2013 southern nm football
TRANSCRIPT
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READY FOR
THE CHALLENGEMartin brings fresh perspective,
outlook toNMSU football program
RETURNTOGLORY
Mayfield looks toreturn tostate’s elitePAGE3
STRONGTEAMREMAINS
ChampionBulldawgs’solid coreremainsPAGE8
STATEMENTSEASON
Oñate hasplayoffberth asultimate goalPAGE13
PROGRESSIVEGROWTH
Centennial looks tobuild off first yearPAGE16
LCSUN-NEWS.COMFACEBOOK.COM/LCSUNNEWSTWITTER.COM/CRUCESSUNNEWS
A publication of the
Football2013
SouthernNM
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SOUTHERN NM FOOTBALL STAFFNMSU 101is a supplement of
For advertising opportunities, please call the Sun-News at 575-541-5400.
Publisher: Frank Leto
Vice President and Editor: Jim Lawitz
Advertising Director: Heidi Melendrez
Sports editor: Teddy Feinberg
Layoutand design: Michael L. Lewis • Sports reporter: Jason Groves •Photographers: Shari V. Hill, Steve MacIntyre, Robin Zielinski • Online: Jason Gibbs,Lucas Peerman • Contributors: Bill Armendariz, Michael Johnson, Danny Udero
Cover photo: ROBIN ZIELINSKI — SUN-NEWS • Special thanks: Estep Photography and Kim JewPhotography for high school football head shots
THELINEUP
MAYFIELDHIGH SCHOOLPAGE3: It was an abnormal 2012season at Mayeld — a 7-5campaign that saw themeliminated early from playo contention. The Trojans now look to right the ship.
PAGES4–7:Meet the 2013Mayeld Trojans.
LASCRUCESHIGH SCHOOLPAGE8: Aer winning the state championship on the wings of an explosive oense, theLas Cruces Bulldawgs will now turn to it’s defensive unit in 2013.
PAGES9& 12:Meet the 2013Las Cruces Bulldawgs.
OÑATE HIGH SCHOOLPAGE13: The Oñate Knights haven’t been to the postseason since 2009. Can they reversethat trend in Year 3of the Caleb Hull era?
PAGES14–16:Meet the 2013Oñate Knights.
CENTENNIALHIGHSCHOOLPAGE16: A high-ying attack granted the Centennial Hawks a .500record in 2012. They’llnow look to continue and make strides as a second-year program.
PAGES17–18:Meet the 2013Centennial Hawks.
OTHER AREAHIGHSCHOOLSPAGE18: Gadsden PAGE20: Chaparral
PAGE19: Deming PAGE21: Santa Teresa
PAGE19: Alamogordo PAGE22:Silver
PAGE20: Mesilla Valley Christian PAGE22:Hatch Valley
COLLEGESPAGE23: A position-by-position look at the New Mexico State Aggies.
PAGE25: Game-by-game prognostications of NMSU’s independent schedule.
PAGE27: Keys to the Aggies 2013season.
PAGE26–28: Previewing UNM, WNMU and UTEP.
Online Extras: Videos on Mayeld, Las Cruces High, Oñate, Centennial and NewMexico State can be found at LCSUN-NEWS.COM
Online Updates: Follow our sports sta on Twitter @TEDDYFEINBERG and @JPGROVES
for news, updates and analysis on high school football throughout the year
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As high school oensescontinue to spread the eldand move the ootball, May-eld has become somewhato a throwback.
O course, the Trojans stillput multiple ormations onthe eld, but the team’s iden-tity will likely remain with agood rushing attack and adisciplined oensive line.
The 2013 Trojans should besolid deensively. And May-eld has several returners atthe skill positions, including junior quar terback KavikaJohnson, senior receiverJoah Franzoy and running back David Stookey.
Raymond Fierro is thelone returning starter on theofensive line and will leadthis year’s group — a unit
the Trojans need to cometogether. Johnson is an im-pressive athlete and, ater
splitting time at quarter- back last year, he’ll take overthe ull-time role in 2013. Hismaturity at the position willset the tone or the entire o-
ense. Mayeld improved aslast season progressed, butthe Trojans sufered lossesdue to growing pains and achallenging schedule.
