HS FOOTBALL: Volcano Vista Hawks

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Volcano Vista Hawks aren’t dipping their toes in to test the water; they’re jumping into the pool’s deep end.

The Hawks will meet the Las Cruces Bulldogs this Friday night at the big ball park on the Westside Community Stadium.

The team is a little green but head coach Chad Wallin is gearing the team up for that week one opener.

“It’s nervous excitement. We’ve been practicing all summer banging on each other, finally got a scrimmage this afternoon knowing that that’s still more of a practice for us and then it’s really geared toward week one. I think everybody’s a little nervous but super excited about the season,” Wallin said. “We graduated 35 seniors and we bring back 31 new seniors, different personalities. Very rewarding, a good word is ‘excitement’ as something that really stands out in my mind with this group. They had a very good off-season, focused on making this their team.”