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Fall is hunting season for Foxes in New Mexico, as in Fort Sumner Foxes & Vixens tracking another state championship in football or volleyball. Fort Sumner has lately added basketball tournament trophies to its cache too.
Read all about it in the Roll Call of State Championships
Football
2008…Fort Sumner switches coaches, doesn’t skip a beat. Foxes, under Matt Moyer, win fourth straight Class 1A title with 48-0 destruction of Clayton
2007…Foxes sign off 11-1 campaign by handily beating Carrizozo 29-14 in 1A finale
2006…Back-to-back crowns for Fort Sumner after a 14-3 victory over Clayton in championship game
2005…A title game contest between old rivals and the Foxes come out on top in Class 1A: Fort Sumner 14, Texico 7
2002…Fort Sumner shines with a 12-1 record and the slate ends with a 15-6 win over Texico for 1A football honors
2001…Second time Foxes go perfect 13-0 under coach Mario Martinez and the season ends with a 26-0 shutout of Texico for bragging rights
1998…No surprise here – Fort Sumner plays Texico for Class 1A supremacy and wins 22-16 for the blue trophy
1997…Foxes return to the top of 1A gridiron play by blanking Texico 21-0 in the state championship game
1995…First football title for school as coach Mario Martinez leads Fort Sumner to perfect 13-0 season and a 17-6 win over Jal in finale
Volleyball
2008…For third time in five years, Fort Sumner is boss of Class 1A volleyball scene as Vixens sweep Animas
2006…Revisiting the 1A championship matchup from two years before, Fort Sumner again beats Tatum for the title
2004…An emotional five-game battle with Tatum goes the way of the Vixens, who capture the 1A blue trophy
2000…Fort Sumner and coach Lisa McMath capture the Class 2A state championship with five-game victory over McCurdy in finals
1996…Beginning of a long stretch of success on the volleyball court as Vixens win 1A title 3-1 over Roy
Boys Basketball
2009…Fort Sumner’s boys show they can play a little basketball too as Foxes grab Class 1A crown by beating Springer
Girls Basketball
2005…Led by twins Sandy and Kelly Fortner, Fort Sumner caps sparkling 28-1 record with a 46-42 victory over Des Moines in 1A championship
1997…Vixens win back-to-back Class 1Atitles by edging Roy 39-37 to finish 27-2 campaign
1996…After a 17-year absence, Fort Sumner and coach Rafael Roybal are back at the top as a 27-1 season ends with 61-37 win over Roy
1979…Two out of three ain’t bad, says Vixens, who seal Class 2A championship by edging Crownpoint 53-52
1977…Guided by coach Rafael Roybal, Fort Sumner gets first state title on hardwood with a 58-47 victory over Jal in 2A finale
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And now, a word from our Sponsor…
“Ole!” greets drive-through customers from the speaker box.
If that’s the case, it can only be one business: Taco Box.
From frijole burritos to Spanish fries to pig-in-a-panchos, and quite nearly everything in-between, the restaurant has been serving up its eclectic menu for 40 years.
According to owner Tom Martin, the number one seller is the simple-and-tasty frijole burrito while tacos, chalupas and cheese sticks follow closely in popularity.
A popular side item are Spanish fries, a Taco Box-invented title for another potato-based munchie (any guesses?). Martin says his restaurant has only occasionally ventured into making regular french fries and the attempts have ultimately always been futile with the Taco Box customer base.
“I always joke that I don’t make french fries so I can help keep McDonald’s in business,” Martin says.
Other items also remain popular to an extent even though not officially on the menu board anymore – a testament to the loyalty of the typical Taco Box consumer.
The Mexi-Burger was on the menu back in the early 1980s and still gets ordered today. By those in the know, at any rate.
“There’s probably at least a dozen different items over the years like that,” Martin says. “We took it off, just because of space, but we still make ‘em. We probably sell as many as we did when they were on the menu.”
Martin lists breakfast tacos, frijole tacos, guacamole tacos as other such “underground” items. And that’s not to mention the vast array of drink combinations, utilizing the different soft drinks and flavorings, that have actually never been listed on the big board at Taco Box.
Martin, raised in Cleveland and a graduate from Cornell University in New York, ventured west after college and tried his hand with the Taco Box brand. He took over Taco Box on June 1, 1970.
Remembering his first foray into Mexican food, Martin has an oft-repeated story with some variation or another.
“I never had a taco until I was 21. I remember having a mild green chile taco and I thought I was going to die,” Martin recalls.
After having a tastebud-adjustment and following countless tacos served to his customers at Taco Box, it’s safe to say one thing about the guy who originally thought he’d be in the Land of Enchantment for “a couple of years.”
Well Tom, you’re a New Mexican now.
