Socorro’s Jakob Gonzales takes it on the chin as he bounces off the sole of Warren Chewiwi’s shoe during action against
West Mesa High School in a 88-42 setback.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain photos

RIO RANCHO—The 2022-23 Socorro basketball team might consider adopting the Road Warriors nickname this season because, much like in the 1981 movie starring Mel Gibson, they are the underdogs with a lot of bites.

Matched up against 5-A West Mesa, the Warriors held firm through the first quarter, where Warren Chewiwi started with nine of the Warriors’ 18 points in the frame. Chewiwi nailed three long-distance baskets and ended up with a team-high 15 points, but that wasn’t enough to turn away a top 5-A program as the Mustangs pounded an 88-42 win.

In a brief pregame comment, Socorro coach J.J. Griego explained he wanted a demanding schedule this season and one that would provide the Warriors with a load of road games.

Alex Amaro finds his way to the basket between defenders.

Graduation took away from a Socorro team that went 22-6 overall and 6-0 in district play, and it appears Griego wants to see how his team responds to getting punched in the nose a few times. Replacing a 24.9-point-per-game player isn’t the goal as much as getting all of the Warriors into the action.

Sometimes it’s hard to find bright spots when you are getting doubled up on, but the Warriors found the basket from long-range via Chewiwi, Jakob Gonzales, Alex Amaro and Marcus Armijo.

The ability to dial up long-distance shots will help draw opponents out of the paint and loosen up the inside, which was a problem against West Mesa’s big-bodied squad.

Next on the scoring chart against West Mesa was Marcus Armijo with 7, Alex Amaro 8, Andrew Handrich 6, Jakob Gonzales 3 and William Griego with 3. Socorro also got play from Josh Gutierrez, Jerrick Stapleton, Fernando Torres, Damian Greenwood and Jason Padilla.

One thing Griego will continue to look for is keeping the Warriors’ offense in control and not allowing frustration to creep in when things aren’t going Socorro’s way – which is likely to be often considering the strength of the schedule and only six home games.

The Warriors have the chance to play at least seven tournament games over the Christmas break and have two of their home games at the start of the year when Socorro hosts Bosque on Jan. 3.

While there is no official Socorro County Championship, Magdalena has already beaten Alamo Navajo as part of the Steer Stampede two weeks ago, and Jan. 5 (6:30 p.m.) Magdalena comes to town looking to make it a sweep.

Socorro Athletic Director Jarrod Storey was excited about getting the game on the 2022-23 schedule.

“It’s just one of those basketball games that our fans and the Magdalena fans will enjoy,” Storey said. “It’s a rivalry game between two schools that love to play basketball, and we’re excited to have them come to town.