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My Hairdresser, Joylene of Belen, Is a Star
She stars on page one of yesterday's ABQ Journal as the number one fan of Belen's champion high school football team.
I think she may have painted both the sign and the halfback. She asked me the other day if I thought it looked like a turkey, and I said no.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/purejuice/sets/72157622427001969/
Meanwhile, on the field on a glittery fall afternoon this week, as Belen readied for its game with Aztec, senior wide receiver Pasqual Armijo said his grandfather, also named Pasqual Armijo, played on the 1963 unbeaten Belen team.
“That team was pretty tough,” Armijo said. “It would be an honor if we are able to pass them because they set the foundation for Belen football.”
Publication: Jnl Final Edition 8/2005-today; Date: Nov 27, 2009; Section: Front Page; Page: A1
TALK OF THE TOWN
EAGLE PRIDE
Belen’s Undefeated Football Team Gets Strong Support From Town
Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal
By Aurelio Sanchez
Journal Staff Writer
BELEN — To the hard-working people enduring a rough economy in this little railroad town — named after Bethlehem — high school football is bringing renewed joy and hope.
The Belen High School Eagles have rolled like a renegade polar express, delivering an undefeated record as the team advances into today’s semifinals of the Class 4A state football championships.
“We’re real proud of these boys; they’re putting our little town on the map,” said Louie Aragon of Louie’s Barber Shop, as he gave a haircut to customer Gene Peters.
“Well, hell yeah, it makes you proud,” Peters said. “It’s all people can talk about around here.”
Though still a major transportation point for trains going east and west and north and south across the United States, (where it got it’s nickname Hub City), Belen’s local economy has flagged in recent years, with some national chain and local businesses closing or curtailing, including longtime Belen auto dealer Auge’s. The dealership announced it would no longer be a Chrysler dealership and would convert to a smaller business at a separate location specializing in used cars.
Belen, according to the 2000 census, has a population of about 7,000 with a household median income of about $27,000 annually for individuals and about $31,000 annually for families. About 25 percent of the population was listed below the federal poverty line.
Those economic figures suggest how a football state championship could wring happiness for some city residents seeking an escape from a hardscrabble existence.
If the team can get by rival Aztec tonight in Belen, the Eagles will play for the state championship for the first time since 1963, when another fabled Belen Eagle team also went undefeated in the regular season.
“It’s really fun and exciting for the team and for the town to be able to get this far, and it’s really bringing the community together,” said Maria Alicia Cordova of Al’s Styling Salon on Main Street, its windows painted like many private walls and windows all over town celebrating Eagle Spirit.
Past successes
Belen’s recent gridiron resurgence began last year when the Eagles went 10-2 under first year coach John Lerma, who prior to coming to Belen coached for 36 years in Texas, where high school football is sanctified. His father is in the Texas high school football Hall of Fame.
Under former coach Kevin Benavidez, the Eagles had more losing than winning seasons with consistently low seedings in the state tournament, high school principal and acting athletic director Jim Danner said. That has changed dramatically the past two years.
“The support we are feeling from this community is phenomenal,” said Lerma, who looks more like a Franciscan monk than coach. “The kids can really feel it.
“That community support is contributing to us winning,” he said. “We feel like we will be consistent winners for years to come.”
Lerma said he expects another overflow crowd of more than 4,000 tonight. He said Belen won’t take Aztec lightly, despite having handily beaten the Tigers 63-34 earlier in the season.
“That’s all ancient history,” Lerma said of the earlier game. “We have nothing but respect for Aztec.”
Meanwhile, inside Salo and Dolores Gonzales’ kitchen in their Belen home, Dolores and fellow 1964 Belen graduate Rosalie (Sanchez) Marquez reminisced about the 1963 undefeated team that made it all the way to the finals before succumbing to the New Mexico Military Institute Colts.
That team featured four All-State players and three future college stars, including eventual Chicago Bears player Emilio Vallez, the late Rex Hennington, Kent Seery and George Trujeque. The Eagles stumbled in the championship game, losing 3-0 to NMMI. In 1974, the Eagles went undefeated but were eliminated early in the playoffs.
Salo and Dolores had five children who, over the years, all donned the maroon and white Eagle colors.
“That team in 1963 had four all-state players, but it seemed like all the players on that team were really good,” Dolores said.
“There was a lot of spirit back then, too, when people would put up signs all over town,” Marquez said, though she feels support for the Eagles comes win or lose.
“Everybody knows everybody else in this town, and so it’s like a big reunion when people get together at the game,” she said.
A new touch
Fans arriving at today’s game will see a completed new fieldhouse and sky boxes paid for in part with $2 million in state appropriations and school bond money. The structure is easily seen from I-25 to the west and gives the city and school more visibility,
The project was met by some community opposition, Danner said, though he adds he believes the majority of the town supported it. He adds it heralds a lasting resurgence for all sports at Belen and also reflects community pride.
