FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2013 THE NEW MEXICAN
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SPORTS
Making sense of MaxPreps
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hat does all this mean? For anyone who visits MaxPreps.com to digest the all-important rankings system for prep sports in New Mexico, it’s a bit like trying to master calculus when you haven’t yet passed algebra. So, that dumbfounded look is not just an attention-getter. What’s “Str.”? (It’s strength of schedule) How does the James site calculate the Barron ratings for each Commentary team? (A combination of games/ matches won, quality wins achieved by each team and its strength of schedule are thrown together to spit out a number in this algorithm). This past week, though, there were other questions raised, especially from a newspaper that chose to run the rankings in its Sports section. Like: u Hey! Where’s Española Valley (Class AAAA) and Pojoaque Valley (AAA) in the volleyball rankings? u What happened to the St. Michael’s boys and girls soccer teams? They were missing from the A-AAA rankings. u And why are records sometimes different in the rankings versus what’s on the team page? Gerry Valerio, senior writer with CBS Interactive (which owns MaxPreps.com), was needed to make sense out of these questions. This is the second year of an agreement between the site and the New Mexico Activities Association that makes MaxPreps.com the central site to report all scores and statistics for all member schools. It also offers a rankings system the NMAA uses as a part of its criteria for seeding and selecting teams for the postseason in most sports. As with all things new, there is a learning curve in the process, and Valerio’s explanations might help fill some of the gaps in understanding this week. The issue with some schools not appearing in the rankings is simple — they had not played enough matches for the system to assign a rating for them, although that changed Thursday for Española and Pojoaque volleyball (the Lady Sundevils are No. 3 in AAAA, the Elkettes No. 4 in AAA). In the case of the St. Michael’s soccer teams, Valerio said it could be the coaches not entering scores in a timely enough fashion. “What happens is that teams will look like they played seven games [or matches], and wait until the end of the week to put in scores,” Valerio said. “At some point in time, we only had a certain amount of scores.” When rankings come out (every Tuesday for soccer and football; Tuesdays and Thursdays for volleyball), they look skewed or incomplete. Also, the records are based on the information at the time of tabulation. Complicating things for St. Michael’s soccer are forfeits, which Valerio said are discarded because the computer can’t factor them in its ranking. Thus, the forfeits by Capital boys and girls are meaningless. The same can be said of September rankings when the season is barely at the quarter pole of a long race. At least now we can move on with a better understanding of how the system works. As for its effectiveness … That’s another column altogether.
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NFL
Reid’s return a success for K.C. Chiefs
By Barry Wilner
The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — The look was strange: Andy Reid in all red on the visitors’ sideline. The result was Chiefs 26 similar to what he Eagles 16 gave Philadelphia in his 14 years in charge of the Eagles. Reid’s homecoming was a smashing success for the new Kansas City coach thanks to a dynamic defense that forced five turnovers and sacked
a harried Michael Vick five times in the Chiefs’ 26-16 victory Thursday night. “Yeah, it was different,” Reid said. “I was on the opposite side of the field than I normally am at. But I can’t tell you that I was caught up in that part of it.” Vick even limped off with 1:07 to go after fumbling, but stayed around to hug Reid following the final play — just after Donnie Avery gave Reid a Gatorade shower on the sideline. “It was great to see the players that are here,” Reid admitted. “I had a
chance to talk to them after the game.” Kansas City, which has not had a giveaway in opening 3-0, has won one more game already than it did in 2012 — when it earned the first overall draft pick, then hired Reid days after he was fired on the heels of Philly’s 4-12 finish. The usually stoic Reid showed some fire to match his bright red outfit late in the first half when he thought the Chiefs got a bad spot. He came out to the hash mark to yell at Chiefs head coach Andy Reid calls the officials, then walked off at halfa play in the second half Thursday. MATT ROURKE/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS time still gesturing his displeasure.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Six seniors strong
