Socorro High Football Team Opens Friday Night At Home

By John Severance

SOCORRO – For the Socorro Warriors, it’s game time.
On Friday night, the Warriors, who made it all the way to the state championship game before falling to Lovington, will begin the season at home against West Las Vegas at 7 p.m.
“The kids have put in time and a lot of hard work and they are going to do their best to build on our success,” Socorro coach Damien Ocampo said Tuesday.
The biggest question marks for the Warriors will be along the offensive and defensive lines.
“They just need to play together and come together as a unit,” Ocampo said. “We have a lot of talent. We just need to gel.”
As for the skill players, Ocampo said, “We have some experienced kids back. We will need to get some solid play from them.”
On offense, the Warriors will be counting on senior Zach Esquivel at quarterback. Esquivel took over for the injured Ryan Romero last year and led the Warriors through their playoff run.
Backing up Esquivel will be Ibrahim Maiga. Ray Vaiza was supposed to see some time at quarterback but he got hurt in the Academy scrimmage last week and will be out for a couple of weeks, Ocampo said.
The Socorro coach said the Warriors are deep at running back with James Thornton, Aaron McDaniel, and fullbacks Joshua and Leonard Padilla.
“We will also use James Thornton as a wide receiver, he will be a slash player for us,” Ocampo said.
At wide receiver, the Warriors will be using Adrian Miranda, Maiga, Thornton, Matthew Lopez, Jorge Rivas and Jared Marquez. The tight end position will be solidified with Sam Hale.
As for the offensive line, Ocampo said, “We have eight guys who we are confident in.”
Ocampo said the Warriors will play a 3-4 scheme.
“In the Academy scrimmage, we made a lot of mistakes on defense. The best thing about playing Academy is that they really exploit your weaknesses. They start school later so they have two weeks of two-a-day practices. We only have two days of a two-a-days. Our guys just need to get in better shape.
“On defense, we gave up too many big plays against Academy. But the kids are working hard and they are only going to get better.
“This is one of the hardest working teasms that I have had since I have been coach. If we continue to work hard, this team has a bright future.”
But on Friday, the Warriors get their start on the season against West Las Vegas.
Ocampo said he was able to scout West Las Vegas last week.
“They return seven players on both side of the ball,” Ocampo said. “They have an excellent running back. They are also physical on defense and they really fly around.”

Socorro High Football Team Opens Friday Night At Home