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Recent Tournaments…
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La Cueva fans generally don’t have to wait long before their Bears are competing for another championship at a state tournament.
See if you can find a year since 1990 when the Albuquerque school did not take a state tourney. It’s in the Roll Call of State Championships below…
Girls Soccer
2006…La Cueva upends defending champ Las Cruces with a 1-0 victory over the Bulldawgs in the Class 5A title game
2004…Third title for Bears’ coach Amber Ashcraft when her squad beats Cibola 3-0 in championship
2002…A tight 1-0 battle with Eldorado goes La Cueva’s way; it’s the school’s eighth overall girls soccer crown
1998…Bears hand Eldorado its only loss of the year in the Class 4A championship: La Cueva 2, Eldo 1
1997…Perfect 21-0 season for La Cueva and coach Enrique Serrano after a 2-0 shutout of Manzano
1995…Only a 13-6 season record, but Bears clobber Sandia 6-1 in finale to claim supremacy in the state
1994…Fourth overall championship for La Cueva under coach Gregory Rusk when his team beats Los Alamos 4-2
1993…State bragging rights go to Bears, who beat Academy 3-1 to cap an 18-1 overall record for the year
1991…Two straight titles when La Cueva nips rival Sandia 3-2 in the state championship contest
1990…Bears go unbeaten and capture first soccer title with a 4-2 victory over Manzano
Boys Soccer
2009..Top-seeded Bears go back-to-back by wrapping up the 5A draw by nipping Eldorado 1-0 in championship contest
2008…Six year wait is long enough for Bears fans as La Cueva pounds Mayfield 7-1 for 5A title
2002…A 23-2 season for the Bears ends on the ultimate high note – a 2-1 victory over Las Cruces in state championship contest
1996…La Cueva shuts out Sandia 2-0 to take Class 4A crown for a second time in three years
1994…A 3-2 win over Farmington in 4A finale gives Bears first boys soccer championship
Football
2009…Bears end four-year run by Las Cruces schools by beating Mayfield for Class 5A championship. Final: La Cueva 31, Mayfield 14
2004…Two years without a loss as La Cueva, coached by Fred Romero, completes 13-0 season with a 40-0 shutout of Clovis
2003…Bears bring back big school football trophy to Albuquerque, finishing perfect season by edging Mayfield 24-21 in 5A finale
1992…La Cueva wins first gridiron championship under coach Ron Warren as Bears club Roswell 35-0
Boys Basketball
2010…Play of Dylan Fritsch & Ronnie Daniels leads the way as Bears beat Mayfield 61-53 for second straight 5A crown
2009…Only fourth seeded entering the tourney, La Cueva walks away with 5A championship after beating Highland 56-52
2003…Bears and coach Frank Castillo finish 25-3 campaign with a 55-53 victory over Sandia in 5A title contest
1994…La Cueva fights way through Class 4A state tourney bracket and ends run with a 65-52 victory over West Mesa
1989…A 25-1 season ends in a most-pleasing way for Bears’ fans as La Cueva squeaks by Albuquerque High 75-74 for first hoops title
Girls Basketball
2009…It’s no fluke. La Cueva captures Class 5A title for second straight year following a 51-43 victory over Cibola in championship
2008…Coached by Greg Berger, Bears gain first hardwood title on the girls side with a 49-44 victory over Eldorado
Baseball
2008…La Cueva returns to the top of Class 5A baseball with a narrow 4-3 victory over Onate in finale
2006…Bears complete four-year dynasty by smothering Eldorado 11-1 in 5A championship game
2005…It’s close, but no cigar for Eldorado. La Cueva and coach Stan McKeever beats cross-town rivals 6-5 for another title
2004…No stopping the Bears, who finish 25-0 season with an 11-0 destruction of Clovis in 5A title contest
2003…First baseball crown for La Cueva after a convincing 13-4 beating of Las Cruces in 5A championship
Softball
2005…La Cueva picks up Albuquerque’s first big school softball title in 15 years when Bears knock off Alamogordo 1-0 in 5A title game
Tennis
La Cueva has dominated the Class 5A boys tennis scene since 2000 and have the titles to prove it. Cody Hall, a four-time winner between 2005 and 2008, leads the parade, while Justin Hauck (two-time champ, ’03-’04) and Lorenzo Baca (2009) have also successfully negotiated the boys singles tournament draw.
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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.
