Gadsden coach explains why Panthers went independent
Gadsden’s decision to play the 2021 season as an independent boiled down to simple math. And the numbers simply didn’t skew in the Panthers’ favor, especially compared to former Class 6A district rivals Las Cruces, Centennial, Mayfield, Hobbs and Carlsbad.…
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Continue ReadingGadsden’s decision to play the 2021 season as an independent boiled down to simple math.
And the numbers simply didn’t skew in the Panthers’ favor, especially compared to former Class 6A district rivals Las Cruces, Centennial, Mayfield, Hobbs and Carlsbad.
Gadsden always had fewer players than those teams – sometimes significantly fewer – and the results on the field reinforced the wide gap in talent. In 2019, the Panthers were outscored by the five aforementioned schools, 236-19.
Same thing in 2018. That season, Gadsden scored a grand total of 7 points in the five district games, losing every game badly.
Tired of fighting a losing battle, Gadsden said enough is enough.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about for quite some time,” Gadsden head coach Dino Facio Jr. told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “We’ve been pushing to drop our classification because our numbers are currently below the Class 6A standard. But because of the two-year cycle, we were locked in at 6A. The way the pandemic hit and the number of players coming back within the program, it was in our best interest to go independent.
“Not because we don’t have the athletes to compete against the 6A teams, we just don’t have enough of them. It didn’t make sense to try to build a program when you’re going up against some of the best programs out there. We couldn’t compete with them on an even playing field because of the numbers. That was the driving force behind it.”
Facio said Gadsden’s student enrollment numbers were distorted because an alternative school adjacent to GHS was counted in their numbers. However, the students attending that alternative school were not allowed to play Gadsden athletics.
In short, it amounted to a double whammy for the football program.
However, the alternative school is now considered separate and distinct from GHS, so its enrollment won’t be counted against the Panthers for classification purposes.
“Our student enrollment wasn’t an accurate number,” Facio said. “But that (alternative) school is now considered its own school, which puts our numbers exactly where they need to be. That’s what has kept us in 6A all this time. The NMAA has been open with us about what we needed to do to drop. One of those things is that school needed to be its own school.”
Gadsden believes the school’s current enrollment supports a move to Class 5A when the NMAA meets in December to consider 2022-24 alignment. If that happens, this fall will be the Panthers’ only season as an independent.
“We now have the data needed to drop to 5A after this season,” Facio said. “Right now, the (move to independent) was about giving our kids a chance to compete against schools with about the same number of athletes we have. Moving to Class 5A will be great for us. Santa Teresa and Chaparral will be in our district, which is the way it should be.”
Gadsden is still piecing together a 2021 schedule, but expects to have games against local rivals Santa Teresa and Chaparral, Deming, Alamogordo and Lovington. The Panthers will likely play 8 or 9 regular season games.
“I’m excited to get our kids out there and compete and hopefully get a full season,” Facio said. “It’s been a crazy year because of covid.
Gadsden will be “INDEPENDENT” for the 2021 Football Season. #PantherPride
— Gadsden Football (@GadsdenPanthers) June 7, 2021
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Gadsden Panther Football #PantherPrideModels:
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— Gadsden Football (@GadsdenPanthers) June 4, 2021