First-year McCurdy football head coach Jorge Oropeza meets with his team following Thursday’s practice. The undefeated Bobcats travel to Fort Sumner on Friday night. COURTESY PHOTO
After switching positions, QB hopes to make most out of final year at McCurdy
hoops was the only option. “The coaches didn’t want us playing football if we were on the basketball team,” said McCurdy quarterback Chris Serrano, one of the six ex-Devils still wearing Bobcats blue. “I’ve always loved football. I love the contact, and being here gives us a chance to be a part of all that.” By Will Webber Now that the six are all seniors, they are once The New Mexican again making serious noise in Class A. The Bobcats ESPAÑOLA are 3-0 entering Friday night at perennial smallschool power Fort Sumner. he Sundevils Seven are now the Sundevils Their early success may come as a bit of a surSix, but the half-dozen who remain are prise given the offseason departure of longtime gearing up for one final shot at prep football immortality. coach Eric Vigil and the graduation of his son, Three years ago, seven standout athletes from starting quarterback Eric Vigil Jr. The program Española Valley High School transferred to nearby developed a pass-happy scheme that revolved McCurdy, giving them each a shot to play both around the man in the shotgun. football and basketball. At their previous stop, Enter new head coach Jorge Oropeza and his
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run-the-ball-down-your-throat approach. His spread offense specializes in the read option that is taking college and pro ball by storm. Except in his scheme, the quickest way downfield is by running downhill. That’s where Serrano comes in. A 5-foot-9 defensive back on last year’s team, which bowed out to eventual state champion Escalante in the state semifinals, he took over as quarterback shortly after Oropeza’s arrival. All he’s done is emerge the team’s top offensive threat, leading the Bobcats in every major statistical category. “The thing I really like about Chris is he’s a player who leads by example by practicing hard and running plays at full speed,” Oropeza said. “Everyone else out here sees that, and it does make
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GIRLS SOCCER
Taos senior returns from injury, helps secure win over S.F. High
By Edmundo Carrillo The New Mexican
It was quite the welcome-back party for Zoie Hensley. Hensley, a Taos senior, scored both of her team’s goals in a 2-1 nondistrict win at Santa Fe High. It was her first full match back after missing most of last year with a back injury. Hensley had a bilateral fracture in her back and had two titanium screws put in to fix it. After having the surgery
in January, she was barely cleared to Demonettes 1 play about four weeks ago. “She would spasm and cramp, and she wouldn’t control her legs muscles and just had excruciating pain,” said Taos head coach Michael Hensley, who is also Zoie’s father. Zoie saw minimal playing time in the first four matches, but she played all 80 minutes on Thursday, something she hadn’t done in a long time. Lady Tigers 2
“Every game has been nerve-racking for me because I haven’t played in over a year before this season,” Hensley said. “As soon as I touch the ball, everything calms down.” Hensley had a goal in the 31st minute to tie the score at 1-1. A pass from teammate Lucia Costanza in the 41st minute set her up for her second goal of the day and gave the Lady Tigers (4-1) a 2-1 lead. On Thursday afternoon, it was almost like the injury never happened.
Sports information: James Barron, 986-3045, jbarron@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Stephanie Proffer, sproffer@sfnewmexican.com
“It’s a thing of the past,” Hensley said. “There is no pain for the first time since eighth grade. The confidence is coming back.” Which is scary to think, considering she scored 24 goals as an eighth grader in 2009 and 53 as a sophomore. Hensley had a mere six in 2012 because of her injury. The rest of the Lady Tigers gained confidence when they started to shut down Santa Fe High’s Elena Lemus. After Lemus opened the scoring in the
sixth minute to give the Demonettes (6-3) a 1-0 lead, coach Hensley made it a point to not let it happen again. He moved Costanza from the midfield and made her Lemus’ personal defender. “I knew that [Lemus] was a really solid striker, and that was what we were worried about, and I thought they defended her very well,” coach Lemus said.
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