Featured photo: Cleveland’s Tre Watson on his unofficial visit to Cal,
By Sebastian Noel
Enchantment Sports staff Writer
Buckle up Hawks you are in the driver’s seat.
There’s no reason that Volcano Vista shouldn’t start the season at least 7-0 after driving past defending state champion La Cueva 36-25 to start the season.
Meanwhile, two of the state’s other giants, Cleveland and La Cueva, both suffered what could be major setbacks in week one. 
Cleveland, which blew out Las Cruces Onate 50-0, suffered a major loss in the game when star receiver was injured on the first play.
On Monday, Cleveland coach Heath Ridenour told Enchantment Sports/ProView that “Tre (Watson) suffered a broken forearm on the first play of the game against Onate. He had surgery Saturday morning and everything went great. We expect him to return to action in 4-5 weeks.”
This is the first official word out of Cleveland High School and Ridenour.
This means the Storm could be without their top receiver for the remainder of their non-district schedule. That schedule includes games against Eldorado, Mayfield and Artesia.
As for La Cueva, as of this writing, La Cueva head coach Brandon Back told Enchantment Sports/ProView that he is awaiting the results of star receiver’s Nas Robertson’s MRI.
Robertson injured his right leg in the loss to the Hawks.
The Bears could be without Robertson for the next two weeks; this week against Valley and a huge week 3 matchup against Las Cruces at the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces.
So let’s return to the Volcano Vista Hawks. Although head coach Chad Wallin was not available for comment, earlier reporting stated starting quarterback Diego Pavia left the Hawks’ win against La Cueva in the fourth quarter with what was characterized as a sprained ankle.
Senior third string quarterback Nathan Sanchez finished the game, and was referred to as the “emergency quarterback.”
I have trouble thinking of Sanchez as an “emergency quarterback.” The kid was undefeated as a freshman and sophomore at quarterback for his respective freshman and junior varsity teams.
The Hawks’ next six games are against teams outside of the season’s first Class 6A NMOT Sports Coaches Poll Top 10 (Del Norte, Onate, Manzano, Sandia, West Mesa and Atrisco Heritage).
It is not a stretch to assume Volcano Vista will be 7-0 heading into their week 9 matchup against powerhouse Cleveland.
It’s also not a stretch to assume the Hawks will be in no position to rush Pavia back to action with those six matchups and a bye week all on the schedule before the showdown with the Storm on October 18 at Nusenda Community Stadium.
The Hawks showed us week one against La Cueva they have two things absolutely necessary to make a push to the title game: a power running game and incredible depth.
So Hawks start your engines. You are in the drivers seat.
Sebastian Noel is a play-by-play announcer for ProView Networks, and also is host of “Local Focus with Sebastian Noel,” airing weeknights at 10 p.m., on ProView. Noel, a frequent contributor to Enchantment Sports, also serves as the on-field reporter during the My50TV game of the week during the football season.
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