Coyotes go back-to-back in 4A
Dream of title for Sundevils dies on The Pit floor
By Eric Butler
Espanola nation packed The Pit on Saturday afternoon for the Class 4A championship game, starting with fans who arrived for the 8:30 a.m. 2A finale – a full eight hours before their beloved Sundevils took the court.
In the end, it was Roswell High that ended the party as the Coyotes fulfilled their own goal of winning back-to-back championships. Espanola, meanwhile, will have to wait one more time to win an ever-elusive state tournament for the school and town.
“They hadn’t been there and we have. We were in the same boat last year, when we hadn’t won a title in 45 years,” Roswell coach Britt Cooper said. “I know it means a lot to Espanola and they’re gonna get them one sooner or later.”
In the meantime, it’s the Coyotes who get to celebrate another championship. Roswell senior A.J. Peralta hit a nice one-handed jumper in the lane with 42 seconds remaining to put his team up 61-60. Espanola Valley’s Luis Alvarado, with nine seconds left, attempted a 3-pointer that went in and out before the Coyotes grabbed the rebound.
Only five seconds remained when Roswell’s Marek Olesinski canned a pair of free throws to push the margin back to three.
The Sundevils’ last gasp expired when a long trey attempt by guard Rodney Coles hit off the front rim at the buzzer.
“My heart’s still up here,” said Cooper, pointing to his throat, asked about Coles’ last try to tie. “It if had gone to overtime, it would’ve gone there, but I’m glad we didn’t have to play another three minutes.
“All we’ve heard since last year is, ‘Can you repeat?’ and that’s a lot of pressure,” the Roswell coach added.
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Peralta had 18 points for the victors while Keydrick Allen and Olesinski added a dozen apiece. For Espanola Valley, Coles pumped in 20 points and Antonio Romero contributed 10.
At one juncture of the ballgame, late in the second quarter, the Coyotes held a 14-point lead at 29-15 before the Sundevils reeled off nine straight before intermission to get close. The momentum continued for Espanola after halftime and, with a 10-4 run to start the third quarter, the ‘Devils took the lead on an old-fashioned three-point play by Coles.
In a postgame press conference, Espanola coach Richard Martinez chose not to focus on the comeback but rather a traveling call made against Coles when the game was tied at 58-58 with two minutes remaining.
“Let the boys finish the game. We had complete control up to that point,” Martinez said. “You can make any call you want, but not a carry. For God’s sake, not a carry.”
“It was like we had to play from behind again, because we lost momentum,” added Coles.
Roswell was a senior-laded team, with nine who will graduate in May, that went 50-9 over the past two years. This season, the Coyotes only lost two games – and none to an opponent from New Mexico.
After the game, Cooper related how his players had only recently created a last-second free throw scenario for Olesinski while in practice. Trying to put pressure on their teammate, they told him that he was coming to the line in the waning moments of a 61-60 game.
“Only we were behind,” said Cooper, sitting near Olesinski at a post-game press conference.
Espanola will lose five seniors, but Martinez plans on being back. Each of the last two years, the Sundevils advanced to state semifinals – falling to Academy in ’08 and Artesia in ’09.
“We put a good show on for (our fans). They love us and our community,” Martinez said. “We’re not going to go home with a blue trophy for our mantel, but we’ve got our fans, our family and our kids – and we’re going to come back here.”
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