This year, Mayeld opensthe season with home gamesagainst two very good ElPaso teams. Still, at least theTrojans will have the beneto beginning the year in theirown backyard.
MAYFIELD TROJANS
Ready to reboundTEAM CAPSULE
Coach:MichaelBradley
2012 season:7-5,3-1 indistrict(LostinClass5Aquarternals)
District:3-5A
INSIDE THE HEADSETBradley’swonthreestatecham-pionshipsandcoachedinvestatetitlegamessincetakingoverasheadcoachotheMayeldprogramin2006.
Mayfeld’splayedintwoothepastthreestatechampionshipcontests,meaningtheTrojansaredueoranotherplayorunaferlosinginthequarternalsroundlastyear.
SHARIV.HILL—SUN-NEWS
TrojansoensiveanddeensivelinemanTylerWhitlock,ront,hitstheeldhardduringanAugustpracticeatMayeldHighSchool.
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2RileyFolkman
5IsaacFigueroa
6
NickFlores
10
JoerayValencia
12IsaiahCarrera
3EthanAlvarado
5JeremiahLopez
7
KavikaJohnson
11
ElijahStout
13PatrickShannon
14JonathanMarquez
14AndrewFlores
7 KEYPLAYERS
Kavika Johnson: Aer animpressive showing as asophomore, expectationsare high for Johnson as hetakes overquarter-back dutiesfull-time forthe Trojans.Enteringhis juniorseason,Johnson has shown su-preme athleticism and canget out of the pocket andmake plays with his legs.
Isaac Figueroa: The6-foot-2, 180-poundFigueroacame on lastseason andwill play freesafety andwide receiverthis season.He is a 4.0student and a three-sportathlete. He placed fourth
in the Class 5A high jump,clearing 6-feet last year.
David Stookey: The5-foot-7Stookey is a hard
runner and the Trojans’most experi-enced re-turner in theoensivebackeld.Mayeld isnotoriousfor havingtalent at the skill positions,and Stookey hopes to carrythat torch entering the2013season.
RaymondFierro: The lonereturning starter on theoensive line at tackle,the 6-foot-4, 250-poundFierro will also start on thedefensiveside of theball for theTrojans.Fierro issomeonethat will be
relied upon for leadershipon the oensive line.
Shane Tieman: Aer see-ing signicant time on the
defensive line last season,Tieman will also start at of-fensive tackle in 2013. Dueto injuries,he was oneof 13Trojansto play alongthe frontseven lastyear, makingfor a deepgroup in 2013.
Isaiah Lerman: Team-ing with Phillip Ehly in the
defensive backeld at thesafety position, Lerman ledthe Trojanswith nine
intercep-tions lastseason.He’ll alsosee time atthe slash-receiver position, which
is a split-end type positionthat has been important tothe Mayeld oense overthe years.
Joseph Arguello: Playingdefensive end last year,Arguello was somewhatundersized at 6-feet, 190pounds. He’ll now moveback to his natural positionat linebacker. Arguello wasa rotationplayer lastyear, butnow he andsenior JoahFranzoyform a solidduo at line-backers in the Trojans’ 5-2defensive front.
TELLINGNUMBER
2Home games for theTrojans to start this
season aer an 0-2start onthe road last year.
MAYFIELDTROJANS
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MAYFIELDTROJANS
17TylerHarrison
18PhillipEhly
20LloydGardner
21AbnerGomez
15PaysonRogers
18IsaiahLerman
19RyanHammond
20MarcianoGiron
22Matthew
Zertuche
24Erick
Prieto
27Angel
Aguilera
29Robert
Sandoval
31ChristopherManuel
33ErnestNevarez
35RobertZarate
38AndrewLamond
40LouieLombardi
42MitchellMatheison
21David
Stookey
23David
Santome
25Seth
White
28Matthew
Pettes
30JoahFranzoy
32JesseJimenez
35FrankieCordova
37JoshSullivan
39JoshuaSlappey
41IsaacTarin
2013MAYFIELDSCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT TIME
Aug. 30 vs. El Dorado (El Paso) 7p.m.
