By Greg Perkins
Fall sports will soon begin at Holbrook High School for the 2012 season. Football, volleyball, cross coun-try, and the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams will be taking to the fields, trails or courts within the next couple of weeks.
Football fans will once again see a new head coach roaming the sidelines as John Bokker takes over the helm of a struggling program which won just a single game a year ago. With a very young roster, Coach Bok-ker will have to get everyone on the same page quickly as the team’s first two opponents are Snowflake and Winslow, squads that combined to outscore Holbrook 109-6 in the first two outings last year.
Blue Ridge, Show Low, St. Johns and Round Valley are all lining up to take some feathers off the Birds. Window Rock, Alchesay, Chinle and Walden Grove of Tucson, may give the Roadrunners opportunities to pick up wins. The Roadrunners will open the season on Friday, Aug. 24, as they host Snowflake. First, though, they will scrimmage at Ganado on Friday, Aug. 17.
Coach Leslie Baldonado also has a very young squad, having replaced several seniors gone from last year’s volleyball team. With only three seniors and two juniors on the varsity squad, joined by five sophomores, the Lady Roadrunners will be looking to rebuild early in the season, then hope to make a playoff run down the stretch. The team made it to the second round of the Division IV state tournament last year and has hopes to return this season. Holbrook will host a scrimmage match on Aug. 24, then open the season at Window Rock on Tuesday, Aug. 28.
Coach Dave Wright’s boys’ soccer team also needs to fill several roster spots vacated by seniors, but has a fair number of returning players to build around. The Roadrunners will scrimmage Round Valley on Saturday, Aug. 25, in Eagar, then open the season in a home match against Snowflake on Thursday, Aug. 30.
The Lady Roadrunner soccer team is still trying to gain footing in a difficult league. Coach Cary Simpson has a large number of younger players out for the team at this point in the season and like the other fall sports coaches, needs to replace some key players gone from last year’s group. The Lady Birds will also scrimmage on Aug. 25 at Eagar, then open the season by hosting Snowflake on Aug. 30.
Coach Raul Mendoza is heading up the cross country teams. Senior Col’Bi Nez is the headliner for the girls’ team, having finished 17th at last year’s state meet. Sophomore Miya Tom is hoping to build on a strong freshman season with a return trip to the state meet. Junior Kyle Chee should be one of the top runners for the boys’ team this year. Both squads will open their season at the Hopi Invitational meet on Tuesday, Aug. 28.
Aug 142012
