Coach credits total team effort

Beating a perennial state championship contender like St. Michael’s — especially in a 26-0 shutout at Brother Abdon Field, as Robertson did on Saturday — doesn’t just happen.

One might say that it takes a village...

“This win was a total team effort,” RHS head coach Richard Martinez told the Optic. “Both the offensive and defensive lines controlled the lines of scrimmage.”

The offensive line has indeed been stout of late and on Saturday afternoon opened running room for quarterback Daniel Martinez and his backfield mates, notably Dalan Abreu and Nick Archuleta. Offensive linemen include Jerad Wyche, Estevan Baca, John Pino, Sam Marquez, Justin Madrid, Fabian Montoya and Isaac Santa Cruz.

Coach Martinez credited the defensive line as well for its work. The Cardinal “D” consistently pressured St. Mike’s quarterback Michael Wiegel and held the heralded Horsemen rushing attack to negative yardage. The defensive line is anchored by Aaron Archuleta, Brandon Baca and Zach Silva.

“The kids are stepping up and doing their assignments,” Martinez said. “In football it takes a total team effort to make things happen. That is what we did (Saturday). Kids made their blocks, did their assignments, and the score went our way.”

Good things happened early, as the second-year head coach noted: “We got the momentum going  when Luis Lopez got a good return on the first kickoff return. The momentum stayed with us as we were clicking as a team. The boys were playing unselfish ball and team ball and it worked in a big win for us.”

Martinez praised the community for its participation as well. “It was great to see the support of the fans, the band, the cheerleaders, the administrators. It was a really good day for Robertson football, but there is always room for improvement.”

Robertson (6-3, 2-1) is hoping to secure a  top-six seed in the upcoming Class 3A state playoffs, possibly a first-round bye or at least a home game to open the bracket. But first the Cardinals are gearing up for Saturday’s Vegas Bowl, a meeting with West Las Vegas (2-7, 0-3) to conclude the regular season.

Kickoff for that game is 1:30 p.m. at Cardinal Stadium.

The Dons and first-year head coach Mike Ulibarri are coming off a 47-0 loss against Raton, a team tied for first place in the latest New Mexico High School Coaches Association poll.

VEGAS BOWL

Robertson vs. West Las Vegas, regular season football finale, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Cardinal Stadium ... See Friday’s Optic for a special section on the big game.