Other improvements in recent years include artificial turf on the football field, renovated locker rooms and a new Mondo surface running track.
“We’re still a small town, and football is still the one thing in Belen that has always brought the community together,” Danner said. “There’s no better place to be than a game on a Friday night.”
Meanwhile, on the field on a glittery fall afternoon this week, as Belen readied for its game with Aztec, senior wide receiver Pasqual Armijo said his grandfather, also named Pasqual Armijo, played on the 1963 unbeaten Belen team.
“That team was pretty tough,” Armijo said. “It would be an honor if we are able to pass them because they set the foundation for Belen football.”
Added junior running back Danny Jaramillo, “It’s great having the whole town behind us. We can feel the enthusiasm and it makes us want to do better. We’re going to try to make it all the way.”
Belen coach John Lerma, seen here going over drills with quarterback Dylan Barba, says he expects a crowd of more than 4,000 for tonight’s playoff game against Aztec.
ROBERTO E. ROSALES/JOURNAL
You don’t have to go far to see signs of Belen’s support for the football team. Joylene Sanchez, a hairdresser at Al’s Styling Salon on Main Street, stands outside the salon amid signs supporting the team.
ROBERTO E. ROSALES/JOURNAL
Some of the Belen players horse around during a recent practice, including Matt Gallegos, who shows his leaping ability by smacking Travis Breeze on the helmet. A win over Aztec would put the Eagles in the state championship for the first time since 1963.
David Garcia, 16, puts up the lettering announcing this weekend’s game against Aztec. Residents say the team’s success this year has helped bring the community together.
I think she may have painted both the sign and the halfback. She asked me the other day if I thought it looked like a turkey, and I said no.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/purejuice/sets/72157622427001969/
Meanwhile, on the field on a glittery fall afternoon this week, as Belen readied for its game with Aztec, senior wide receiver Pasqual Armijo said his grandfather, also named Pasqual Armijo, played on the 1963 unbeaten Belen team.
“That team was pretty tough,” Armijo said. “It would be an honor if we are able to pass them because they set the foundation for Belen football.”
Publication: Jnl Final Edition 8/2005-today; Date: Nov 27, 2009; Section: Front Page; Page: A1
TALK OF THE TOWN
EAGLE PRIDE
Belen’s Undefeated Football Team Gets Strong Support From Town
Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal
By Aurelio Sanchez
Journal Staff Writer
BELEN — To the hard-working people enduring a rough economy in this little railroad town — named after Bethlehem — high school football is bringing renewed joy and hope.
The Belen High School Eagles have rolled like a renegade polar express, delivering an undefeated record as the team advances into today’s semifinals of the Class 4A state football championships.
“We’re real proud of these boys; they’re putting our little town on the map,” said Louie Aragon of Louie’s Barber Shop, as he gave a haircut to customer Gene Peters.
“Well, hell yeah, it makes you proud,” Peters said. “It’s all people can talk about around here.”
Though still a major transportation point for trains going east and west and north and south across the United States, (where it got it’s nickname Hub City), Belen’s local economy has flagged in recent years, with some national chain and local businesses closing or curtailing, including longtime Belen auto dealer Auge’s. The dealership announced it would no longer be a Chrysler dealership and would convert to a smaller business at a separate location specializing in used cars.
Belen, according to the 2000 census, has a population of about 7,000 with a household median income of about $27,000 annually for individuals and about $31,000 annually for families. About 25 percent of the population was listed below the federal poverty line.
Those economic figures suggest how a football state championship could wring happiness for some city residents seeking an escape from a hardscrabble existence.
If the team can get by rival Aztec tonight in Belen, the Eagles will play for the state championship for the first time since 1963, when another fabled Belen Eagle team also went undefeated in the regular season.
“It’s really fun and exciting for the team and for the town to be able to get this far, and it’s really bringing the community together,” said Maria Alicia Cordova of Al’s Styling Salon on Main Street, its windows painted like many private walls and windows all over town celebrating Eagle Spirit.
Past successes
Belen’s recent gridiron resurgence began last year when the Eagles went 10-2 under first year coach John Lerma, who prior to coming to Belen coached for 36 years in Texas, where high school football is sanctified. His father is in the Texas high school football Hall of Fame.
Under former coach Kevin Benavidez, the Eagles had more losing than winning seasons with consistently low seedings in the state tournament, high school principal and acting athletic director Jim Danner said. That has changed dramatically the past two years.
“The support we are feeling from this community is phenomenal,” said Lerma, who looks more like a Franciscan monk than coach. “The kids can really feel it.
“That community support is contributing to us winning,” he said. “We feel like we will be consistent winners for years to come.”
