AlamogordoTownNews.com Football Flashback: Football Kicks Off at Alamogordo High Tonight, A Look Back at Football Season - 1979

Alamogordo the new school year has begun and it’s time to talk football. 

But before we get into this season let's do a flashback to Football 1979...

Coach Hveem is happy with the recruits for his varsity team. His varsity coaching staff for 1979 included: Curtis Fortney, Bob Sepulveda, Tom Jones, and Gregg Martin.

Tiger Varsity Football Back Row L to R: Coaches Curtis Fortney, Bob Sepulveda, Tom Jones, Gregg Martin, Head Coach Gary Hveem. 2nd Row: Ray Baca, Mike Guerrero, Ignacio Porchas,  Dave Cline, Keith Hutchison, Dennis Crimmins, Don Black, David Black, Tony Garcia, Dave Dobson. 3rd
Row: Stuart Smith, Keith Hutchison, Fernie Trujillo, Mike Shannon, Robert Torres, Joe Rivera, Leon Bunce, Dago Gonzalez, Rick Mayfield, Dave Thomas, 4th
Row: Sam Mitchell, Carl Moore, Burt Beddes, Bobby Miller, Steve Diehl, Shannon Roach, Lee Shaffer, Danny Hale, Greg Oleson, Calvin Dilworth, 5th
Row: Mike Richards, Mike Springfield, Robin Duva, John Vega, James Pierson, Lonnie Stanbrough, Todd Hveem, Todd Turtle, David Caraway, Mike Garrett, David Cline, Greg Garcia. 6th Row: James Valenzuela, Pat Weiland, Ruben McGinnis, Richard Meyers, Mark Olsen, Derrick Gaddis, Mark Lewandowski. 7th
Row: Mike Hopkins, Arthur Marsden, Ken Meyers, Jim Josselyn, Kenny Black, Mike Sedillo, Henry Gonzales, Roger Romero, Frank Coyazo, Tony Boling, Ray Johnson, George Neudorf, Bottom Row: Kyle Graham, Eddie Pearson, Jose Chapa, Leonard Montague, Rene Arenas, Steve Zager, Mike Mosely, Mike Lowrimore, Jesse Crowe, Dan Anderson, Todd Johnson, and Mike Hoyt.

The Tigers opened the season against the Cathedral Fighting Irish. Alamogordo takes an opening drive for an 85-yard touchdown which sets the tone for the game. The Tigers shut out Cathedral 28 to 0.

Game 2 the Tigers travel to Carlsbad. The Tigers rolled up 326 yards holding Carlsbad to 68 yards. Derrick Gaddis amasses 110 yards rushing and Mike Lowrimore runs up the sideline for a 56-yard touchdown. Tigers win 33 to 13.

Game 3 with Silver City. Alamo gains 322 yards to Silver City’s 127. Steve Zager rambles for 188 yards. Dan Anderson has 9 tackles, and the Tigers win again with a 30 to 6 victory over Silver City.

Game 4 the Tiger travel to Bel Air. The Tigers are ranked #1 in the state until this game. Though a competitive game the Tigers lose 27 to 42.

Game 5 Clovis comes to Tiger stadium. The Tigers are licking their wounds from the prior loss to Bel Air. At halftime, the Tigers are behind 6 to 0. Greg Garcia scores a touchdown. Shannon Roach scores. Jesse Crowe and Bobby Miller combine to bring down 19 tackles. The Tigers squeak a victory 14 to 12.

Game 6 and the Tigers travel to Parkland Texas. The Tigers dominate 492 total yards. Steve Zager rushes for 134 yards. Todd Hveem breaks a game passing record of 176 yards. Mike Garrett snags 7 passes and over 100 yards. The Tiger pull a victory 36 to 6.

Game 7 with Roswell visiting Tiger stadium. Todd Hveem’s passing shines during this game. Todd Hveem breaks the school passing record with 836 yards for the season. Victory arrives for the Tigers 24 to 0.

Game 8 and the Tigers go to Highland for their 1st
District test. The Tigers gained 366 yards, but the Hornets gained 392. With a score back and forth the Tigers have a heartbreaking loss of 26 to Highlands 28.

