Tale of two Tigers

The young Taos squad looked to return the favor this year and made a convincing argument Friday night as to why they may have the superior team in the 2024 season. Despite a 42-0 loss in their first game against St. Michael’s, the Taos Tigers are 2-1 in the regular season. And, with an elongated district, more games matter. 

Meanwhile, Aztec has struggled to find their bearing early in the season, losing their first two games against Miyamura (48-15) and the visiting Bayfield High School from Colorado. Nonetheless, the Taos coaching staff isn't taking their opponents lightly. Weeks before Friday's match, Taos football head coach Johnny Olguin said the visiting Tigers would be hungry for their first win and had prepared to earn it.

“The message this whole week was to get each other’s back. That is the strength of this team,” Olguin said. “This team eats together. Whenever I go out to eat, I see three of them together. They truly have each other’s back. I think the coaching staff is following suit, and I think we have one of the best coaching staffs in the state, in my opinion.”

The Taos Tigers were ready for their date with Aztec. In the first six minutes of the first quarter, the at-home Tigers offense already had a 14-point cushion against their guests and stopped the Aztecs' push every time. 

It seemed Taos’ defense was everywhere throughout the game. For example, Aztec’s Kale Watson received a wide-open pass from left field on what was most likely a touchdown, but Taos senior Mateo Salazar chased down Watson to stop him just short of the end zone. Senior defensive end and tackle Jedrek Jozwiak had a few sacks, and the overall effort by the defense was too much for Aztec Friday night.

In the second quarter, senior offensive linebacker Aaron Romero snatched a pass from the Aztec offense to add another touchdown on the board for Taos.

“It’s a great feeling, especially compared to last year, where we didn’t have a good record against them,” Romero said. “We came out popping off this year so hopefully we make it to state this year. That’s the plan.”

Moments later, junior tight end Reggie Suazo drove in another touchdown in third and three to expand the Taos lead to 28-0 before the second had ended. Taos’ defensive coordinator Jeremiah Burke praised the team’s execution, especially among the younger guys.

“I’m pumped and super excited,” Burke said. “We rotated our younger guys with our older guys, so that way they’re not alone and they can learn from each other. As far as the varsity goes, they executed everything perfectly. We had a few missteps where we weren’t in position, but you can’t win them all. [Bloomfield] is the big gun of the state, and we are fully aware of what they’re capable of bringing. So a bye week will give us a few days to hone in on their offense, see what their key plays [are] and what they’re trying to hide.”

The tale was the same between the two Tigers in the second half. After turning over the ball on downs, the resident Tigers got another touchdown in eight places, with junior Manuel Maes and later junior offensive linebacker Eli Lucero in the fourth quarter.

With this win, the Taos Tigers started their district tournament 1-0 with an overall record of 3-1. Taos football will get a mid-season break of a week before playing their next district opponent, the Bloomfield Bobcats on Sept. 27.

“Like I’ve been saying ‘Chop wood, carry water,'” Olguin said. “We got a week off to get a little bit of time with our families and go up to Blooomfield.”