FARMINGTON – Head coach Jeff Dalton loves a good challenge.
Now entering his 12th season as the head coach of the Farmington High football team, Dalton is not only monitoring the sidelines on Friday nights, but during the day, he’s also back in the classroom teaching English courses at the high school.
“My first 10 years I taught English. I just kind of stepped away because of football, and I feel like I’ve got a handle and I can do both now, so I definitely like it better than Physical Education,” Daltn said.
Dalton is also optimistic about the challenges of navigating what would appear to be a tough task in this upcoming season which opens at home Friday night against crosstown rival Piedra Vista.
Following non-district games against Bloomfield and Durango, the Scorpions will open the district campaign in what looks to be a tough group of challengers.
Since moving up to Class 6A before the start of the 2022 season, the Scorpions have a record of 5-13 over four seasons within the district they represented. Over the last two seasons, that record has seen them win only once in District 1-6A while going 5-15 overall.
Farmington’s overall record of 1-9 came with a share of close defeats. The Scorpions opened with a 32-27 loss at Clovis and later earned their lone victory with a 21-17 road win over Falcon in Colorado. Farmington also pushed La Cueva before falling 27-21 and finished the season with close losses to Rio Rancho, 26-14, and Piedra Vista, 17-14.
“We’ve seen a progression. We didn’t beat Roswell for a long time, and then we played them every year, and then it became a normal thing if we beat Roswell all of a sudden,” Dalton said. “Once we kind of got used to that, then our division changed. So it just takes a little bit of time, and we’re thrilled because we feel like we are rising to the challenge.”
The New Mexico Activities Association announced reclassification across the board in high school football, with Class 6A now featuring two 8-team districts.
In addition to two-time Class 6A defending champion Cleveland High, District 1-6A will feature La Cueva, which reached the Class 6A semifinals last season and has played in the championship game three times in the last four years.
“I like the changes. I feel like we’re right where we belong, and I feel like our district feels fair,” Dalton said. “I feel like the districts are kind of equally built, and with only two districts, it gives more of an opportunity to figure out who the top six are in each district, and it should be a little bit easier to get a playoff picture.”
Dalton, who has won more than 60 games as head coach of the Scorpions, feels like the challenge of a strong district campaign will be good for his team.
“Every team on our schedule has a quality program, so we know that in order to get over the hump of starting to win these games, we have to be competitive,” Dalton said. “And we were competitive in every single one of them. And kind of the next step, with the exception of Cleveland, we feel like we had a chance to win every single game in the fourth quarter.”
To aid in that cause, Farmington will welcome back several key starters including senior quarterback Rock Kalcich, who completed 44 percent of his passes last season.
“He’s one of our most experienced guys,” Dalton said of Kalcich. “He’s just grown up at quarterback the last year and a half, so we’re excited to see him take the lead on offense and take ownership of it.”
Farmington will be tasked with having to find stars who will replace a graduating class that includes receivers Danny Hagstrom and James Rogers.
Defensively, the Scorpions will also need to find new talent to fill the shoes of Santiago Gonzales, who was the team’s leading tackler and also grabbed three interceptions.
Senior Talon Stowell led the Scorpions with more than 540 rushing yards last season and is also expected to be a big contributor on the offensive side of the ball.
Canton Cahoon, who will be coming back as a junior this season, will be sought after as a player who will have a bigger role this season.
“We definitely have to pick our moments and let (Cahoon) shine,” Dalton said. “He’s got speed and great field awareness. He’s a humble, hard worker and it feels like he’s one of the older guys.”
Meantime, senior Colter Davis, who snagged a pair of interceptions and recorded 24 tackles last season, is also expected to be part of a strong group on the defensive side of the ball which includes Julian Estrada and Gunther Bowen.
“(Davis) really was a leader as a junior and now he gets to enhance that role as a senior. The biggest change will be at linebacker where we have one starter back,” Dalton said. “(Estrada) is working in the mix really coming along for us. (Bowen) saw a lot of time last year on both sides of the ball at running back and linebacker and he’s ready to be a leader.”
Joshua Griñe of NMPreps.com contributed to this report. For more information, log on to NMPreps.com.