Small School Division Football - 8-Man/6-Man
Joshua J Grine of NMPreps.com
With 6-Man the focus comes in the form of the two-time defending champions and possible dynasty if they can make this three in a row. The same story line can be said for Melrose as their dynasty is almost written in stone as they return as a favorite without question.
Today, we attempt to give our expert opinion on a pair of classifications that have two strong programs, one that even made the NMPreps.com Top 50 Rankings with the Buffaloes of Melrose, an impressive achievement in its own.
5 Key Questions About Small School Division Football
1. 3 and then 4 next season for Melrose? No, we don't hand out State Tournament trophies in July but Melrose the back-to-back state champions have one of the top overall athletes in the state of New Mexico returning giving Buffalo nation something to be excited about. Melrose in two years have a record of 24-1 (13-0 in 2016) and looking to only be getting better. We will spend more time talking about the young man by the name of Cade Barnard, who will play past High School football, as the QB/LB at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds had over 20 touchdowns last season and could only be getting better. Only a junior Cade is excelling both on the grass field and hardwood.
2. Hondo Valley Continuing Its Own Dominance? 9-teams, being better than 8, wins you a state championship in 6-man football. Hondo Valley is the team that has to be the likely favorite as a two-time defending champion to make it a triple behind the athleticism of Antonio Vasquez who threw for 201-yards and rushed for 156-yards for 5 touchdowns in the 2015 state championship. I guess the question should be, can any team slow down the speedy athlete? Floyd could be the likely suitor to play spoiler as they have some athletes of their own returning. However, if I was a betting man (I am), I go with the dominance continues.
3. Is There a Dark Horse? 8-man football could have a team that fits the description as another prospect out there has us with clear eyes looking at Jorrell Mirabal who plays for Magdalena. Mirabal, a talented prospect on the field and basketball court like Barnard, also from the 2018 graduating class, had an impressive 1,500 all purpose yards and 20 touchdowns last season. The Steers will need some surrounding players to overcome the depth of Melrose athletes but that's why we love the term Dark Horse. The other team that we need to use loosely as a dark horse is the team that fell in the state championship last season the Gateway Christian Warriors who lost a key player to graduation but return a few that we will keep a close eye on. Quarterback Justin Reynolds who played well as a sophomore last season and had a great showing in the state championship.
4. What Newcomers Do We Need To Keep An Eye On? Do we need to give more love and attention to small school football, probably. Do we need more updates on Small School football, yes. However, we do hope to see some of these prospects show there worth at the NMPreps.com combine next week. In short here is a quick few view of players we have on our board. Brian Garcia, another 2018 prospect, plays QB for Animas. He three for 355-yards last season but the program could be trending in the right direction. Garcia, played well in two contest against good opponents, 118-yards in a win over Floyd (42-30) and 91-yards un a loss to Hondo Valley (42-26). The other prospect on our board is Austin Buurma, a senior running back, who ran for 1,383-yards last season with 8 touchdowns. He also passed for 255-yards on the season.
5. How Good Will Mesilla Valley Christian Be? The Son Blazers drop down in classification during this realignment. What does that mean? A challenger from the start. I won't stop there as this team has some serious swagger entering 8-man football with a handful of returning talent. They have changed head coaches, out is Michael Draper and in enters Juan Salas. Why so high on the Son Blazers, Grine? Well, if they return some prospect they could be ready to make an early impact on the classification. They had a freshman QB last season pass for 1,572-yards with 7-touchdown passes in Josh Castillo. He does lose he number one target but returns senior Jarret Coyle (259-yards) and junior Brock Maddox (139-yards). The juicy part is the defense where they return Tyler Franzoy who had 94-total sacks, Brock Maddox had 91-total tackles and Tate Wassner who had 81-total tackles. So is it too early to say Melrose, here is your contender. Will any other team emerge to make them a pretender? Add in Joshua Mitchell who was reported to have an offer from Western New Mexico, the 6'5'' OT/NG will be a monster in 8-man this season.
Projected 8-Man State Tournament Bids for 2016
1. Melrose
8. Tse' Yi' Gai'
4. Magdalena
5. Dora
3. Gateway Christian
6. Cloudcroft
2. Mesilla Valley Christian
7. Logan
Bubble
Carrizozo
Mescalero Apache
20 Players To Watch in Small School Football
Cade Barnard, QB/Jr, Melrose
Tyler Franzoy, D/Sr, Mesilla Valley Christian
Jorrell Mirabal, QB/Jr, Magdalena
Antonio Vasquez, QB, Hondo Valley
Joshua Mitchell, NG, Mesilla Valley Christian
Justin Reynolds, QB/Jr, Gateway Christian
Carson Fraze, RB/Jr, Melrose
Austin Buurma, RB/Sr, Mescalero Apache
Blaine Arnold, RB/Sr, Gateway Christian
Brock Maddox, D/Jr, Mesilla Valley Christian
Kaull Burton, Jr, Dora
Garrison Ventura, LB, Carrizozo
Brian Garcia, QB/Jr, Animas
Nathan Toddy, RB/So, Cloudcroft
Jesse Garcia, RB/Sr, Animas
Dylan Roberts, Sr, Dora
Adrian Alvarez, DE/Sr, Floyd
Anfernee Fragua, RB/Sr, Jemez Valley
Joseph Benavidez, Sr, Grady
Rayce Wagley, SS/Jr, Animas
Josh McDonald, OL/DL/Sr, Floyd
Jacob Thurman, Jr, Grady
Hunter Sorgen, DL/Jr, Melrose
Hayden Skinner, RB, Dora
Joshua J Grine of NMPreps.com
With 6-Man the focus comes in the form of the two-time defending champions and possible dynasty if they can make this three in a row. The same story line can be said for Melrose as their dynasty is almost written in stone as they return as a favorite without question.