Lerma said he expects another overflow crowd of more than 4,000 tonight. He said Belen won’t take Aztec lightly, despite having handily beaten the Tigers 63-34 earlier in the season.
“That’s all ancient history,” Lerma said of the earlier game. “We have nothing but respect for Aztec.”
Meanwhile, inside Salo and Dolores Gonzales’ kitchen in their Belen home, Dolores and fellow 1964 Belen graduate Rosalie (Sanchez) Marquez reminisced about the 1963 undefeated team that made it all the way to the finals before succumbing to the New Mexico Military Institute Colts.
That team featured four All-State players and three future college stars, including eventual Chicago Bears player Emilio Vallez, the late Rex Hennington, Kent Seery and George Trujeque. The Eagles stumbled in the championship game, losing 3-0 to NMMI. In 1974, the Eagles went undefeated but were eliminated early in the playoffs.
Salo and Dolores had five children who, over the years, all donned the maroon and white Eagle colors.
“That team in 1963 had four all-state players, but it seemed like all the players on that team were really good,” Dolores said.
“There was a lot of spirit back then, too, when people would put up signs all over town,” Marquez said, though she feels support for the Eagles comes win or lose.
“Everybody knows everybody else in this town, and so it’s like a big reunion when people get together at the game,” she said.
A new touch
Fans arriving at today’s game will see a completed new fieldhouse and sky boxes paid for in part with $2 million in state appropriations and school bond money. The structure is easily seen from I-25 to the west and gives the city and school more visibility,
The project was met by some community opposition, Danner said, though he adds he believes the majority of the town supported it. He adds it heralds a lasting resurgence for all sports at Belen and also reflects community pride.
Other improvements in recent years include artificial turf on the football field, renovated locker rooms and a new Mondo surface running track.
“We’re still a small town, and football is still the one thing in Belen that has always brought the community together,” Danner said. “There’s no better place to be than a game on a Friday night.”
Meanwhile, on the field on a glittery fall afternoon this week, as Belen readied for its game with Aztec, senior wide receiver Pasqual Armijo said his grandfather, also named Pasqual Armijo, played on the 1963 unbeaten Belen team.
“That team was pretty tough,” Armijo said. “It would be an honor if we are able to pass them because they set the foundation for Belen football.”
Added junior running back Danny Jaramillo, “It’s great having the whole town behind us. We can feel the enthusiasm and it makes us want to do better. We’re going to try to make it all the way.”
Belen coach John Lerma, seen here going over drills with quarterback Dylan Barba, says he expects a crowd of more than 4,000 for tonight’s playoff game against Aztec.
ROBERTO E. ROSALES/JOURNAL
You don’t have to go far to see signs of Belen’s support for the football team. Joylene Sanchez, a hairdresser at Al’s Styling Salon on Main Street, stands outside the salon amid signs supporting the team.
ROBERTO E. ROSALES/JOURNAL
Some of the Belen players horse around during a recent practice, including Matt Gallegos, who shows his leaping ability by smacking Travis Breeze on the helmet. A win over Aztec would put the Eagles in the state championship for the first time since 1963.
David Garcia, 16, puts up the lettering announcing this weekend’s game against Aztec. Residents say the team’s success this year has helped bring the community together.
Go Hub City!
(the copy editor instinct, though, compels me to wring my hands over a scribe with the wonderful name Aurelio Sanchez not knowing that Franciscans are friars rather than monks)
Re: Go Hub City!
stadium crowd of 4000 in a town of 7000? oh, good one.
i think aurelio pegged it, and i have no doubt there have been pasqual armijos and joylene sanchezes in belen since the 16th century, it's being a stop on the camino real.
good catch on the friars/monks, but do tell what is the difference?
Re: Go Hub City!
The monk/friar identification is understandable, as is the nun/sister mixup, which is much more common. Monks and nuns live in communities apart from the world and devote themselves to prayer and contemplation. Friars and sisters live in the world, preach the word of God, solicit alms for good works, and travel from place to place. The Franciscans and the Dominicans are friars, for example, and they're pretty easily encountered. But even a religious nerd like me has rare monkspotting opportunities.
Re: Go Hub City!
belen won last night, btw, and it's got to be the young halfback (?) hero's best day. danny jaramillo, enjoy.
Re: Go Hub City!
Re: Go Hub City!
and, as i think the marxists are geniuses to point out, fascism is a reaction to modern life and may be a driving element of modernity itself.
its values are of the pueblo, and of three generations of guys playing football on the same team and working for the railroad.
the other story i wanted to know (there are several actually) was of the coach -- a 38 year veteran of texas high school football whose daddy was in the texas high school football hall of fame. oh me. and achtung. fascism, she is fascinatin'.