By Mark Smith
Enchantment Sports
There won’t be football playoffs for New Mexico high schools this year, but there are some big games between some big names this week — and some at University Stadium, to boot.
And, no fooling, starting on April 1.
There are also state volleyball and soccer tournaments to go along with the start of the high school basketball season.
The New Mexico Activities Association has done a great job of scrambling sports seasons together this March, after Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham finally lifted restrictions to allow prep athletes to get back in gyms and on fields.
“I have said since the start of the pandemic that we wanted to have all sports compete in the 2020-2021 school year,” said NMAA executive director Sally Marquez, “and we have worked extremely hard with the governor’s office, the Public Education Department, the Department of Health and schools all over the state to make that happen.
“We are so excited to see those student athletes get that opportunity. When the first race of the cross country state championships went off on Friday, I got chills and my eyes got teary because all that hard work they had done and the kids never gave up. Just to be able to have that race was fantastic.”
Marquez stressed the importance of checking the NMAA website for the latest information.
Please visit this link.
There is a large slate of football games set this final week of the season, including the following at UNM.
Fans are allowed, but only a certain percentage, due to the state’s COVID-19 restrictions.
All tickets must be purchased online.
Thursday, April 1: Socorro vs. Dexter, 1 p.m.; Lovington vs. Bloomfield, 5 p.m.
Friday, April 2: Eunice vs. Texico, 2 p.m.; Farmington vs. Mayfield, 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 3: Cleveland vs. Las Cruces, 4 p.m. (following UNM intrasquad scrimmage)
Again, please visit NMAA.org for the latest information.
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