the polls.

“We don’t have any control over that,” Williams said.

But he also doesn’t care. I asked Williams straight out, do you believe you have one of the four best teams in 5A?

“Absolutely,” was the quick response.

“I don’t care what the criteria says,” he added. “And I don’t know what to do about it.”

What he is forced to do, at least until the offseason when he can try to address this further, is get his boys ready for Valley next Saturday, and then Miyamura to close the regular season.

At worst, Los Alamos is going to get a first-round home game Nov. 7 or 8 in the 5A playoff bracket.

“All we can do is coach our kids up and play like crazy,” he said. His team won in the first round last year, then was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Gadsden. “And put ourselves in the best position to be successful. Whatever (the bracket) comes out as, that’s where we’re gonna go play.”

SILVER LINING: Silver, one of the youngest teams in 4A, has won back-to-back games against Chaparral and Albuquerque Academy and the Colts, who have been banged up quite a bit this season, certainly in part due to the youth on this roster — Silver has fewer than 10 seniors — is playing some excellent football.

At one point this season, Silver had nine starters out with injuries. The Colts still had six out on Friday when they scored late to top Academy, 21-17.

“A lot of our backups are stepping up,” coach Jerome Ortiz said. One of those injured starters was the player who suggested the play and formation that won the game for the Colts on Friday, a touchdown run with 31 seconds to go.

Silver has been having to adjust on the fly throughout the year. And the Colts still have one of the state’s top defenses in the 4A division.

“With all these injuries it opened my eyes to a whole different offense that we don’t run,” Ortiz said. “So we put it all together, and once we put our pass with our run together … I think we’ll be very dangerous going forward.”

BYE BYES: How did Week 9’s results shake up the possible top four in Class 6A re: postseason byes?

Well, it almost certainly has knocked Volcano Vista out of the top four after the beat-up Hawks dropped a 28-27 overtime decision Friday against Rio Rancho.

And that loss was a boon for two teams right off the bat: La Cueva and Hobbs. And possibly also Rio Rancho itself, especially since the Rams can still win the District 1-6A title when they face Cleveland the night before Halloween.

Volcano Vista is not done yet as the Hawks face Cleveland next week on the West Side. But Volcano is on the outside of the top four looking in as we head into Week 10, from where I sit.

Las Cruces and Cleveland remain cinches for byes. If Hobbs wins its final two, against Organ Mountain and Carlsbad, that will almost certainly get the 8-2 Eagles a top four seed, I would imagine, as the second-place team in 3-6A behind Las Cruces.

My personal top four after Week 9:

Las Cruces, Cleveland, Hobbs, La Cueva.

SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE: Los Lunas on Friday rotated quarterbacks in its shutout victory over Santa Fe, getting both Kaiden Reese and Luke Cieremans plenty of snaps.

Reese injured his ankle the previous week against La Cueva, and Cieremans — whose older brother Paul was an outstanding QB at Los Lunas not long ago — was forced into duty, and he played pretty well in relief against the Bears.

Reese is not quite 100%, Tigers coach Greg Henington said, “but he’s very close. Both quarterbacks need to play. (They complement) each other very well.”

On another injury note, Highland saw one of its mainstays, Jose Tapia, leave Friday’s game at Belen after landing on his collarbone. He has been superb for the Hornets . It wasn’t immediately known the extent of the injury.

TRICK OR TREAT: I had Artesia coach Jeremy Maupin on my podcast (Preps Central) earlier this week. Near the end of our visit, he mentioned Halloween, and the unorthodox way the town handles that day.

Halloween falls on a Friday this year. Artesia is home that night to play Mayfield in a regular season finale.

A good chuck of the town, he told me, volunteered to move Halloween festivities, like trick or treating, to Saturday, Nov. 1.

I had never heard of this, but apparently it’s not a new thing, at least not in Artesia, which has done this before.

There is commitment — and then there is what Artesia does.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: How about a nod to the defending Class 2A state champions, the Texico Wolverines?

Texico, ranked No. 3 in Class 2A, hit the road Friday for a highly anticipated matchup with rival Eunice, and beat the third-ranked Cardinals 42-34 in a district game.

The Wolverines started slow with three early losses — two to Texas schools, the third in the opener to Santa Rosa — but the Wolverines (6-3) are gathering steam as we inch closer to November.