What players stood out this weekend at the scrimmages?

2021 New Mexico HS Football Win Total Over/Unders

Let's dig into the predictions for the 2021 season and give our best take on each team this Fall. Also, this is with hopes of at least playing 10 games (although we may have to reschedule some).

METRO WEST DISTRICT (1-6A)

Atrisco Heritage Academy Jaguars: Over/Under 3.5 wins

The Jaguars surprised some teams during the Spring and now is a real opportunity for new head coach Howard Knezevich and company to make waves. Getting to four wins will require wins over the likes of Del Norte, Rio Grande, Valley, and West Mesa. For the rest of the schedule, they'll be big underdogs against Piedra Vista, Centennial, Cleveland, Volcano Vista, Cibola, and Rio Rancho.

NORTHWEST DISTRICT (1-5A)

Capital Jaguars: Over/Under 5.5 wins

The Jaguars feature a new head coach in Joaquin "Wax" Garcia and hope to continue to recent football success. The task will be a tall order this season without stud running back Luke Padilla but the foundation should lead to some wins. The schedule is a favorable one for a team going through a transition. They open with a rebuilding Grants, Rio Grande, Miyamura, and Belen. Add in Los Alamos and Moriarty and they could get the over.

FOUR CORNERS DISTRICT (1-4A)

Aztec Tigers: Over/Under 4.4 wins

The last full fall season for the Tigers resulted in 8-wins and with new head coach Eric Stovall they hope to get back into that win range. The Tigers feature a great group of skilled positioned players that could have them at this total. Key games for this O/U are Miyamura, Shiprock, Gallup, Bloomfield, and Kirtland Central.

3A FOOTBALL

Cobre Indians: 6.5 wins
Crownpoint Eagles: 2.5 wins
Cuba Rams: 3.5 wins
Dexter Demons: 8.5 wins
Hatch Valley Bears: 5.5 wins
Hope Christian Huskies: 8.5 wins
Hot Springs Tigers: 4.5 wins
Navajo Prep Eagles: 4.5 wins
NMMI: 6.5 wins
Newcomb Skyhawks: 2.5 wins
Raton Tigers: 6.5 wins
Robertson Cardinals: 8.5 wins
Santa Fe Indian Braves: 3.5 wins
Socorro Warriors; 9.5 wins
St. Michael's: 8.5 wins
Thoreau Hawks: 2.5 wins
Tohatchi Cougars: 3.5 wins
Tucumcari Rattlers: 3.5 wins
West Las Vegas Dons: 8.5 wins
Wingate Bears: 1.5 wins
Zuni Thunderbirds: 3.5 wins


We will continue to update this feature.

Go!

Post “scores” from scrimmages here. Good luck everyone.

Who is everyone scrimmaging?

Who do you guys have?
1. Eunice
2. Texico
3. Jal
4. Estancia
5. Tularosa
6. Santa Rosa
7. Hagerman
8. Escalante
9. Clayton
10. Capitan

Jal and Texico can easily be flipped. After those three I feel that teams will be pretty even. Some graduated a lot and some haven’t played since 2019!

Seems more and more are in favor of a centralized state championship held in abq at UNM..

It is Friday the 13th! Favorite scary movie draft

Who are teams that are not favored to win it all but could actually make a run at the title game?

What do numbers look like?
Who has started their July workouts?

Hey NMPreps squad!

Sorry for the lack of stories and features this week. First time I’ve gone this long off this site in ten years. I just received my phone and access to net today. Unfortunately been sick and had to visit the hospital this week.. I only mention so you know that I’ll be bringing more stuff once I get home and bringing features back and prepping for a great football season!

Thanks!
Grine

Offers
Adams State (DII)
Colorado State-Pueblo (DII)

How many games should a regular season have in NMHSF?

Who do you have? Regardless of classification or position.

Favorite pre-game meal?

What current high school coach would do well at WNMU?

Has to be one of the best NM high school players of all time. Might not be in many record books because he came late from basketball every year. Combine what he did at the plate and on the mound he has to be right there. Still he best curve ball I have ever seen in person from a high schooler. He did it right!

Open as of today

Marty Zeller retires from LLHS

3A Preseason Rankings: District 1-3A Preview

Teams: Navajo Prep, Newcomb, Tohatchi, Zuni

NMPreps will highlight each district before the 2021 New Mexico high school football season.