Game 9 The Tigers host Mayfield. Mayfield has a strong offense but the Tigers place kicking by Sam Mitchell carries the game, and the Tigers win 21 to 20.

Game 10 the Tiger play Sandia at home. Mitchell and Gonzales fill in for the injured Zagar and Roach. Mitchell draws 118 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Tigers carry a win from a 2-year drought against Sandia winning 28 to 22.

Closing season game is with Las Cruces and it’s a must win situation. Cruces scores in the opening. Alamo gains hope and defense gains strength. Hope is lost when a Hveem to Garrett touchdown pass is nullified. Las Cruces wins 12 to 6.

Controversy with playoffs:

Alamogordo News November 20th, 1978

Throwing Spitters by Tom Higgins

Remember the one about the football team that heard the train whistle and ran off the field, thinking the game was over, only to have the opposition score and win 9 plays later? Aren’t you tired of hearing that stale old joke? Well, here is another one.

A team with a 5-5 record will represent District 3AAAA in the football playoffs this season.

That’s right folks, Las Cruces tied with Sandia and Alamogordo for second place in District 3AAAA was voted into the playoffs yesterday in a shameful example of what happens when politics gets mixed up with sports.

The idea of the bite was supposedly to pick the best of the three football teams- Alamogordo, Sandia or Las Cruces that were tied for 2nd place. Make no mistake about it Las Cruces is a football team that gives 100%. But better than Sandia and Alamogordo? No way! And nobody really thinks they are.

True, Cruces beat Alamo. The game was played under the worst conditions, but the Bulldogs won fair and square. In the overall season and in district play the Tigers and the Matadors both outplayed the dogs as a look into the records shows.

Well, what happened? Perhaps somebody voted with motivations other than picking the best football team. Motivations, perhaps, such as which teams were from the areas or which teams they didn’t want to face in the playoffs.

If this sounds like sour grapes, so be it. But when a group of young athletes, or two in this case, is shortchanged by adults who should know better, it’s time to complain, or better yet make a change.

This isn’t the first time a tie breaking vote made a mockery of high school football in this state.

Sandia Coach Jim Ottoman agrees with Tiger Coach Gary Hveem that some statistical method, such as point margins against common opponents, might be used as the tie breaker.

“You picked a bad time to ask me,” Ottoman said Monday. “Since we got voted out. I think a vote is a good way but only if everybody votes honestly. If you use the coin flip, you might not choose the best football team.” “Not that the best team was chosen this time,” Ottmann said.

James Odle, who runs the New Mexico Activities Association, said the vote has been used as a tie breaking method for as long as he can remember and that he has received no suggestions for change. “Only complaints. No one has come up with anything else. Someone will be disappointed, no matter what method you use. They should remember that they got themselves into this predicament.”

Hveem was irked also about the way the vote was conducted. “We should all get together, eyeball to eyeball, and sit down and pick the best team” I don’t know if the district representatives are unwilling to get up on a Sunday and travel a few miles or if they are afraid of a face-to-face confrontation with each other or what. It distresses me a great deal. Maybe it’s a basic laziness or lack of integrity.”

“How can we look these young men from Alamogordo and Sandia in the eye and tell them that honesty and integrity pas off when we have leaders in our district unwilling to set an example?”

The most bitter thing for Hveem and his Tigers to swallow is that their team has shown it had a legitimate chance to win the state title, something Las Cruces seems ill equipped to do.

In the playoffs the Bulldogs will undoubtedly live up to their tradition as fine competitors. But they’ll be lucky to stay in the football game with Santa Fe unless the final score is determined by a vote.

Given the negative publicity Las Cruces had something to prove. At the state competition they came up the big surprise of the weekend to earn the other semifinal berth. Las Cruces tripped Santa Fe 14 to 12 for one of the biggest state upsets in several years. However, they were crushed next round. Albuquerque Eldorado stormed over #10 ranked Los Cruces 28 to 0. Los Cruces managed only 163 total yards of which Stacey Gerk rolled up 120 yards on 19 carries. Las Cruces ended as expected by Ottmann and Hveem.

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