Santa Fe High School fielded an amazing basketball team in 1944. Coached by the legendary Pete McDavid, Santa Fe High School won 18 out of 19 district games, averaging 37 points a game to the opponents' 24. Stars included the great Bob Sweeney, Junior Quintana, Tony Gonzales, Harry Hunton, Bill Baca, Chicken Montoya – that’s Louie, by the way, Tony Chavez, John Reece, Bob Hollis and Edgar Mitchell.
In the first Horsemen-Demon game of the year, the Demons were heavily favored and the odds makers were right on the money. Though the Horsemen, coached by Mose Khoury, kept Demon shooting star Bob Sweeney limited to 13 points, the rest of the Demon team pumped in the shots. At the half, Demons led the Horsemen 25 to 5. At the final buzzer, the Demons claimed victory, 40 to 18. The only Horsemen standouts were Jake Olivas and Joe Frank Ortiz.
The second game of the season was a little better for the Horsemen. They only lost by 15 points. In fact, the Horsemen were so cold from the floor in the first half that the Demons scored 27 points to St. Mike's 3. Yes, you read that right – 3 points! To their credit, the Horsemen came back in the second half to out-score the Demons 22 to 12, but it just wasn't enough. Final score, Demons 49, Horsemen 25. Joe Frank Ortiz hit 10 for the Horsemen and Pete Alarid hit 7. For the Demons, Bob Sweeney dropped in 14 points and Tony Chavez chipped in 9.
Oh, by the way, the Demons also beat Horsemen in total sales of war bonds in 1944's war bond drive, by more than double. But Loretto Academy, tinier even than St. Mike's, beat the Demons in total sales by exactly $100. They sold $26,325 in bonds.
The Demons went on to sweep the district tournament and take third in the state championship. And that’s local sports 1944.
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