Cats to host opener at Capital's request

Veteran Clovis High football coach Eric Roanhaus will have a chance to enter the New Mexico Activities Association record book at home this week, rather than on the road.

The Wildcats, scheduled to open the season at Santa Fe Capital on Friday, will instead play the Jaguars in a 7 p.m. kickoff at Leon Williams Stadium — at Capital's request.

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, officials at Capital were concerned about the Cats making history at their expense and celebrating on their home field, so on Monday they approached CHS administrators about moving the game.

Roanhaus needs one win to reach 311 for his career at CHS and move ahead of longtime former Mayfield coach Jim Bradley for the most in state history.

Darren Kelley, Clovis defensive coordinator and assistant athletic director, said CHS officials were a bit taken aback, to say the least.

"It came down to the fact that their principal and superintendent didn't want to have (the game) there," Kelley said. "We tried to talk them into leaving it like it was, but they wanted to come here."

The New Mexican reported that Capital principal Melanie Romero approached the school's AD, Kim Loomis, about making the switch. Loomis was unable to convince her otherwise.

"I understand the concern in the sense of us being a scapegoat for Clovis, where we don't provide our turf for them to celebrate," Loomis told the New Mexican.

Tickets for the game will be $5 for adults, $3 for students, senior citizens and military and $2 for children ages 1-6. They can be purchased at the CHS athletic office during school hours from 8 a.m. Wednesday through noon on Friday, or at the gate.

Season ticket holders will be able to sit in the reserved section, Kelley said, but they must buy a ticket for the individual game and bring their season tickets with them for verification purposes. All other tickets will be considered general admission.