NMPreps 4A Spring Rankings for 2020
Joshua J Grine
You can expect several tweaks to this NMPreps 4A Spring Rankings from now until August and before the 2020 season officially starts. However, here is our 2020 outlook for every program is coming into focus.
No. 5 Ruidoso Warriors
The Warriors are just three years removed from winning the State Championship. The Warriors are coming off a 5-7 season and will need to replace a quarterback that passed for nearly 3,000 yards. The good news is the return of running back Bracxton Hall (2022) who rushed for 635-yards as a sophomore. Having Hall back will alleivate pressure on a new quarterback. The Warriors also return a top prospect in Grant Oberheu (2021) who had 669-receiving yards and 6 touchdowns last season. The Warriors will play in the toughest district top down again with Silver, Lovington, and reigning state champ Portales.
No. 6 St. Pius X Sartans
The Sartans are coming off a 4-7 season and will need to replace a handful of key players from the 2019 season. Head coach David Montoya took over the program for the 2017 season and has gone 19-16 in three years. Year four becomes a make or break type of season at the helm. The Sartans will need to replace quarterback Derek Rivera, running back Trebor Toledo, and SS Ryan McCormick. The good news is the Sartans will have running back Marco Ybarra (2022) back this season, who looked sound in the opening three games before an injury kept him out. The defense takes a hit as well and CB Dominic Sais (2021) takes the lead for the Sartans. The new district should come back down to Pius and Grants with other new district members Albuquerque Academy, Bernalillo, and Valencia behind.
No. 7 Bloomfield Bobcats
No matter where he goes head coach Bob Allcorn wins. The Bobcats played for the state championship in 2019 after winning 12 straight games; They finished with a 12-1 record, their lone loss came against Portales in the championship game. Bob Allcorn has to find a new quarterback after Vincient Marquez's very successful senior season in the four corners. Marquez tossed for 3,387-yards last season. Allcorn must also replace 1,000-yard rusher in Kevin Mosley and top returning receiver Noah Gurule. A lot to replace but the foundation for this program has been set, even if they take a drop back, but it won't be far. Bryce Perez (2021), Raymundo Alcantar (2021) and Ethan Beevers (2021) give a strong trio of receivers for the next QB-1. The defense also takes a hit but Emilio Candelaria (2021) looks to take full leadership, he led the team in total tackles in 2019.
No. 8 Kirtland Central Broncos
Coach Greg Jenks team must replace several key players from last year's 8-win, quarterfinal team, but the Broncos have top returning player on offense for 2020 in Troy White-David (2021). Filling some of the voids around the senior will be crucial to winning the district. Zakk Thomas (2022) will provide some immediate help out of the backfield as the running back had some nice touches as a sophomore. He'll also anchor the defense for the Broncos this season. The district for the next two-year block features Aztec, Shiprock, Gallup and last year's district champ Bloomfield.
No. 9 Aztec Tigers
Aztec is coming off a very successful head coach tenure under Matthew Steinfeldt who stepped down after the 2019 season. The Tigers will be an interesting team to watch in 4A football in 2020. They are coming off a state playoff win, 8-4 overall record (1-2 district) and a chance to win the district. They have hired Eric Stovall as head coach who brings a 37-19 record to Aztec. Stovall spent the last two seasons as the head coach of the Newcomb Skyhawks going 17-6 overall, the best coming in 2018 going 10-2 overall. Prior to Newcomb, Stovall went 20-13 (2017-2015) at nearby Shiprock High School. Looking forward Stovall has a young QB in Marcquis Henry (2023) that passed for 1,245-yards and 13-touchdowns as a freshman; Henry rushed for another 400-yards and 3-touchdowns. Look for receivers Mason Rios (2021) and Austin Jaime (2021) to be on the rise in 2020.
No. 10 Taos Tigers
The Tigers went 6-5 overall and finished as district runner up in their championship defending season. The Tigers won it all in 2018 and actually played well down the stretch to get over .500 in 2019. They had to replace key players last season and will do so again this year with quarterback Noah Armijo graduating along with 1,300 yard rusher Armando Valerio. In the backfield they are looking to Matthew Suazo (2021) to carry the ball, a year after he rushed for 500 yards as a sophomore. The Suazo name is one to know in Tiger country and he could be one of the next. The new district sets things up perfectly for the Tigers and they'll be heavy favorites; Espanola Valley, Pojoaque Valley and Moriarty round out the district.