Sept.6 vs. Franklin 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 @ Carlsbad 7 p.m.
Sept. 21 @ Manzano 1 p.m.
Sept. 28 vs. Eldorado 1 p.m.
Oct. 4 @ Volcano Vista 7 p.m.
Oct. 10 vs. Gadsden* 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 BYE
Oct. 25 @ Oñate* 7 p.m.
Nov. 1 vs. Alamogordo* 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 @ Las Cruces* 7 p.m.
* District 3-5A game
College of
Arts and Sciences
Free Safet y
J u st in Smit h
C rimin al J u st ice
a Wishes our
Student Athletes
Successful Season!
Offensive LinemanDada RichardsCriminal Justice
Free SafetyJustin SmithCriminal Justice
QuarterbackAndrew McDonald
Individualized Studies
Wide Receiver Joshua BowenSociology
Strong SafetyAnthony Edwards
Individualized Studies
Offensive LinemanAndrew Cunningham
Criminal Justice
Offensive LinemanHouston ClementeCriminal Justice
Place Kicker Maxwell JohnsonIndividualized Studies
Wide Receiver Jordan BergstromIndividualized Studies
Wide Receiver Brennon ShayBiology
Running BackJeremy Fielder Individualized Studies
Long Snapper Michael Kaiser Individualized Studies
Punter Jake Capraro
Criminal Justice
Punter Cayle Chapman-Brown
Individualized Studies
Defensive LineNick OlivaIndividualized Studies
Line Backer Dele JunaidIndividualized Studies
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WHATTHEY’RESAYING
Michael Bradley ondefending modern highschool oenses: “Youneed depth and you needspeed. Depth on the de-
fense is good versus thesespread oenses. We’ve gota good mix of speed andsize, so I think we can playboth ways this year.”
Kavika Johnson onMayeld’s 2013expecta-tions: “Our main goal is tojust come together. Our ul-timate goal is to make it tothe state championship.”
David Stookey on car-rying the load in theTrojans ground game:“I’m just going to workto be the best and try myhardest. I learned I’m notthe biggest guy out there,
so it’s probably better totry to get around guys thanrun through them.”
Isaiah Lerman on play-ing the slash positionin the Mayeld oense:“It’s kind of big shoes to llknowing past players. It’skind of an honor to play theposition. It’s tough, but Ithink we can get it done.”
MAYFIELDTROJANS
43RyanEscalera
44MarcusReyes
45CalebGattis
46AnthonyLopez
47JoeArguello
48TrevorYurcic
49TrevorNunley
50JuanTorres
51ColtonEvans
52GarretDozier
53EligioTena-Olivas
53JordanMcWhorter
54CameronMills
54MatthewFranco
58DominikTrujillo
59AndrewLopez
61KristianRodriguez
62JordanZuniga
63ChrisLopez
65JeremyStock
67ChristianSanchez
68TylerWhitlock
72RaymondFierro
73AbrahamOrdunez
59JamesNoe
59JustinGonzales
60AndrewBolanos
60JustinSotelo
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MAYFIELDTROJANS
Q & AJoah Franzoy, linebacker/receiver
Q: Whatare your expec-
tationsfor the season?A: “I would like to have highexpectations. It’s my senioryear so you want to go outwith a bang.”
Q: Do you prefer oenseor defense?
A: “I kind of just play wher-ever the team needs me.Whatever helps them outthe most. It doesn’t reallymatter to me.”
Q: Doyou and your team
consider lastyear a downyear?
A: “Mayeld has a winningtradition, so yes, you wouldconsider last year a downyear. We have high stan-dards.”
Q: As theseason starts,whatis the strength ofthis season’s Mayeldteam?
A: “We’ll just have to testit out and, throughout theseason, see what we are.”
