AZTEC – Coaches are expected to look for the positives in most situations.
Aztec High School head football coach Hank Strauss has plenty of good reasons to find the positives as he heads into his second season at the position.
With a record of 5-7 last season, including a 2-1 mark in District 1-4A competition and a postseason victory over Valencia, Aztec Tigers football appears headed in the right direction.
“The teams we lost to last season all went on to have postseason success,” Strauss said. “We lost to Bloomfield, they won the Class 4A state title. We lost to Silver, they played for the state title. We look at those as quality losses.”
And it doesn’t stop there. The Tigers lost its second game of the season to Montezuma-Cortez by a score of 17-8. The Panthers reached the Class 2A semifinals in the Colorado High School Athletic Association’s state football playoffs.
Durango, which beat Aztec just two weeks later by a score of 55-0, also would go on to reach the semifinals in Colorado’s Class 3A state tournament. Taos, a winner over Aztec last season, reached the Class 4A semifinals in the New Mexico Activities Association’s state tournament before losing to Bloomfield.
“We have to be of the mindset that we were in a lot of those games,” Strauss said. “Just knowing that we’re really close is really a testament to these kids. There could have been a lot of other teams that tapped out and not kept fighting the entire year and not win a playoff game.”
Strauss, who also coaches the Aztec High School track and field team as well as serving as an assistant coach for the school’s wrestling team, is encouraged by the turnout the football team is getting for summer workouts.
“From my years of coaching, to have successful teams, you have to get crossover kids, kids who do love their first sports, whether it be wrestling, track or whatever, but where they are also playing that other sport,” Strauss said. “This is what we need to do at Aztec because we’re a smaller school. I’m into crossover sports whether it’s players or coaches.”
The Tigers will be looking for its first winning season since the 2019 campaign, when they finished 8-4 and advanced to the second round of the NMAA Class 4A tournament before losing to Lovington. Helping the Tigers reach that status will be returning playmaker Baylor Seabolt, who will be coming back for his senior campaign.
As a junior, Seabolt caught 58 passes for 643 yards and six touchdowns according to MaxPreps. Seabolt also scored six touchdowns while rushing for more than 330 yards for the Tigers last season.
“(Seabolt) has really taken on a leadership role and is a really good student-athlete,” Strauss said.
Senior Landan Frost, who was a force on both sides of the ball last season for the Tigers, is also expected to be a major factor for his final season. Frost passed for three scores, caught a pair of touchdown passes and amassed more than 430 yards in total offense according to MaxPreps.
On defense, Frost was one of the team leaders with 39 tackles and a pair of interceptions.
The Tigers are also expected to be strong up front when the offense is on the field.
“I’m real excited about the offensive line. We have lots of talent that are coming back that I’m super excited about.”
The Tigers will open the 2023 season with a pair of home games starting on Friday, Aug. 18 against Miyamura before hosting Montezuma-Cortez the following weekend. Aztec has an 11-1 record against Miyamura dating back to 2011.
Competing in District 1-4A alongside state champion Bloomfield, as well as Kirtland Central and Gallup, the Tigers have a mark of 39-10 against its district rivals dating back to 2004.
Aztec Tigers Football 2023 Schedule
Home games in ALL CAPS
Friday, Aug. 18, 7 p.m MIYAMURA
Friday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m. CORTEZ
Friday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m. @Bayfield
Friday, Sept. 8, 7 p.m. @Durango
Friday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m. @SILVER CITY
Saturday, Sept. 23, 1 p.m. @St. Michael’s
Friday, Sept. 29, 7 p.m. TAOS
Friday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m. @Gallup
Friday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m BLOOMFIELD
Friday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m. @Kirtland Central