No. 11 Valencia Jaguars
The Valencia Jaguars were clearly in rebuild mode under second-year head coach Wesley Shank in 2019. His first season the Jaguars came out the gate with an experienced group and won 6-games reaching the playoffs. Last season was a rebuild and with the realignment they moved down in classification to 4A from 5A. Improving on last season's 2-7 record (1-2 district) will require a quarterback to emerge after using three last season. 2022 Nate Rodriguez passed for 311-yards and rushed for another 168-yards last season. Although both of those numbers are low for a Shank offense that requires a mobile QB, they will improve greatly as the team was overall a young one. Daniel Selvera (2021) is another athlete to look at for the Jaguars this coming season and could create a spark to a quick rebound season. The new district will feature Grants, St. Pius, Bernalillo and Albuquerque Academy.
No. 12 Moriarty Pintos
The Moriarty Pintos are coming off a 2-9 (0-3 district) overall season that did result in a playoff bid. The good news looking forward is the new district alignment being in their favor with a new district with Taos, Espanola Valley, and Pojoaque Valley. The new district will be a huge improvement for them and they could enter as a favorite to contend for the district championship. The Pintos return Cayden Dunn (RB/2022), Andres Lopez (RB/2022), and Justin Carmona (RB/2021) to their backfield; Dunn the leading returning rusher with 791-yards. A majority of the defense returns, led by Carmona. This could be one of the best of the dark horse teams in the classification this season and could float between 12 to 7 in the rankings.
No. 13 Bernalillo Spartans
The Spartans are coming off a 6-5 (2-3 district) season with a playoff bid to state. Head coach John Cobos took over in 2015 and has steadily built the football program back up each season. Quarterback Adam Salazar (2021) returns after tossing for 915-yards and rushing for another 366. He is partnered with running back AJ Madrid (2021) who rushed for 927-yards with 15-touchdowns. Madrid also led the team with 233-receiving yards and led the team in tackles and topped it off with 5-sacks. The new district for the Bernalillo Spartans will have more of a challenge for the Spartans with St. Pius, Valencia, Grants, and Albuquerque Academy.
No. 14 Albuquerque Academy Chargers
The Chargers will be an interesting team to watch in 4A football in 2020. They are coming off a 4-6 overall in the first season under head coach Shaun Gehres, the Virginia native who has this program trending back up. After a solid freshman season AJ Rivera (2023) returns at quarterback for the Chargers after tossing for nearly 1,500-yards and 12-touchdowns. The Chargers love to let it fly under Gehres and they were super young last season as Rivera's top target was also a freshman last season in Kellan Gehres (2023). Gahres had 554 receiving yards (6 TDS), Mike McIntosh, (2022) with 220 yards, and Tyler Wilson (2022) had 190 yards (3 TDs). They return from playing independent this season and join the district with Bernalillo, Grants, St. Pius and Valencia; they lost to Bernalillo 40-10 last season.
No. 15 Gallup Bengals
Head coach Nick Winkler inherited a football program that has been sitting in the cellar for many years. The Bengals are coming off back-to-back 2-8 seasons; they are riding a 7-game losing streak after starting the season 2-1 in 2019. The good news: The Bengals return 6-foot-2 quarterback Kody Touchine (2022) who showed some good signs early in his sophomore season. Is this the make-or-break season for Winkler as head coaches rarely last more than two seasons? Get to four wins and he stays?
No. 16 Espanola Valley Sundevils
The Sundevils have a steep climb out of the cellar but they do have some intrigue in the signs of 6-foot-5 quarterback Ollie Fell (2021) returning for his junior season. The Sundevils went 2-8 last season and 1-4 during district play but had to make quick adjustments with a late head coach change.....again. Fell will have a go-to target in Matthias Garcia (2020) at WR and the two could create something special.
Note: Early May the Sundevils have hired former Grants and Shiprock HC Nick Williams as their head coach to replace their interim HC.
No. 17 Pojoaque Valley Elks
Pojoaque Valley isn't an easy job, and coach Pat Mares is clearly in the midst of a build job coming off a 2-8 season. The Elks head man has been here before with a previous stop at nearby Espanola Valley High School. Some highlighting news is the return of ATH Devonn Leyba-Holmes (2020) for the Elks after being a do-all from the backfield from passing to rushing the football. Overall, both sides of the ball need marked improvement in order to get into the 4/5 win range.
No. 18 Shiprock Chieftains
Winning at Shiprock isn't easy, but head coach Anthony Clah led the Chieftains to a 5-5 season, playing an independent schedule. They return to a district in 2020 with Gallup, Kirtland Central, Miyamura, Aztec and Bloomfield. The bad news: they graduate one of their better football players in recent time in Kaleo Clah who rushed for 350 and passed for another 1,000. The good news: Andre King (2020) returns at receiver but the focus could be a wave of young defensive players returning that could be the make-up for a few years in maroon. Jayson Ayze (2020) is the anchor on that defense with 5-sacks last season.
NMPreps.com will release a new team each day until we complete our entire Spring Rankings.