Q: Is there a non-districtgamethat you’re lookingforward to this year?
A: “I think we’re lookingforward to Franklin (from)El Paso. They got us reallybad (last year) and we’relooking forward to gettingthem back. It will be herethis year.”
SHARI V. HILL — SUN-NEWS
Mayeld linebacker Joah Franzoy, center, runs through
drills during a recent practice at the school. Franzoyreturns as one of the Trojans top players, both atlinebacker and wide receiver.Online: For individual
photos of local highschool football players, goto our Sun-News SportsFacebook page:FACEBOOK.COM/SUNNEWSSPORTS
Online: Videos on theMayeld team can be
found at LCSUN-NEWS.COM
73EverettGaribay
75ZacharyBustillos
76KyleOwen
77JosephLujan
78ShaneTiemann
80ChadFaubion
81AnthonyArmendariz
82NoahPierce
83DominicCarrasco
83NicholasBustamante
85BenMonsivaiz
86TommyMontoya
87MatthewRivera
88BrandonWhitlock
89BrettKowalski
93RobertoMelendrez
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The Bulldawgs scoredover 30 points per game inall 13 of their 2012 wins, roll-ingtoa Class5Astate cham-pionship in the process.
The Bulldawgs are an in-triguing team offensivelyagain, but the strength andexperience enteringthe new
year i s now on t he defensiveside oftheball.It beginswith
head coach Jim Miller, whosteps in as defensive coordi-nator after longtime assis-tantcoach Brent Jaquess an-nounced his retirement fol-lowing last year.
The Bulldawgs have ninestarters back on defense in-cluding Division I prospectSam Denmark at middlelinebacker,as the Bulldawgsaddthe4-3 defensivefront to
contendwith spread oensesthat have taken overthe highschool football ranks.
Offensively, Miller’s son
— sophomore quarterbackK amer o n Mi l l er — w i l lstart the season under cen-ter. The Bulldawgs imple-
mented a new vertical pass-ing game last season, andthey’re loaded at the skillpositions, but Jesse Olsonis the lone returning starteron the oensive line. AustinSalas and J.J. Granados arequality running backs thatcan make Kameron Miller’stransition to quarterback asuccessful one if the oen-sive line comes together.
LASCRUCESBULLDAWGS
Defending the titleTEAMCAPSULE
Coach: Jim Miller
2012season: 13-1, 4-0indistrict (Won Class 5A statechampionship)
District: 3-5A
INSIDETHE HEADSETJim Miller is5-0in statechampion-ship gamesat LasCruces HighSchool.
Miller’sdone virtual-ly everythingduring his17years as head coach, andthis season he’ll take over asdefensive coordinator whileone of the program’s veteranassistant coaches, MarkLopez, handles the oensiveside of the ball.
SHARI V. HILL — SUN-NEWS
Las Cruces High’s Austin Salas tries to break through two Bulldawg tacklers at the schoolpractice eld earlier this month.
Q& AKameron Miller, quarter-back
Q: What’s the biggestthing youlearnedfromquarterback Jonathan Joylastyear?
A: “He led the team to astate championship. Heshowed me how to staycalm and don’t let your teamdown. He taught me how to
lead the team.”Q: What is your strengthas a quarterback? Whatdidyou work the hardestto improveon?
A: “I’m more of a stay-in-the-pocket kind of guy andwait to see receivers getopen. At the beginning oflast year, my arm strengthwas not so good, but I’veworked on it for the pasttwo summers. I believe I canmake every throw now.”
Q: Who’s your favoriteNFL player?
A: “Peyton Manning. I’ma die-hard Colts fan eventhough he went to the
Broncos. He’s a Hall of Fameplayer no matter what. Hehad neck surgery and stillled his team to the playos.”
Q: Who is the best LasCruces quarterbackyou’ve seenplay?
A: “It’s going to be eitherDante (Caro) or Joy. Dantewas a running quarterbackthat led the team to the
state championship and Joywas a passing quarterbackwho won. Those two guyscombined would be theperfect quarterback.”