Projected Order of Finish

Tohatchi Cougars (5-0 overall)
The Cougars were expected to be solid last year and they went a perfect 5-0 during the Spring. Can that carry them over to this Fall though is the major question. The Cougars will have a new QB this Fall with a nice weapon in Bradley BItisie (2022).

Navajo Prep Eagles (Did not play)
Well, the Eagles haven't played a football games since 2019 and could be in for a long season. The good news for the Eagles would be in quarterback Dontrell Denesto (2022) who started as a sophomore for the Eagles back in 19. The Eagles last went 5-5 overall back in 2019 and finished 2-1 in district play.

Newcomb Skyhawks (0-4 overall)
The Skyhawks were projected to have a rebuilding year, add in the pandemic and the Skyhawks struggled their way to an 0-4 season during the Spring. More bad news for the Skyhawks will be a big graduating class that left in 2021 and they will be very inexperienced when this season kicks-off.

Zuni Thunderbirds (Did not play)
The Thunderbirds were another school that opted to not play this Spring. This could be another long build for a school that once had to forfeit a season because a lack of players. However, they returned strong and made a playoff push in 2019.

3A Preseason Rankings: District 2-3A Preview

NMPreps will continue to release our preseason team rankings for each classification in New Mexico high school football. We are less than a month away from the first game and we get you started.

In 3A, we will release the rankings by district previews followed by ranking all 21-teams in the classification.

Perhaps the best district in 3A football in terms of quality of programs. We could see potential four of the five schools earning a bid or arguing for a bid at the state tournament.

PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH

1) St. Michael's Horsemen (2020 Record - 3-0 overall)
Scoop: The St. Michael's Horsemen went a perfect 3-0 during the short Spring season and most argue if they didn't have to sit out a game they could have played for the 3A Bowl Championship held at UNM. Regardless, the St. Michael's Horsemen are a contender to watch this season and in large part is because of quarterback Lucas Coriz (2022). For Coriz, he is wildly under the radar (mostly because of limited information out on him like other top recruited QBs in the state) but is one to watch not only in 3A but in the state. The Horsemen go as far as the star QB will take them and that could be far.

2) Robertson Cardinals (2020 Record - 0-0 overall)
Scoop: I've made the claim that programs that went silent in 2020/21 will have some major hurdles to climb and could take a major step back. The step back is small for the Cardinals, which have recently been the top dawg in this district, but it's a step back after going 10-2 during the 2019 season (4-0 in district). This is the thing with Robertson though, they have one of the top head coaches in New Mexico in Leroy Gonzalez. More good news for the Cardinals? They return a top-level athlete in Matthew Gonzalez (2022) who passed for 1,208-yards (18 TDs), and rushed for another 954-yards (8-TDs) as a sophomore back in 2019. Look for a battle for this DC - hopefully, they'll play the final game against each other.

3) Raton Tigers (2020 Record - 2-2 overall)
Scoop: The Tigers are hoping for a breakthrough during the 2021 season. After going 2-2 last season and making progress forward, the Tory Giacomo led Tigers, welcome back most of their production from the last two years. Expectations couldn't be higher for the Tigers. Senior quarterback Dylan Quartieri (2022) returns after tossing for nearly 500-yards and 7 touchdowns in the Spring. The other name most of becoming aware of is that of Cayden Walton (2023) a junior running back that rushed for 664-yards during the short 2021 spring season. The other name in a trio of top-ranked players is that of Matthew Quartieri (2022), a 6-foot-3 Middle Linebacker who is a next-level player. In just about any other district the Tigers would be a favorite to win the district, but here they have 2/3 teams that they must battle with that are yearly title contenders.

4) West Las Vegas Dons (2020 Record - 0-0 overall)
Scoop: The Dons, like their crosstown rival Robertson, haven't had football since 2019 and the re-start of their programs could come with a slower than normal pace. If you remember back in 2019 as well the Dons featured a top-ranked quarterback and featured 7-wins. The biggest storyline for the Dons could be in the form of running back Damian Gallegos (2022) who rushed for 773-yards (8TDs) and 215-receiving yards as a sophomore in 2019. His return would give them an option in the backfield as they get some experience to a completely new quarterback to varsity level football. The Dons are a bit of a mystery heading into this season and we won't know a lot about them until August 20th, their opener against Moriarty. The thing we know is (and contradicts our projected finish) don't sleep on a well-coached Adrian Gonzales program - regardless if they need to rebuild/restart.

