Oct. 10—They were once rivals. They were recently co-workers. And now they’re matching brain pans again.
The high school football scene in the metro area has a familiar tint to it this fall with the return of Heath Ridenour and David Howes to the coaching ranks.
Ridenour won three state championships (2015, 2019, 2021) as the Cleveland head coach. Howes won two blue trophies (2014, 2016) at Rio Rancho. The two men later took their talents to the University of New Mexico as assistant coaches — Howes coaching the safeties, Ridenour the quarterbacks — but when Danny Gonzales lost his job as Lobo head coach last season, Howes, who joined the UNM staff in 2020, and Ridenour, who joined in 2022, were out of work, too.
But not for long. The lure of their vocation brought them back to the prep scene.
“I’m glad to be back at it,” Ridenour said. “I learned a lot of football at the University of New Mexico.”
Ridenour, for the second time in his career, is calling plays as the offensive coordinator at Cleveland. Howes has returned to Cibola, his alma mater and where he was an assistant coach long ago, to coordinate the Cougars’ defense.
“It’s been a great experience and I’m glad to be back to try to make a difference,” Howes said.
And as it happens, Week 8 offers up a Cleveland-Cibola District 1-6A matchup on Friday night at Nusenda Community Stadium.
The two men sat down in the Journal studios for a lengthy podcast earlier this week.What follows are portions of that interview, which has been condensed for clarity and content.
Watch the video podcast above or listen to the podcast below.
JOURNAL: You both earned the right to take a little time away from football. What brought you back to coaching high school?
RIDENOUR: I didn’t think I was gonna coach. But once you coach, you coach. It’s what you do. I’m glad to be back at…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/preps-central-heath-ridenour-david-030200101.html
Author : Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
Publish date : 2024-10-11 03:02:00
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