Q: What does it mean to
you toplayfor your dad?A: “I’ve been waiting for itfor all my life. He will pushme harder than any otherkid on the team, I guaranteeyou.”
SHARI V. HILL — SUN-NEWS
Amidst a sea of Bulldawg blockers and pass rushers, LasCruces High quarterback Kameron Miller throws downeldduring an August practice at the school.
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1KameronMiller
41DavidRamirez
39AdamChavez
2RicardoTerrazas
42CoryNoel
40SteeleBlue
5NickGuerrero
43VinceMontez
6EanSmith
44Alex Hernan-dez-Hualde
7SamEllis
11DylanPerez
13JosephMontoya
50JesseOlson
45AaronWatson
14AndrewThatcher
52AdrianCampos
49DiegoGarcia
15J.R.Hernandez
53JacobDiaz
16TommyPierce
54XavierArmendariz
17SamSuarez
18ThomasEsparza
19DanielHerrera
20J.J.Granados
21JunshiroMolinar
22IsaiahMcIntyre
23JalenBishop
24GabeSaavedra
36SamDenmark
33DanteLujan
28MarcellGarza
38SethBall
31A.J.Martinez
35AeneasReynolds
32AustinSalas
26DominikFrietze
37ForrestMcKee
30JacobRobles
LASCRUCES BULLDAWGS
2013 LASCRUCES SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT TIME
Aug. 29 @ Chapin (El Paso) 7 p.m.
Sept.6 @ Eldorado 7 p.m.
Sept. 14 vs. Cibola 1 p.m.
Sept. 20 Rio Rancho 7 p.m.Sept. 27 @ La Cueva 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 vs. Artesia 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 vs. Oñate* 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 @ Alamogordo* 7 p.m.
Oct.25 BYE
Nov. 1 @ Gadsden* 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 vs. Mayeld* 7 p.m.
* District 3-5A game
WHATTHEY’RESAYING
Jim Miller on expecta-tions: “Sometimes you liveon what you did last year.
They have been workinghard and they know there isa target on their back.”
Sam Denmark on startingat tight end and lineback-er: “The biggest challengeis that it’s draining play-ing both ways once you
get to the third and fourthquarters. But I don’t know ifI would be happy not playingboth ways. It feels greatbeing able to contribute on
both sides of the ball.”
J.J. Granados on what ittakes to defend a cham-pionship: “We’re going toneed to work together a lit-tle bit more because there’sgoing to be a target on ourback as state champs. But
anything is possible. If wework hard, I think we canmake another run at it.”
Jesse Olson on replacing
their entire oensive line:“It’s denitely been dier-ent from last year. The otherguys are not as experiencedas I am and don’t know theoense as well. We’re notas big and physical up frontthis year, so we have tofocus more on technique.”
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LASCRUCESBULLDAWGS
56RickyGarcia
57CalebEnglehart
59A.J.Kovach
62AsleiMorales
64SimonValdez
66GabrielMartinez
67LazGomez
68DanielOntiveros
69AndrewLawendy
71ConnorStringam
72Alejandro JoseGomez
73CarlosCampos
74DavidMulheron
75FrankieGonzales
77SergioLedesma
79StefanoHernandez
7 KEYPLAYERS
SamDenmark:Denmarkis valuable in all aspectsfor theBulldawgs,moving to atrue middle
linebackerrole for theteam defen-sively, whileproviding a target in thepassing oense and a physi-cal blocker in the run game.All tolled, he’s a clutchplayer who seems to makethe big play when the chipsare down.
J.J. Granados:A scor-
ing machine last season,Granados hitpaydirt on24percentof his carriesin 2012. Gra-nados scored34rushingtouchdownslast year and accumulated1,119yards on the ground.Entering his senior season,he should enjoy a similar rolethe LCHS attack.
AustinSalas: Whilerushing for754yardslast year, Sa-las teamedwith back-
eld mate J.J. Granadosto form a physical one-twopunch for the Bulldawgs of-fense. The 2013season willalso see Salas play outsidelinebacker for the LCHSdefense.