Joshua J Grine
You can expect several tweaks to this NMPreps 4A Spring Rankings from now until August and before the 2020 season officially starts. However, here is our 2020 outlook for every program is coming into focus.
No. 5 Ruidoso Warriors
The Warriors are just three years removed from winning the State Championship. The Warriors are coming off a 5-7 season and will need to replace a quarterback that passed for nearly 3,000 yards. The good news is the return of running back Bracxton Hall (2022) who rushed for 635-yards as a sophomore. Having Hall back will alleivate pressure on a new quarterback. The Warriors also return a top prospect in Grant Oberheu (2021) who had 669-receiving yards and 6 touchdowns last season. The Warriors will play in the toughest district top down again with Silver, Lovington, and reigning state champ Portales.
No. 6 St. Pius X Sartans
The Sartans are coming off a 4-7 season and will need to replace a handful of key players from the 2019 season. Head coach David Montoya took over the program for the 2017 season and has gone 19-16 in three years. Year four becomes a make or break type of season at the helm. The Sartans will need to replace quarterback Derek Rivera, running back Trebor Toledo, and SS Ryan McCormick. The good news is the Sartans will have running back Marco Ybarra (2022) back this season, who looked sound in the opening three games before an injury kept him out. The defense takes a hit as well and CB Dominic Sais (2021) takes the lead for the Sartans. The new district should come back down to Pius and Grants with other new district members Albuquerque Academy, Bernalillo, and Valencia behind.
No. 7 Bloomfield Bobcats
No matter where he goes head coach Bob Allcorn wins. The Bobcats played for the state championship in 2019 after winning 12 straight games; They finished with a 12-1 record, their lone loss came against Portales in the championship game. Bob Allcorn has to find a new quarterback after Vincient Marquez's very successful senior season in the four corners. Marquez tossed for 3,387-yards last season. Allcorn must also replace 1,000-yard rusher in Kevin Mosley and top returning receiver Noah Gurule. A lot to replace but the foundation for this program has been set, even if they take a drop back, but it won't be far. Bryce Perez (2021), Raymundo Alcantar (2021) and Ethan Beevers (2021) give a strong trio of receivers for the next QB-1. The defense also takes a hit but Emilio Candelaria (2021) looks to take full leadership, he led the team in total tackles in 2019.
No. 8 Kirtland Central Broncos
Coach Greg Jenks team must replace several key players from last year's 8-win, quarterfinal team, but the Broncos have top returning player on offense for 2020 in Troy White-David (2021). Filling some of the voids around the senior will be crucial to winning the district. Zakk Thomas (2022) will provide some immediate help out of the backfield as the running back had some nice touches as a sophomore. He'll also anchor the defense for the Broncos this season. The district for the next two-year block features Aztec, Shiprock, Gallup and last year's district champ Bloomfield.
No. 9 Aztec Tigers
Aztec is coming off a very successful head coach tenure under Matthew Steinfeldt who stepped down after the 2019 season. The Tigers will be an interesting team to watch in 4A football in 2020. They are coming off a state playoff win, 8-4 overall record (1-2 district) and a chance to win the district. They have hired Eric Stovall as head coach who brings a 37-19 record to Aztec. Stovall spent the last two seasons as the head coach of the Newcomb Skyhawks going 17-6 overall, the best coming in 2018 going 10-2 overall. Prior to Newcomb, Stovall went 20-13 (2017-2015) at nearby Shiprock High School. Looking forward Stovall has a young QB in Marcquis Henry (2023) that passed for 1,245-yards and 13-touchdowns as a freshman; Henry rushed for another 400-yards and 3-touchdowns. Look for receivers Mason Rios (2021) and Austin Jaime (2021) to be on the rise in 2020.
No. 10 Taos Tigers
The Tigers went 6-5 overall and finished as district runner up in their championship defending season. The Tigers won it all in 2018 and actually played well down the stretch to get over .500 in 2019. They had to replace key players last season and will do so again this year with quarterback Noah Armijo graduating along with 1,300 yard rusher Armando Valerio. In the backfield they are looking to Matthew Suazo (2021) to carry the ball, a year after he rushed for 500 yards as a sophomore. The Suazo name is one to know in Tiger country and he could be one of the next. The new district sets things up perfectly for the Tigers and they'll be heavy favorites; Espanola Valley, Pojoaque Valley and Moriarty round out the district.
