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St. Pius X coach San Juan Mendoza breaks down a play for his team during practice. The Sartans lost games this season against 5A playoff teams Valley and Manzano, but enter the playoffs having won five straight. "Those games got us ready for the playoffs," Mendoza said of St. Pius X's difficult pre-district schedule. "Now that we're in, anything's possible."

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A memory lapse might be the best approach for the St. Pius X Sartans football team.

Forget the 1-4 start that included blowout losses to 5A foes La Cueva (42-5) and Cibola (35-8).

Forget last year's losing season and absence from the playoffs, the first under coach San Juan Mendoza.

Forget the team's relative lack of veteran players.

The Sartans are back in the playoffs and are looking forward to facing Kirtland Central at 1 p.m. Saturday at Milne Stadium in the Class 4A quarterfinals.

The fourth-seeded Sartans (6-4) were toughened up by their early games against quality 5A foes.

Pius competed well against 5A playoff teams Valley and Manzano, losing 27-23 to the Vikings and 26-20 to the Monarchs, who might be the city's best team.

St. Pius X ended the season on a five-game winning streak. The Sartans were rewarded with a first-round bye.

Fifth-seeded Kirtland Central (7-4) advanced to play Pius with a 42-7 victory over Belen in the first round.

"Those games got us ready for the playoffs," Mendoza said of St. Pius X's difficult pre-district schedule. "Now that we're in, anything's possible. These kids made it happen. We're going in with a lot of momentum."

St. Pius X returned three seniors on offense but none on the offensive line. As the line has matured this season, the Sartans have taken off, Mendoza said.

St. Pius X fullback Colin McEntee remains the team's best offensive weapon. He's gained 757 yards and has 10 touchdowns this season. But sophomore tailbacks Xavier Madrid and Jacob Garcia have developed into a quality tandem in the backfield.

"They're not sophomores anymore," Mendoza said.

Also, senior quarterback Hayden Collins over the past four games has completed 20-of-35 passes with six touchdowns and only one interception. "Everything seems to be clicking," Collins said. "We have a lot of confidence and our line is blocking really well."

"He's finished strong," Mendoza said of Collins, who is also a major part of the Sartans' running game.

"We spread the ball around," McEntee said. "We have a lot of ways to beat teams."

McEntee said last year's drop-off has helped motivate this year's Sartans.

"Losing was tough on all of us last year," he said. "We didn't want to go out that way again."

St. Pius X won its lone state title under Mendoza in 1999 and finished runners-up in 2001. Those seasons revived memories of the Sartans' glory days in the 1970s.

"This team is trying to get Pius back to its golden years," McEntee said.

Mendoza said his team has rebounded well from the early knocks it took. Now, the Sartans are poised to dole out their own punishment.

"The playoffs are a funny thing," Mendoza said. "Some years you peak too early. This team is playing well at the right time."