Isaiah McIntyre:McIin-tyre started at safety lastseason for Las Cruces High,where hisspeed madehim a play-maker on thedefensiveside of theball. A statequalierin the 110-meter hurdles,McIntyre is one of the fast-
est players on the Bull-dawgs football roster. Thisyear he’ll also see time atreceiver.
JesseOlson: At 5-foot-11,240pounds, Olson wasn’teven the biggest oensiveor defensive lineman on theLCHS roster last year. Butthe senioris the onlyreturning
starter onan oensivefront thatat-out hadit’s way withopposing teams in 2012.While this year’s Bulldawgs’oensive line might nothave the same dominant
presence, expect the unit tostill hold it’s own.
DavidRamirez:Aer start-ing last season at defensiveend, Ramirez will man thepositiononce again in
2013. WhileBulldawgshead coachJim Millersaid the de-fensive endwon’t be asked to drop intocoverage oen in the team’s4-3defensive front, Ramirezremains a versatile player.
Carlos Campos: At 300pounds, Campos will step
into a starting role as a ju-nior at oensive and defen-sive tackle.Campos wasamong thestandouts atthe NMPreps.com Com-bine in RioRancho thissummer. What he lacks invarsity experience, he cer-
tainly makes up in size andstrength.
TELLINGNUMBER
9Number of returningstarters on the defen-
sive side of the ball.
SHARI V. HILL — SUN-NEWS
Las Cruces High senior linebacker Sam Denmark, le, will be a valuable asset to both theBulldawgs’ oensive and defensive units during the 2013season.
Online: For individualphotos of local high
school football players, goto our Sun-News SportsFacebook page:FACEBOOK.COM/SUNNEWSSPORTS
Online: Videos on theLas Cruces team can
be found at LCSUN-NEWS.COM
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Oñate was 3-3 enteringDistrict 3-5A play last sea-son and heldhopes ofa play-o berth, only to go winlessin district play during headcoach Caleb Hull’s secondseason with the program.
The Knights were com-petitive against teams withcomparabletalent, buta lackof depth and injuries to keyplayers took a toll late in theyear.
Offensively, the Knightsshowed an ability to putpoints on the board withplaymakerssuch as runningIsaiah Fielder and wide re-ceiver Rhyan Araiza. Therunning game should alo bebolstered by what Hull saidwasthe biggest oensive line
he’s had in three seasons with the progr am. Such agroup can hopefully provideadequateblockingfor the ex-plosive F ielder.
Oñate needs anywhere between five-to-seven victo-ries to reach the postseasonfor the first time since 2009.
Acquiring a playo berth has been a goal of the coachingsta and players at Oñate,and there’s certainly oppor-tunities on the schedule toget the Knights there thisseason.
OÑATEKNIGHTS
Pushing forwardTEAMCAPSULE
Coach: Caleb Hull
District: 3-5A
2012season: 3-7, 0-4indistrict
INSIDETHEHEADSET
In his thirdyear atOñate, Hullwon’t callplays thisyear, yetwill ratheroversee theKnightsprogram init’s entirety.
Assistant coach Gilbert
Gonzalez will run the of-fense while Hull broughtin Richard Grace to be theprogram’s new defensivecoordinator.
Grace, who’s had previousstops at Gadsden and SantaTeresa, will implement a 4-3defense at OHS.
Q & ATravis Johnson, quarter-back
Q: What are yourstrengths as a quarter-back?
A: “I think my biggeststrength is that I’m a dualthreat. I’m able to pass andable to run.”
Q: How is the oensiveline coming along?
A: “Our oensive line hassome pretty good depthwith three starters return-ing. The oensive line ispretty big, so I think we’ll beable to bully some people inthe trenches this year.”
Q: What would it taketoget the Knights back intothe postseason?
A: “A total commitment bythe whole football team. Wealso need to beat Crucesand Mayeld. If we want tobe able to make the playosand be successful in theplayos, we have to beatCruces and Mayeld.”
Q: Is there a particulargame you’relooking for-
ward to?