Today, we attempt to give our expert opinion on a pair of classifications that have two strong programs, one that even made the NMPreps.com Top 50 Rankings with the Buffaloes of Melrose, an impressive achievement in its own.
5 Key Questions About Small School Division Football
1. 3 and then 4 next season for Melrose? No, we don't hand out State Tournament trophies in July but Melrose the back-to-back state champions have one of the top overall athletes in the state of New Mexico returning giving Buffalo nation something to be excited about. Melrose in two years have a record of 24-1 (13-0 in 2016) and looking to only be getting better. We will spend more time talking about the young man by the name of Cade Barnard, who will play past High School football, as the QB/LB at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds had over 20 touchdowns last season and could only be getting better. Only a junior Cade is excelling both on the grass field and hardwood.
2. Hondo Valley Continuing Its Own Dominance? 9-teams, being better than 8, wins you a state championship in 6-man football. Hondo Valley is the team that has to be the likely favorite as a two-time defending champion to make it a triple behind the athleticism of Antonio Vasquez who threw for 201-yards and rushed for 156-yards for 5 touchdowns in the 2015 state championship. I guess the question should be, can any team slow down the speedy athlete? Floyd could be the likely suitor to play spoiler as they have some athletes of their own returning. However, if I was a betting man (I am), I go with the dominance continues.
3. Is There a Dark Horse? 8-man football could have a team that fits the description as another prospect out there has us with clear eyes looking at Jorrell Mirabal who plays for Magdalena. Mirabal, a talented prospect on the field and basketball court like Barnard, also from the 2018 graduating class, had an impressive 1,500 all purpose yards and 20 touchdowns last season. The Steers will need some surrounding players to overcome the depth of Melrose athletes but that's why we love the term Dark Horse. The other team that we need to use loosely as a dark horse is the team that fell in the state championship last season the Gateway Christian Warriors who lost a key player to graduation but return a few that we will keep a close eye on. Quarterback Justin Reynolds who played well as a sophomore last season and had a great showing in the state championship.
4. What Newcomers Do We Need To Keep An Eye On? Do we need to give more love and attention to small school football, probably. Do we need more updates on Small School football, yes. However, we do hope to see some of these prospects show there worth at the NMPreps.com combine next week. In short here is a quick few view of players we have on our board. Brian Garcia, another 2018 prospect, plays QB for Animas. He three for 355-yards last season but the program could be trending in the right direction. Garcia, played well in two contest against good opponents, 118-yards in a win over Floyd (42-30) and 91-yards un a loss to Hondo Valley (42-26). The other prospect on our board is Austin Buurma, a senior running back, who ran for 1,383-yards last season with 8 touchdowns. He also passed for 255-yards on the season.
5. How Good Will Mesilla Valley Christian Be? The Son Blazers drop down in classification during this realignment. What does that mean? A challenger from the start. I won't stop there as this team has some serious swagger entering 8-man football with a handful of returning talent. They have changed head coaches, out is Michael Draper and in enters Juan Salas. Why so high on the Son Blazers, Grine? Well, if they return some prospect they could be ready to make an early impact on the classification. They had a freshman QB last season pass for 1,572-yards with 7-touchdown passes in Josh Castillo. He does lose he number one target but returns senior Jarret Coyle (259-yards) and junior Brock Maddox (139-yards). The juicy part is the defense where they return Tyler Franzoy who had 94-total sacks, Brock Maddox had 91-total tackles and Tate Wassner who had 81-total tackles. So is it too early to say Melrose, here is your contender. Will any other team emerge to make them a pretender? Add in Joshua Mitchell who was reported to have an offer from Western New Mexico, the 6'5'' OT/NG will be a monster in 8-man this season.
Projected 8-Man State Tournament Bids for 2016
1. Melrose
8. Tse' Yi' Gai'
4. Magdalena
5. Dora
3. Gateway Christian
6. Cloudcroft
2. Mesilla Valley Christian
7. Logan
Bubble
Carrizozo
Mescalero Apache
20 Players To Watch in Small School Football
Cade Barnard, QB/Jr, Melrose
Tyler Franzoy, D/Sr, Mesilla Valley Christian
Jorrell Mirabal, QB/Jr, Magdalena
Antonio Vasquez, QB, Hondo Valley
Joshua Mitchell, NG, Mesilla Valley Christian
Justin Reynolds, QB/Jr, Gateway Christian
Carson Fraze, RB/Jr, Melrose
Austin Buurma, RB/Sr, Mescalero Apache
Blaine Arnold, RB/Sr, Gateway Christian
Brock Maddox, D/Jr, Mesilla Valley Christian
Kaull Burton, Jr, Dora
Garrison Ventura, LB, Carrizozo
Brian Garcia, QB/Jr, Animas
Nathan Toddy, RB/So, Cloudcroft
Jesse Garcia, RB/Sr, Animas
Dylan Roberts, Sr, Dora
Adrian Alvarez, DE/Sr, Floyd
Anfernee Fragua, RB/Sr, Jemez Valley
Joseph Benavidez, Sr, Grady
Rayce Wagley, SS/Jr, Animas
Josh McDonald, OL/DL/Sr, Floyd
Jacob Thurman, Jr, Grady
Hunter Sorgen, DL/Jr, Melrose
Hayden Skinner, RB, Dora
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