New coach, new playing style coming to Carlsbad
By: Kyle Henderson of NMPreps.com
Lot of change in Carlsbad. Maybe that’s an overstatement, but after a 2-8 season maybe former Head Coach Ron Arrington who by the way did a solid job as head man for several years knew that their needed to be new life pumped into the program. Whatever the case, Gary Bradley the former head coach at Farmington and the former offensive coordinator for the Mayfield Trojans was the right hire for the job.
"In coaching, you develop strong relationships as part of the business. When my wife and I moved to Farmington from Las Cruces in 2008 it was very tough leaving family and now with us leaving Farmington to Carlsbad it's tough again to leave life long friends we've made. We did not come to Farmington to use it as a stepping stone, we came here to live. Our family is 100% in this next phase and we're diving right into this new challenge," Said Bradley in an earlier interview conducted back in February of 2015.
Bradley’s Record At Farmington
2014 7-6
2013 12-1 4A State Champs
2012 7-5
2011 10-3
2010 9-3
2009 7-5
2008 2-8
Challenges ahead in Carlsbad
The Carlsbad Cavemen went 2-8 during the 2014 season and just 6-5 during the 2013 season. The Cavemen have not been to a state football title game since 2000 (under Kirk Potter) and have not won a state football championship since 1962 under Ralph Bowyer.
"I've always had my eye on Carlsbad. It's a one-horse town, a small town and I've always liked Carlsbad form the Lake, River, and I love the fact that on Friday Night they close it down for Football. It's a sports town with a lot of athletes, great facilities, and great community support,"
The Cavemen return Jonah Leyva who saw playing time at quarterback as just a sophomore, but graduate big time names like Travis Kessler, Kaleb Stevens, Trevin Ramirez, and Elijah McCoy.
It will also be interesting to see if Bradley moves to Cavemen from a spread set to a option style offense which he ran as both the offensive coordinator while at Mayfield and as the Head Coach at Farmington. The last time Carlsbad won the District was in 2010 going 2-0.
2-8 in 2014
We’ve talked with Clovis, Artesia, Hobbs, and Goddard this week all said that Carlsbad was a very formidable opponent in 2014 despite winning just two games. They lost to Artesia 38-14, lost to Goddard 18-13, beat Hobbs 25-14, lost to Clovis 24-10, and beat Alamogordo 33-26.
A big reason for Carlsbad’s 2014 slide was because Kaleb Stevens their starting quarterback went down with a knee injury. In stepped Jonah Leyva who threw for 692-yards and 2 touchdowns, Jared Montanez also threw for 221-yards and 1 touchdown.
What To Expect
Carlsbad won’t be platooning anymore, expect the best to be on the field. The quarterback position is up for grabs right now: Jonah Leyva who will be a junior, Jared Montanez will be a senior, and even in the mix for quarterback is sophomore Nate Arrington the youngest of the three Arrington boys and as you would expect he is quite the athlete from what we hear.
Taking over at running back replacing Elijah McCoy will be a handful of very shifty running backs including” Cassius Rivers and Dominic Rodriguez. Outside is Daniel Miller who is a 6-foot-4, 175 pound possession receiver that is also another outstanding student athlete, his brother Josh who graduated a few years ago held a 4.6 GPA and speaking with Daniel afterwards, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
On defense watch for a trio of very good linebackers. Micahel Mireles is a 6-foot-2, 220 pound backer who looked like a absolute stud today and we’re told he also plays fullback on offense. Also watch for Carlos Gonzales and Colton Montano at the backer positions.
Names To Know In 2015
Jonah Leyva - Quarterback - Junior - 6-0, 170
Nate Arrington - Quarterback - Sophomore - 6-0, 185
Cassius Rivers - Running Back - Senior - 5-8, 155
Daniel Miller - Receiver - Senior - 6-4, 175
Dominic Rodriguez - Running Back - Junior
Michael Mireles - Fullback/Linebacker - Senior - 6-2, 220
Carlos Gonzales - Linebacker
Cotton Montano - Linebacker
Isaiah Perez - Defensive End
2015 Schedule
Aug. 14: at Lovington (6 p.m. scrimmage)
Aug. 28: at El Paso Americas (7:30 p.m.)
Sept. 4: at Deming
Sept. 11 : Mayfield (home opener)
Sept. 18: El Paso Eastwood
Sept. 25: Artesia (Eddy County War)
Oct. 3: at Sandia (1 p.m.)
Oct. 9: Goddard (homecoming)
Oct 16: Bye week
Oct. 23: at Alamogordo *
Oct. 30: Hobbs (senior night) *
Nov. 6: at Clovis *
Senior Quotes
We caught up with Daniel Miller and Adrian Flacco after practice, here is what each had to say. “Obviously we have a rich history with a lot of great players, so players that have went on to play college, and some that have even gone to play in the pros. It’s a really close knit community and when we’re on the field its awesome because we have all that history and community support behind us,” said senior receiver Daniel Miller. “Like any new system, it took us some time to get used to having a new coach, but after the first month we really began to build a new bond and new trust with Coach Bradley. We’ve also kept a lot of our old coaching staff which has really helped with our transition,” Said Flacco.
Our take
It’s not like Carlsbad has been down in the dumps as a program, they have always had tons of talent in a one horse town and always been competitive in district. Though they had a disappointing season last year, expect Carlsbad to be back in the 6A fold or at least playoff mix in the next year or so. It’s going to take a while for Bradly to implement his system, but when things finally get into place Ralph Bowyer is going to be a fun atmosphere come Friday Night. Playoffs this year? We don’t know, but what we do know is that Bradley is a proven winner and isn’t using Carlsbad as a stepping stone, he’s looking to take his time and really build Carlsbad into a yearly power.
