Crew screwed the pooch and admitted same..
Atrisco Heritage Parents To Challenge Football Playoff Bracket in Court
By James Yodice / Journal Staff Writer on Nov. 8, 2011
The Class 4A football playoffs are scheduled to begin on Friday night with games in Farmington, Moriarty and Los Lunas.
Atrisco Heritage Academy says it should have been included in the postseason dance, too — and is going to court to try and make it happen.
A group of about two dozen Atrisco Heritage football parents plan to file an injunction against the New Mexico Activities Association in district court this morning, asking that AHA be added to the 4A playoff bracket.
Donna Hernandez, whose son Luis is a sophomore for the Jaguars, said Atrisco Heritage feels it should have been part of the 12-team field in 4A.
“Based on the information we have … it’s only fair,” said Donna Hernandez.
Albuquerque attorney Mary Carmack, who is handling the case for Atrisco Heritage, said a copy of the injunction would be emailed to the NMAA, either late Tuesday or early this morning.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the NMAA had not yet seen it.
“Until we receive a copy … we can’t comment on something we haven’t seen,” NMAA associate director Robert Zayas said.
Carmack said she hopes the emergency motion will result in an emergency hearing in front of a district court judge this afternoon or, at the latest, Thursday morning.
Carmack said the parents simply want Atrisco Heritage in the playoffs and are not asking the NMAA to remove a team that is currently in the field.
“I don’t want to expand this beyond what’s happened to Atrisco Heritage,” Carmack said. “That should be cleared up. Personally, I feel the NMAA should change their procedures. I’m just asking them to right a wrong.”
AHA parents feel that the Jaguars were at least as deserving, if not more so, as playoff teams like Roswell (the No. 9 seed) and Grants (the No. 10 seed), Hernandez said.
“We feel we should be included,” she said.
This all began last Thursday night, when Atrisco Heritage beat St. Pius 24-15 at Milne Stadium.
Had the Jaguars won the game by at least 10 points, AHA would have finished no worse than second in District 5-4A, with St. Pius third. The nine-point win, coupled with Moriarty’s win over Del Norte the following night, left Moriarty first, St. Pius second and Atrisco Heritage third.
When the 4A playoff bracket was announced on Sunday, St. Pius — the No. 11 seed — was the last at-large team selected. The No. 12 seed, Los Alamos, was a district champion and therefore an automatic qualifier into the playoffs.
There was a major controversy at the end of the St. Pius-AHA game that perhaps cost the Jaguars a chance to get the winning cushion they needed.
Leading by nine, AHA was at the St. Pius 26 with 3.4 seconds remaining and was intending to attempt a 43-yard field goal.
And AHA should have had that chance, coach Angel Castillo said, since the previous play in the game was an incomplete pass. There was also a penalty against St. Pius.
The clock, by rule, should not have re-started, but the officiating crew ran the final 3.4 seconds off the clock, ending the game.
Castillo said he attempted to get an explanation from the referee on the field as to what happened, but said he was unable to.
“The next morning, we had meetings with (NMAA executive director) Gary Tripp and (NMAA assistant director of sports) Randy Adrian, and they assured us that they knew it was a blown (call),” Castillo said. “The NMAA said the game official told them that he blew it.”
Adrian confirmed the conversation took place and that the official did make an error.
“A mistake was made,” said Adrian, who oversees football for the NMAA.
The officials left the field, and the 24-15 score stood.
“When the officials leave the field,” Zayas said, citing national high school federation rules, “the score is final.”
Hernandez said AHA parents have been frustrated at the NMAA’s refusal to discuss their team’s situation, but this is standard operating procedure for the state’s governing body for high school athletics.
“They have not communicated with us at all,” Hernandez said.
The NMAA seeds the major team sports for the playoffs, and steadfastly has refused to discuss any individual team’s case — not with the media, any coach, parent or player.
Zayas said recently that it is up to the schools to force the NMAA to make that part of the selection process.
Atrisco Heritage finished its season 6-4. The playoff-qualifying teams Hernandez said AHA parents have issues with, Roswell and Grants, were 6-4 and 7-3, respectively. Both finished in third place in their district, as did Atrisco Heritage.
“My questions to Gary were, ‘How did we get left out? And what determined us getting left out?’ ” Castillo said.
Tripp was out of town Tuesday, Zayas said.