A: “I’m looking forward tothe Bel Air game becauseit’s the rst game of theseason and they’ve beentalking a lot on social-net-working sites.”
Q: Have you alwaysplayedquarterback?
A: “Since the h grade. Istarted as a tight end, butthey moved me to quarter-back because I could throwthe ball far at that age.”
STEVE MACINTYRE — FOR THE SUN-NEWS
Travis Johnson looks to step up as Oñate’s startingquarterback in 2013.
STEVE MACINTYRE — FOR THE SUN-NEWS
Isaiah Fielder’s proven that he can be a strong feature back in the Oñate oense.
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OÑATEKNIGHTS
2013 OÑATE SCHEDULEDATE OPPONENT TIME
Aug. 29 vs. B el A ir ( El P as o) 7 p .m .
Sept. 6 @ So cor ro ( Texa s) 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 @ Cleveland 7 p.m.
Sept. 21 vs. Hobbs 2 p.m.
Sept. 27 vs. Volcano Vista 7 p.m.
Oct. 5 @ West Mesa 1 p.m.
Oct. 11 @ Las Cruces* 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 @ Gadsden* 7 p.m.
Oct. 25 Mayfeld* 7 p.m.
Nov. 1 BYE
Nov. 7 Alamogordo* 7 p.m.
* District 3-5A game
3JoseBustillos
5RichardEnriquez
7GabeBenavidez
11EthanTahuahua
1FabianReyes
2JovanLopez
4BrandonLopez
6NathanSteigely
8TravisJohnson
15MichaelSalcedo
19DavidSoto
21JaimeQuintana
23DustinSchneider
27GarrettHernandez
31ChristianArmendariz
36JonathanRodriguez
41TimothyPatrick
44AlbertRowe
13AarenMcShan
16SarahPatterson
20MathewGuerra
22IsaiahFielder
24RhyanAraiza
28C.J.Gant
33ZacharyWeisenberger
40MarioPacheco
42ZakLauterbach
46JavierCorral
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47MarcosMontoya
O ATE KNIGHTS
48GabrielGonzales
52DanielMartinez
54AntonioGuzman
56FidelGarcia
60Nicolas
51JulianHill
53LuisDuarte
55NathanTrevizo
62Luis
65Anthony
63David
7 KEYPLAYERS
Rhyan Araiza: Aer step-ping into a lead role for theKnights oense last year,Araiza made a consider-able impactat widereceiver. Healso madehis presencefelt on spe-cial teams,lining up asa dangerous player in thekick-return game. Araizawill also ll in at cornerbackin key situations on thedefensive side of the ball.
Isaiah Fielder: A workhorse
running back, Fielder hasthe size toget throughthe line ofscrimmageand speedto pullaway fromdefenders.Fielder was the Knights’
most consistent oensiveplayer last season as a
junior and doesn’t gure tosee a drop o in production.
Travis Johnson: At 6-foot-4, 173pounds, Johnsonis more imposing and has
greater arm strength thanlast year’s starting quarter-back, CurtisHynes.Johnsonshould havea biggeroensiveline in frontof him anda proven running back, butwill need to develop as a
rst-year starter in Oñate’sspread oense.
Mario Pacheco: A securityblanket forthe Knightslast season,Pachecowas capableof gainingtough yards
at the fullback position. Thesenior will also line up attight end, yet lls a similarrole for the OHS oense in2013: clearing the way forrunning back Fielder whileproviding an insurancepolicy for rst-year quarter-back Johnson.
Darren Jackson: Stand-ing at 6-feet, 215pounds,Jackson could be a break-out player at defensiveend for theKnights in2013. TheKnightsswitchedfrom a 5-2
defensivefront to a4-3for players like Jackson,who Oñate coaches believecould be a game-changer,rushing the passer o theedge. Jackson will also seeplaying time at tight end onoense.
Danny Martinez: The
Knights’ smallest oensivelineman, Martinez (whoweighs in at 195pounds)is a two-year starterwhosemotor andinstinctshave madeup for hislack of size.Martinez plays le tacklefor the Knights and is anemotional and vocal leaderon the Oñate line.
