ALBUQUERQUE — The Valley has their trophy.

The color was all wrong, though.

Red might be one of the featured colors of Española Valley High School, but it was not what most of a sellout crowd of 14,500 and the 18 players and coaches that made up the 2009-10 edition of Sundevils wanted to celebrate in the end.

But as the team walked out to accept its fate — thanks to a 63-60 Class AAAA championship heartbreaker to now two-time champion Roswell in The Pit on Saturday — "The Valley" that has always been supportive and passionate, rained one more round of cheers on their grief-stricken Sundevils, the tournament's No. 2 seed.

"That's our fans," junior guard Rodney Coles said. "Our fans love us. We love our fans. Our community, they stand behind everything that we do, win or lose."

But this is Española we're talking about, and it wouldn't be appropriate if this thrill ride wasn't shrouded in some form of controversy.

The flashpoint was ignited with
85 seconds left on the tweet of a whistle and a call on Coles for a carry. At that point, the score was tied at 58 as the back-and-fourth momentum tug-of-war was at a stalemate.

The Sundevils managed to take a 60-59 lead on Luis Alvarado's layup at :57 to go, but an A.J. Peralta hook shot (with 31 seconds to go) and a pair of free throws by Marek Olesinski (:05.2) gave Roswell the three-point cushion. Alvarado had a 3-pointer rattle out with :28 left and Coles' 25-footer at the buzzer hit the front of the iron and bounced away, but the Sundevils saw the infraction as the crushing blow.

"It changed the game completely," Coles said. "We had momentum on our side. We had the ball, I was by myself, and the ref made a carry on me when I never picked up the ball. I was really confused about why he made that call, and he really changed the game.

"It was like we had to play from behind again because they had the momentum."

Española head coach Richard Martinez's argument was based on the assertion that a carry had not been called all game and such an infraction at that moment disenfranchised the players from deciding outcome on their own.

"Listen to what I am saying," Martinez said. "I am not happy at that time. You can get a foul, you can get a push, but not a carry, for God's sake. Not a carry. I mean, not carry. You can give me any call you want, but not a carry at that point. I mean, a game happens, and you battle and you battle for 32 minutes, but it's going to come to a point in time where a team's going to break and take off on you.

"But we had the ball in our hands, and we're tough with the ball in our hands and we know it. Now, for them to make that call, all the momentum goes to Roswell."

Still, one call could not take away from a tense contest in which Roswell built a 29-15 lead with just 1:03 left before halftime, only to have Española ignite the crowd with a closing 9-0 run.

The Sundevils, who hit
14 of 27 shots in the second half, forged a 43-38 margin late in the third quarter, but the Coyotes dug deep and used a 14-2 spurt to re-assume command at 52-45 on a Keydrick Allen layup at 5:44 left in the fourth.

Española made one more gut-check moment for the defending state champion with a 9-0 dash that was capped by a windmill scoop layup by Coles, who had 20 points, for 58-56, Sundevils, with 2:05 in the season.

"To get them this year, I think that's what everybody's been talking in the papers," Roswell head coach Britt Cooper said. "The crowd speaks for itself. I think they turned away a lot more ... I think they got their money's worth."

The Sundevils community would beg to differ. The thirst for that elusive state title will continue unquenched for another 364 days, until March 12, 2011. Martinez hopes that he will be given the chance to mold another championship-caliber team, with the pieces that return in seniors-to-be Coles, guard Ritchie Mondragon, and forwards Antonio Romero, Zach Trujillo and Fabian Valdez.

Today marks Day 1 in that process. But it's just another day among thousands that mark the drought which continues in Española.

And Alcalde.

And Cordova.

And Chimayó.

And Fairview.

And Velarde.

"You know, when we go back home, coach, we're not going to have a blue trophy hanging on our mantle," Martinez said. "But we're going to have each other. We're going to have our fans and families, and our kids. And we're going to unite again, and we're going to come back here again, and we're going to battle again. And whatever God's will is, I'll be happy with that."

"The Valley" will dare to dream again.

Contact James Barron at jbarron@sfnewmexican.com
or 986-3045. Read his blog
at thereadbarron.com.