By: Kyle Henderson of NMPreps.com
Lot of change in Carlsbad. Maybe that’s an overstatement, but after a 2-8 season maybe former Head Coach Ron Arrington who by the way did a solid job as head man for several years knew that their needed to be new life pumped into the program. Whatever the case, Gary Bradley the former head coach at Farmington and the former offensive coordinator for the Mayfield Trojans was the right hire for the job.
"In coaching, you develop strong relationships as part of the business. When my wife and I moved to Farmington from Las Cruces in 2008 it was very tough leaving family and now with us leaving Farmington to Carlsbad it's tough again to leave life long friends we've made. We did not come to Farmington to use it as a stepping stone, we came here to live. Our family is 100% in this next phase and we're diving right into this new challenge," Said Bradley in an earlier interview conducted back in February of 2015.
Bradley’s Record At Farmington
2014 7-6
2013 12-1 4A State Champs
2012 7-5
2011 10-3
2010 9-3
2009 7-5
2008 2-8
Challenges ahead in Carlsbad
The Carlsbad Cavemen went 2-8 during the 2014 season and just 6-5 during the 2013 season. The Cavemen have not been to a state football title game since 2000 (under Kirk Potter) and have not won a state football championship since 1962 under Ralph Bowyer.
"I've always had my eye on Carlsbad. It's a one-horse town, a small town and I've always liked Carlsbad form the Lake, River, and I love the fact that on Friday Night they close it down for Football. It's a sports town with a lot of athletes, great facilities, and great community support,"
The Cavemen return Jonah Leyva who saw playing time at quarterback as just a sophomore, but graduate big time names like Travis Kessler, Kaleb Stevens, Trevin Ramirez, and Elijah McCoy.
It will also be interesting to see if Bradley moves to Cavemen from a spread set to a option style offense which he ran as both the offensive coordinator while at Mayfield and as the Head Coach at Farmington. The last time Carlsbad won the District was in 2010 going 2-0.
2-8 in 2014
We’ve talked with Clovis, Artesia, Hobbs, and Goddard this week all said that Carlsbad was a very formidable opponent in 2014 despite winning just two games. They lost to Artesia 38-14, lost to Goddard 18-13, beat Hobbs 25-14, lost to Clovis 24-10, and beat Alamogordo 33-26.
A big reason for Carlsbad’s 2014 slide was because Kaleb Stevens their starting quarterback went down with a knee injury. In stepped Jonah Leyva who threw for 692-yards and 2 touchdowns, Jared Montanez also threw for 221-yards and 1 touchdown.
What To Expect
Carlsbad won’t be platooning anymore, expect the best to be on the field. The quarterback position is up for grabs right now: Jonah Leyva who will be a junior, Jared Montanez will be a senior, and even in the mix for quarterback is sophomore Nate Arrington the youngest of the three Arrington boys and as you would expect he is quite the athlete from what we hear.
Taking over at running back replacing Elijah McCoy will be a handful of very shifty running backs including” Cassius Rivers and Dominic Rodriguez. Outside is Daniel Miller who is a 6-foot-4, 175 pound possession receiver that is also another outstanding student athlete, his brother Josh who graduated a few years ago held a 4.6 GPA and speaking with Daniel afterwards, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
On defense watch for a trio of very good linebackers. Micahel Mireles is a 6-foot-2, 220 pound backer who looked like a absolute stud today and we’re told he also plays fullback on offense. Also watch for Carlos Gonzales and Colton Montano at the backer positions.
Names To Know In 2015
Jonah Leyva - Quarterback - Junior - 6-0, 170
Nate Arrington - Quarterback - Sophomore - 6-0, 185
Cassius Rivers - Running Back - Senior - 5-8, 155
Daniel Miller - Receiver - Senior - 6-4, 175
Dominic Rodriguez - Running Back - Junior
Michael Mireles - Fullback/Linebacker - Senior - 6-2, 220
Carlos Gonzales - Linebacker
Cotton Montano - Linebacker
Isaiah Perez - Defensive End
2015 Schedule
Aug. 14: at Lovington (6 p.m. scrimmage)
Aug. 28: at El Paso Americas (7:30 p.m.)
Sept. 4: at Deming
Sept. 11 : Mayfield (home opener)
Sept. 18: El Paso Eastwood
Sept. 25: Artesia (Eddy County War)
Oct. 3: at Sandia (1 p.m.)
Oct. 9: Goddard (homecoming)
Oct 16: Bye week
Oct. 23: at Alamogordo *
Oct. 30: Hobbs (senior night) *
Nov. 6: at Clovis *
Senior Quotes
We caught up with Daniel Miller and Adrian Flacco after practice, here is what each had to say. “Obviously we have a rich history with a lot of great players, so players that have went on to play college, and some that have even gone to play in the pros. It’s a really close knit community and when we’re on the field its awesome because we have all that history and community support behind us,” said senior receiver Daniel Miller. “Like any new system, it took us some time to get used to having a new coach, but after the first month we really began to build a new bond and new trust with Coach Bradley. We’ve also kept a lot of our old coaching staff which has really helped with our transition,” Said Flacco.
Our take
It’s not like Carlsbad has been down in the dumps as a program, they have always had tons of talent in a one horse town and always been competitive in district. Though they had a disappointing season last year, expect Carlsbad to be back in the 6A fold or at least playoff mix in the next year or so. It’s going to take a while for Bradly to implement his system, but when things finally get into place Ralph Bowyer is going to be a fun atmosphere come Friday Night. Playoffs this year? We don’t know, but what we do know is that Bradley is a proven winner and isn’t using Carlsbad as a stepping stone, he’s looking to take his time and really build Carlsbad into a yearly power.
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