No. 11 Valencia Jaguars
The Valencia Jaguars were clearly in rebuild mode under second-year head coach Wesley Shank in 2019. His first season the Jaguars came out the gate with an experienced group and won 6-games reaching the playoffs. Last season was a rebuild and with the realignment they moved down in classification to 4A from 5A. Improving on last season's 2-7 record (1-2 district) will require a quarterback to emerge after using three last season. 2022 Nate Rodriguez passed for 311-yards and rushed for another 168-yards last season. Although both of those numbers are low for a Shank offense that requires a mobile QB, they will improve greatly as the team was overall a young one. Daniel Selvera (2021) is another athlete to look at for the Jaguars this coming season and could create a spark to a quick rebound season. The new district will feature Grants, St. Pius, Bernalillo and Albuquerque Academy.
No. 12 Moriarty Pintos
The Moriarty Pintos are coming off a 2-9 (0-3 district) overall season that did result in a playoff bid. The good news looking forward is the new district alignment being in their favor with a new district with Taos, Espanola Valley, and Pojoaque Valley. The new district will be a huge improvement for them and they could enter as a favorite to contend for the district championship. The Pintos return Cayden Dunn (RB/2022), Andres Lopez (RB/2022), and Justin Carmona (RB/2021) to their backfield; Dunn the leading returning rusher with 791-yards. A majority of the defense returns, led by Carmona. This could be one of the best of the dark horse teams in the classification this season and could float between 12 to 7 in the rankings.
No. 13 Bernalillo Spartans
The Spartans are coming off a 6-5 (2-3 district) season with a playoff bid to state. Head coach John Cobos took over in 2015 and has steadily built the football program back up each season. Quarterback Adam Salazar (2021) returns after tossing for 915-yards and rushing for another 366. He is partnered with running back AJ Madrid (2021) who rushed for 927-yards with 15-touchdowns. Madrid also led the team with 233-receiving yards and led the team in tackles and topped it off with 5-sacks. The new district for the Bernalillo Spartans will have more of a challenge for the Spartans with St. Pius, Valencia, Grants, and Albuquerque Academy.
No. 14 Albuquerque Academy Chargers
The Chargers will be an interesting team to watch in 4A football in 2020. They are coming off a 4-6 overall in the first season under head coach Shaun Gehres, the Virginia native who has this program trending back up. After a solid freshman season AJ Rivera (2023) returns at quarterback for the Chargers after tossing for nearly 1,500-yards and 12-touchdowns. The Chargers love to let it fly under Gehres and they were super young last season as Rivera's top target was also a freshman last season in Kellan Gehres (2023). Gahres had 554 receiving yards (6 TDS), Mike McIntosh, (2022) with 220 yards, and Tyler Wilson (2022) had 190 yards (3 TDs). They return from playing independent this season and join the district with Bernalillo, Grants, St. Pius and Valencia; they lost to Bernalillo 40-10 last season.
No. 15 Gallup Bengals
Head coach Nick Winkler inherited a football program that has been sitting in the cellar for many years. The Bengals are coming off back-to-back 2-8 seasons; they are riding a 7-game losing streak after starting the season 2-1 in 2019. The good news: The Bengals return 6-foot-2 quarterback Kody Touchine (2022) who showed some good signs early in his sophomore season. Is this the make-or-break season for Winkler as head coaches rarely last more than two seasons? Get to four wins and he stays?
No. 16 Espanola Valley Sundevils
The Sundevils have a steep climb out of the cellar but they do have some intrigue in the signs of 6-foot-5 quarterback Ollie Fell (2021) returning for his junior season. The Sundevils went 2-8 last season and 1-4 during district play but had to make quick adjustments with a late head coach change.....again. Fell will have a go-to target in Matthias Garcia (2020) at WR and the two could create something special.
Note: Early May the Sundevils have hired former Grants and Shiprock HC Nick Williams as their head coach to replace their interim HC.
No. 17 Pojoaque Valley Elks
Pojoaque Valley isn't an easy job, and coach Pat Mares is clearly in the midst of a build job coming off a 2-8 season. The Elks head man has been here before with a previous stop at nearby Espanola Valley High School. Some highlighting news is the return of ATH Devonn Leyba-Holmes (2020) for the Elks after being a do-all from the backfield from passing to rushing the football. Overall, both sides of the ball need marked improvement in order to get into the 4/5 win range.
No. 18 Shiprock Chieftains
Winning at Shiprock isn't easy, but head coach Anthony Clah led the Chieftains to a 5-5 season, playing an independent schedule. They return to a district in 2020 with Gallup, Kirtland Central, Miyamura, Aztec and Bloomfield. The bad news: they graduate one of their better football players in recent time in Kaleo Clah who rushed for 350 and passed for another 1,000. The good news: Andre King (2020) returns at receiver but the focus could be a wave of young defensive players returning that could be the make-up for a few years in maroon. Jayson Ayze (2020) is the anchor on that defense with 5-sacks last season.
NMPreps.com will release a new team each day until we complete our entire Spring Rankings.
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