5) Santa Fe Indian Braves (2020 Record - 0-0 overall)
Scoop: The Braves program and the entire school closed doors during the 2020/2021 school year. Now, they are off to a completely new start with a new head coach in Bill Moon, the longtime Capital head coach. The Braves would be a school that would benefit from a classification alignment based on competition level, as would the others they play in non-district. The Braves went 4-1 in non-district play but when they hit districts they continue to struggle against the bigger and more established football powers - above. They went 0-4 in 2019 and were outscored 214-22, the season before in 2018 they went 0-4 and were outscored 189-7. The Braves will battle and do well under HC Moon but it could be a long road ahead.

Related
6A Preseason Rankings
5A Preseason Rankings
4A Preseason Rankings: District 3-4A
4A Preseason Rankings: District 4-4A
3A Preseason Rankings: District 3-3A

3A Rankings: District 3-3A Preseason Watch

NMPreps will continue to release team rankings for each classification in New Mexico high school football. We are less than two months away from the first game and we get you started. In 3A, we will release by district and then with ranking all 21-teams in the classification.

A tough district that features the Socorro Warriors who went undefeated and won the 3A "Elite" Bowl game at the University of New Mexico this Spring. They'll again be featured as a favorite in the classification. The others Hatch Valley, Cobre, and Hot Springs will all be improved, and we could see 3 or 4 bids coming from the district.

PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH

(#1) Socorro Warriors (record last season: 5-0 overall, 2-0 district)
Scoop: Without surprise, the Socorro Warriors will again be the favorite coming out of this district. The Warriors went 5-0 last season and flexed in the 3A Elite Bowl held at the University of New Mexico, defeating Dexter High School, 48-14. The Warriors need to replace Nathaniel Fresquez (QB) and Michael McDaniel (WR). The excitement is returning maybe one of the more talented teams we've seen from the Warriors in Orio Rottman (2022/TE), Adadrian Jackson (2022/WR), Jordan Armijo (2022/RB), and Marcus Armijo (2023/ATH).

(#2) Hatch Valley Bears (record last season: 2-2 overall, 1-1 district)
Scoop: The Hatch Valley Bears looked improved last season from the 2018 season and coming off a 2-2 season. The Bears lose Jesus Gonzalez and Oscar Gonzalez to graduation and creates a huge immediate void. A player to watch will be Layton Gillis (2023/WR-CB) who provides some punch on both ends of the ball. Although the offense could struggle early as they look for some replacement pieces the defense could lead the way. Also, watch David Holguin (2022) and Isaiah Vega (2022) on defense.

(#3) Hot Springs Tigers (record last season: 0-4 overall, 0-2 district)
Scoop: Yes, the Tigers went 0-4 last season but looking at the schedule it was a brutal four games as all four teams being at the top of their classification. In a normal season, we will see a more balanced schedule. It does hurt losing all-state running back Cameron Zamora but the TIgers are hoping for an improvement from some youth that earned experience during the Spring. The Tigers might have one of the more experienced teams with youth behind it. Quarterback Kaidyn Lanham (2024) played well as a freshman under center and has targets like Josiah Tidwell (2023/WR), and Devin Gonzalez (2022/WR) returning. On defense look for Tidwell and Joel Rivero (2023) to team up and guide the Tigers in 2021.

(#4) Cobre Indians (record last season: 0-0)
Scoop: The Cobre Indians decided to sit out the Spring season and we can see the effects of not having football for over a year could do to a program's development. Well, we didn't get to see him during his senior season but gone is Enrique Quinteros an all-state level player. The Indians will look to players Gavin Placencio (2022/ATH) and Jeraiah Garcia (2022/DB). The Indians have plenty to question like a year completely away from football could set them back a few years.

Two-a-days are the best-worst thing:

In 5A and 4A it will be an all-south finals match-up:

Cleveland repeats so does Eunice:

Indoor sports should also not have to wear masks:

Top Defensive Backs To Watch During the 2021 Season

NMPreps will continue to highlight and list the top players in New Mexico high school football.


Note: We will release names throughout the summer. Nominate below or email to grinejosh@yahoo.com.