FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK; TAILGATE COMMENTS THAT MISSED THE CUT.

Byline: GEOFF GRAMMER

There was plenty that didn't make it into the pair of stories published last weekend about the 1979 Santa Fe High state championship football team's 30-year reunion.

Here are a couple of comments overheard from players from that team at the tailgate festivities prior to the Sept. 25 game with St. Michael's at Ivan Head Stadium:

"I read in the paper today (Sept. 25) about how we didn't have a player on that team over 200 pounds. Looking around now, I'd say we don't have that problem anymore."

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"I remember people throwing bottles at the bus when we left Magers Field after beating St. Michael's. They said we had ruined the rivalry because it was so one-sided then. We kept our helmets on until we got on the bus." (St. Michael's has won five of the last seven games against the Demons).

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"They wanted us to run out on the field with the team at the beginning of the game, but we decided against that when we realized there aren't many of us who can even run anymore."

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Of course the big news from last weekend's festivities is that reunion raised an estimated $10,000 for the Santa Fe High booster club through various events, namely a golf outing at the Towa Golf Resort.

And for those keeping score at home, a foursome of former Santa Fe High assistant coaches won the golf event at the Towa golf course. Former coaches Mike Vialpando, Bob Martinez, Mike Mares and Randy Whiltimore were "still pounding on us after 30 years," according to former player Jeff Apodaca.

Of course it should be noted Vialpando is a bit of a ringer. In addition to being a former golf coach at Capital High School, he is now coaching in the golf hot bed of Arizona at La Joya Community School, a Class AAAAA school in Avondale, Ariz.

Oh, brother!

Saturday will mark the 26th time Albuquerque St. Pius X and St. Michael's have met on the football field. The series has been largely one-sided, with St. Pius leading 21-4, including winning the last 15 games.

The last time the Horsemen beat St. Pius was on Sept. 3, 1977.

What else happened during that game? School officials decided to rename Alumni Field to its current name, Brother Abdon Field.

A peek at the polls

Pojoaque goes 3-0 and receives 16 points in the New Mexico High School Coaches Association Class AAA poll on Sept. 16, barely missing the Top 10. The Elks go on to beat Class AAAA Taos 31-8 and drop completely out of the poll the following week.

Now 5-0 after a 50-14 win at McCurdy School, the Elks have one point in the poll, meaning one of the 10 coaches who voted this week placed the Elks 10th on his ballot.

Meanwhile, after the loss

to Pojoaque, McCurdy moved up from No. 5 to No. 4 in the Class A poll.

In Class AAAA, in addition to those teams that made the Top 10, five other teams received votes this week, meaning 15 of the state's 23 Class AAAA football teams showed up on at least one coach's ballot.

None of the five teams in District 2AAAA were among them.

Honors for St. Mike's

St. Michael's will honor its past state championship football teams during the Oct. 10 game against the Portales Rams at Brother Abdon Field.

Members of the 1937, 1964, 1972, 2003 and 2007 state championship teams can join the celebration by contacting athletic director Tom Manning at 983-7353.

'Toppers 'O' scores

It took more than 15 quarters of play, but the Los Alamos Hilltoppers (1-3) scored their first offensive touchdown of the season last week in the fourth quarter of a 54-8 loss at Belen.

The touchdown came on

a 4-yard run by wingback 

Marshal Naranjo.

Contact Geoff Grammer

at 986-3060 or

[e-mail].