Football season begins

CLOVIS - Everyone was adjusting - and gladly - on Monday as New Mexico high schools began playing spring football.

For the most part, all were just happy to have the opportunity to begin full practices in preparation for opening weekend of an abbreviated slate on March 5-6.

"Yes and no," Clovis High coach Cal Fullerton said about whether it felt different playing at this time of year. "I thought the excitement of playing would be good, and it was, but I thought it would be a little colder than it is."

Not that he was complaining, of course. With pleasant temperatures in the 60s and clear skies above, it was in stark contrast to the cold, snowy conditions of about a week ago.

New Mexico squads are looking at playing possibly four or five games this spring. The final format is expected to be announced today by the New Mexico Activities Association, which is also doing the football schedule for members.

Teams are expecting to play two home and two road games, although at least some could be moved to neutral sites based on travel. Fullerton said the NMAA is looking to generally keep teams in regions.

Nothing is set in stone as far as who teams will play, but Fullerton said he has an idea.

"I think it's going to be (district rivals) Carlsbad and Hobbs, and possibly a Rio Rancho school and a Roswell school," he said.

The NMAA's goal is to have a season for all of its sports, albeit in a shortened format.

"It's exciting," said Portales coach Jaime Ramirez, who welcomed about 30 varsity candidates to practice. "It's been a while getting into a routine again. I guarantee we're knocking off the rust right now, but we're excited to get a chance to play.

"At the end of the day, football is still about blocking and tackling, and catching the football - the fundamentals."

Teams have spent the last nine months or so working in pods of four of five players to a coach. Monday, that changed with the first full team workouts in more than 14 months.

"We're going to learn a lot about ourselves in the next couple of weeks," said Ramirez, whose program won the Class 4A state title in December 2019. "We know it's a process."

CHS senior running back Jeston Webskowski, who verbally committed to Eastern New Mexico University in September and then signed with Division I New Mexico in December, is happy not to have high final campaign with the Cats completely wiped out.

"It feels great to be back our here," he said. "It's a great feeling. It's just nice weather, and I'm looking forward to (a week from) Friday.

"I'm thankful the state is allowing us to play."

Clovis has 33 varsity candidates, Fullerton said, including 20 seniors and three sophomores. The experience will come in handy for the Wildcats.

"We've got a long way to go," he said. "There's always work to be done.

"It's been so long since we've had (a full) practice. Luckily, we've got a lot of seniors, and they're doing a good job of making the younger kids understand what it takes and how to practice."