One heart, one mind, one team. Go Titans!
That was the team motto for this years unbeaten Montezuma Titans fifth-grade football team.
The journey to this years championship began three years ago when Scott Conklin was asked to coach little league tackle football. He eagerly jumped at the chance.
Conklin took over the third-grade Montezuma Titans, Young America Football League team.
The third graders went winless in 2009, posting a mark of 0-6-2. Since then, the Titans have won two YAFL Four Corners championships in Gallup, N.M., and won the 2011 YAFL Super Bowl in Farmington, N.M. The Titans capped a 13-0 2011 campaign and have won 20 of their last 21 games.
This years fifth-grade team has had quite the turnaround to say the least.
That third-grade season, the difference was, there was no playoffs. We played everybody just equal, Conklin said. We just kind of had fun, and tried to keep the kids interested and wanting to come back and play.
Come fourth-grade, everyone committed. Conklin and his coaches put in a Double Wing (one fullback, two halfbacks on each side by the left guard and tight end) offense. Over the last two seasons, the Double Wing has worked.
Nobody else uses it. It seems to be pretty deadly, Conklin said of his offense.
The fifth graders this year studied a playbook with 52 plays. The Titans then ran over their competition at McAndrew Field and across Northwest New Mexico.
Ethan Long, of Cortez, led the offense at quarterback.
I like all the players. They work hard. Theyre good out there, they dont mess around and they listen to the coaches, the young signal caller said.
Vincent Conklin, of Pleasant View, and Cordell Baer, of Cortez, were the workhorses, each at fullback.
The Titans outscored their opponents this season 293 to 98, and nine different players scored touchdowns.
After going 8-0 in the regular-season and winning two playoff games, the Titans were a win away from their ultimate goal the YAFL Super Bowl.
The Titans were looking to become the first team from Montezuma County to win the Super Bowl. Inevitably, the Titans met their nemesis, the Aztec (N.M.) Lobos.
The Lobos came in with one blemish on its record, a 14-12 setback to the Titans. Aztec was out for revenge, but despite the Lobos best efforts to win, Montezuma came out on top, 26-12.
It was big for the organization to get that first win, Scott Conklin said about winning the Super Bowl. This is what we set out to do.
Harley Benally, of Lewis, anchored both sides of the line and felt beating Aztec in the Super Bowl was the highlight of his young career.
I liked it, because were the first Titans (team) who won the Super Bowl, Benally said. It felt so good and awesome.
After winning their first Super Bowl, the Titans went to Gallup to defend their Four Corners championship last weekend. The Titans cruised past Farmington, 26-0, in the first game. In the title bout, the Titans faced instate foe Pagosa Springs, the last team to beat Montezuma.
That was the game we wanted, Scott Conklin said. We wanted Pagosa so bad. They wanted to see us, too.
Pagosa Springs would be the first time the Titans faced real adversity all year. The Titans had not trailed at halftime all season, yet, found themselves down 19-6 at the break.
I was so scared at halftime, Vinny Conklin said. I was like, are we going to win? Are we going to lose? I didnt want to lose this whole season. I wanted to be the best.
Being down was definitely unfamiliar territory for the Titans.
This is a team we havent played (this year), and theyre about to beat us? I dont want to lose to them, Baer said.
Good teams find ways to win and the Titans opened the second half with a new mind set. They scored on their opening drive of the third quarter and assistant coach Nate Benallys defense did its job the rest of the way. Montezuma didnt allow another first down, and added one more touchdown to tie the game at 19 and send it to overtime. The Titans were the first to score in the extra frame and won, 25-19.
It was a big game for us. To get some revenge on them, Scott Conklin said.
The Titans dont appear to be letting up, as the 2011 group will move onto sixth-grade YAFL play next season.
Expectations are high now, and we want that, Scott Conklin said. This team has had a taste for winning and theyre not going to settle for losing.
Reach Bobby Abplanalp at [email protected].
