Post by CrimsonPhantom on Aug 10, 2012 7:29:25 GMT -7
Las Cruces’ new high school will open competition at 4-A level
By Craig Massey
Las Cruces Bulletin
The darkness of the night was still lingering when the Centennial football players began their trek to the top of “A” Mountain on July 26.
A cluster of athletes could be seen jogging at the base of the mountain, which is across the road from their school. White T-shirts were seen bouncing in unison as the group weaved through the desert.
What couldn’t be seen from a distance in the early morning darkness was the rock each player was carrying. Centennial, which officially opens its doors next week for the first time to its students, already is building an annual tradition – the Rock Challenge.
“It’s a test of mental and physical toughness,” coach Aaron Ocampo said. “We want to overcome any perceived boundaries and push past what people say we can’t do.”
Ocampo said each athlete carried a 20-to-30-pound rock up the mountain. The players stopped occasionally to do squats, sit-ups and lunges with their rocks.
The Rock Challenge will return next year and so will the players. The Hawks, who will compete in Class 4A this year, have no seniors on their roster.
Ocampo is expecting 102 players Monday, Aug. 13, when practice begins and they will be divided between a varsity squad and a freshman team. There will be no junior varsity.
“I’m very happy with the numbers,” Ocampo said. “Early on, I was a little worried, but they’ve come out in droves to play.”
Ocampo said it’s too early for him and the rest of the coaches to know exactly what they have in terms of talent. They’ve never seen any of the players in pads and haven’t watched any of them on film.
“It’s hard to say,” he said. “My only comparison would be the teams I coached at Manzano and those were good 5A teams with mostly seniors.”
Ocampo, who spent 11 years as head coach at Manzano before taking the Centennial job last spring, said the Hawks feature about 40 sophomores and juniors and about 62 freshmen.
“I think our running game has a chance to be strong,” he said. “We have some decent athletes who can carry the ball. And our linebackers should be strong. We haven’t seen them hit with pads. It’s just a unique situation. They’re all transfers from all different places coming here for an opportunity to play.”
Ocampo said the effort the players have had during the summer and the numbers have been more than he could have hoped for.
“It has far surpassed what my thoughts were coming in to the summer,” he said. “I have a feeling we’ll have some success. Of course, we’ll have some bumps and bruises along the way, too.”
Ocampo led Manzano to the 5A championship game in 2010, when his squad lost in a shootout to Mayfield. The Monarchs made the playoffs in all but four seasons under Ocampo and reached the semifinals three times.
Ocampo’s offensive coordinator is Quevin Redding, who was at Chaparral the past two seasons. Before that, he was the head coach at Pojoaque. The defensive coordinator is Louie Laborin, who comes to Centennial from Socorro High School, where he was head coach.
From- www.lascrucesbulletin.com/ee/lascrucesbulletin/default.php?pSetup=lascrucesbulletin