Cats set to take on Sandia

Sports Editor

dnorton@pntonline

With just two district games left, barring two losses from top placed Monzano, the Clovis High football team finds themselves in a two-game must win situation, heading to Albuquerque today to take on Sandia High.

While the Wildcats (5-3, 2-1district) could still clinch the No. 2 spot in the district with two losses, then tiebreakers come into play and the situation becomes muddied. So for head coach Eric Roanhaus and his team, the solution is simply to "get off the bus" and take care of business today against a scrappy Sandia (3-5, 1-2 district) team who is fighting for their post season hopes.

“Sandia’s got their back to the wall, they have to beat us to still be in contention for a playoff spot,” said Roanhaus. “If they lose to us, they’re out. So we need to be ready to play. If we lose, we will be 2-2 (in district) just like them, so from a mathematical standpoint, it’s a must win for us.”

One area where Clovis fans can take a sigh of relief is the quarterback position, where Sebastian Roanhaus will be returning under center. While Skyler Wadas did an exceptional job for the Wildcats while stepping in for an injured Sebastian, Clovis did suffer slightly in the passing game.

Sebastian said of his return, “I am excited to be back. It feels pretty good this week, practicing this week it felt almost 100 percent. (I’m) Trying to be a leader on the field  — I can only do so much from off the field. So trying to be a leader in the huddle and on the field as much as I can, I think can help.”

In every road game this season, the Wildcats have been slow getting started, often falling behind early and needing commanding second halves to win their contests. Roanhaus and his team are still well aware of the issue and hope, as the season draws closer toward postseason, that is something they will overcome against Sandia.

“We didn’t play real well last time we went up there, but hopefully we will play better this time. We just worked on our offensive and defensive schemes this week. … We haven’t really gotten of the bus once this year, so tomorrow we have to get off and jump on them early,” said Roanhaus.