By November 2035. Fourteenth state championship. 31-14. Caleb Park ran for 88 yards and three touchdowns and didn't throw an interception and managed the game with the poise of someone who's been doing this for a decade. He's a junior. He has one more year. That thought lives alongside the celebration — always, the awareness that the best ones have an end date.
Fourteen championships in seventeen seasons at Eldorado Prep. I've been trying to figure out how to hold that number and I don't have a satisfying answer. It's big enough to mean something but not so big that I know what it means. What I know is that every single one of those fourteen nights felt different. Different players, different game, different thing I was afraid of going in. Championships are not a stack of identical things. They're each their own specific night.
I called Papá from the field, same as always. He'd been watching on the school's live stream — his tablet, the one Marco set up for him two Christmases ago. He said: catorce, m'ijo. I said: catorce, Papá. He said he remembered when I got the head coach job at Eldorado and I told him I wanted to build something real. He said he told Mamá at the time that he thought I might. I said: you never told me that. He said: you would have been nervous. I laughed. He laughed. Fourteen years of championships and my father still knows exactly what I needed to hear and what I didn't.
The enchiladas are next Monday. A hundred red, same as every year. I'm already thinking about the masa, the chicken, the chile, the layers. Lisa said she'll help. She always helps. Fourteen times she's stood next to me assembling enchiladas the Monday after a championship and I expect, God willing, a few more.
The enchiladas come Monday — that’s the tradition, the thing the team knows is waiting for them — but before the masa and the chile and the hundred red enchiladas, there’s always something to tide everyone over while the kitchen comes to life. This queso dip has become part of that same ritual: Lisa sets it out while I’m prepping the chicken, the house smells like something good is coming, and for a little while the scoreboard and the final whistle give way to something warmer. Fourteen championships in, I know that the food is never just the food — it’s the way we hold the moment together a little longer.
Queso Dip
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 1 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed
- 1 can (10 oz) Rotel diced tomatoes & green chiles, undrained
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 lb ground beef or chorizo, cooked and drained (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt to taste
- Tortilla chips, for serving
Instructions
- Brown the meat. If using ground beef or chorizo, cook in a skillet over medium heat until fully browned. Drain excess fat and set aside.
- Melt the cheese. In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the cubed Velveeta and milk. Stir frequently until the cheese is fully melted and smooth, about 8–10 minutes. Do not let it boil.
- Add the tomatoes. Stir in the undrained Rotel tomatoes and green chiles. Mix until fully incorporated.
- Season and combine. Add cumin, garlic powder, and cooked meat if using. Stir well and taste for salt. Adjust seasoning as needed.
- Keep warm and serve. Transfer to a slow cooker set to warm, or serve directly from the saucepan. Serve with tortilla chips alongside.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 210 | Protein: 11g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 9g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 680mg