Robertson's Michael Marr, left, shoots as St. Michael’s Reed Bass defends Thursday in Michael Marr Gymnasium in Las Vegas, N.M. The Horsemen won handily 69-46.
Robertson's Michael Marr, left, shoots as St. Michael’s Reed Bass defends Thursday in Michael Marr Gymnasium in Las Vegas, N.M. The Horsemen won handily 69-46.
Let’s crank up Google Maps and check on the Robertson boys basketball team.
Yep, sure enough, the Cardinals have reached the proverbial fork in the road.
Ranked No. 1 pretty much since the day they laced up the sneakers and took the floor for the first time, the Redbirds had earned — and impressively held onto — their status as the team to beat in Class 3A.
Poof. Just like that, they lost it late last week.
That’s when Cardinals head coach James Branch was unceremoniously removed from his team’s facility and escorted away from his players, the target of an internal investigation that has stripped the Cardinals of their swagger and left them vulnerable in a brutal district whose primary rivals couldn’t care less what’s going on behind the scenes.
For teams like St. Michael’s, ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Indian School, West Las Vegas and ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Prep (and, yes, you too, ATC), the knuckle-dragging beast that was Robertson is now fair game. The bully is starting to let its guard down.
The question now is: What are Cardinals going to do about it?
They can either collapse and implode while their leader sorts things out, or they can tap into an undiscovered well of internal fortitude and make this their battle cry.
St. Michael’s faced a similar situation four years ago when then-coach David Rodriguez was placed on leave when allegations of verbal abuse surfaced after complaints from parents reached the administration. The Horsemen started that season 0-10, and were sitting on a 2-12 mark after a shocking and, frankly, historical loss to ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Prep.
Beaten by the Blue Griffins for the first time, it seemed St. Michael’s was on its way to one of the worst seasons in school history. Its coach was in trouble, the locker room was filled with nervous players and an air of uncertainty rained down as lifelong assistant Gerard Garcia took over on an interim basis.
Then a funny thing happened. The Horsemen found their resolve. They upset SFIS, then Robertson. They climbed above .500 in district play, avenged losses to Prep and Raton and clawed their way into the district tournament championship game against Robertson.
Two weeks later, they were face to face with the Cardinals again, this time in the state finals. Robertson won, but the Horsemen finished 16-15 behind one of the most amazing midseason reversals the state had ever seen.
Now it’s Robertson’s turn. The Cardinals won their first two games without Branch, but they looked out of sorts in a win at ATC, and were downright blasted at home by St. Michael’s on Thursday night.
What looked like another dream season has the potential to turn into a nightmare very quickly. Branch was 91-17 as coach since taking over in 2021, leading the team to the state title game three years in a row. Without him, the Cardinals are searching for an identity.
The seniors on this year’s Horsemen roster were freshmen when the Rodriguez/Garcia switch happened. They remember the stress and uncertainty, but they also remember rallying around a cause that came to define them.
While that team didn’t win a title, it will long be remembered as one of the guttiest seasons the school has produced. It was a group of players and assistant coaches who came to define adversity while making the most of it.
Whether Robertson can do the same, only time will tell. The talent is certainly there. With a strong group of seniors and talented underclassmen, the Cardinals can still be the team they were just last week; a team that appeared unstoppable.
This, Redbirds, is your moment.
Sink or swim, fold or flourish, what are you going to do?