Austin Hales: Entering his junior season, Hales showedthe ability toknock pass-
es downat the lineof scrim-mage as adefensivetackle. Haleshas good length, and looksprimed for a solid year aerputting in a good oseasonwith the program.
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69CarlosJimenez
72VictorPeña
74DanielSidwell
77MiguelCorral
90DarrenJackson
70TylerStockberger
73DavidTabullo
76JoshVillalobos
79DavidHouserman
97AustinHales
TELLINGNUMBER
2009 LasttimeOñate
made the New Mexicohigh school football stateplayos.
WHATTHEY’RESAYINGCaleb Hull on the directionof his football program:“We have the highestnumber of athletes rightnow throughout the entireseason and oseason. Wehave team goals, but itshows we’re improving as aprogram if we go into thatnext stage.”
Mario Pacheco on theKnights’ oense: “We’rebetter than last year, (so)I think we’ll be a lot betterthan last year. We just haveto work on the defensiveside a little bit.”
Javier Corral on playing
middle linebacker in theKnights’ new 4-3defense:“It was a 5-2last year, so Ilearned a couple things atlinebacker. It’s more taking
responsibility and steppingup and lling the holes.”
Isaiah Fielder on teamexpectations for the 2013
season: “We need to comeout and get some victoriesin our rst couple of games,and try to get a playoberth.”
OÑATEKNIGHTS
STEVE MACINTYRE —FOR THE SUN-NEWS
The Knights believe widereceiver Rhyan Araiza can bea versatile player across theboard oensiely.
Sun-News staf report
Centennial’s 5-5 recordlast year came as a pleas-ant surprise for the Hawks’coachingsta as, withvirtu-allyno oseason, theHawksproved to be a competitiveClass 4A team. Centenniallost to El Paso Americas’
junior vars ity team and ElPaso Fabens by a combinedfour points, ultimately cost-ing the Hawks what couldhave been a playo berth.
CHS players are now a year older with a hand fulof seniors and impact con-tributors on the roster. TheHawks believe a strengthentering the season is theiroffensive and defensivelines, but they’re lookingfor impact players on theoense to vary their attack.Defensively, the team’sline-
backers and defensivebacks will have to be become b et-ter playmakers than they
were last season. An ea rly loo k at the
s c h ed u l e i nd i cat es t h eHawks should improve ontheir five wins from a year
ago. But with no Class 4Ateams on the pre-districtdocket, improving on their
lone league win is the bestchance they have for post-season football in 2013.
CENTENNIALHAWKS
Bigger, faster, strongerTEAMCAPSULECoach: Aaron Ocampo
2012season: 5-5, 1-2indistrict
District: 3-4A
TELLINGNUMBER
10Centennial upperclassmen in 2013,
which marks the rst seniorclass at the school.
INSIDETHE HEADSETAaronOcampowas a qual-ity choiceas the rstfootball
coach at abrand-newhigh school.
He wongames andscored points while at Man-zano in Albuquerque, andhas laid similar groundworkat Centennial. The teamplayed competitively duringit’s rst season with noseniors on the roster.
STEVE MACINTYRE — FOR THE SUN-NEWS
Running back Daniel Conklin looks to have a strong year inCentennial’s oensive attack.
Q & ASenior le tackleJoaquin Melendez
Q: What’s the biggestthing youlearnedlastyear?
A: “Last year was my rstyear of varsity football andit was a really great experi-ence. I saw an opportunityand we had a great year forhow young our team is.”
Q: Whydid you choosetoattend Centennial?
A: “I have family in Albu-querque and they talkedabout how great coachOcampo was and that he
was going to go to Centen-nial. My family basicallyconvinced me and it turnedout to be a great experi-ence.”
Q: Whatwill it take towinDistrict3-4A?
A: “Just facing adversityand working harder. I feel
that we can do better. Wehave young players whohave stepped up.”
Q: What do youlike aboutplaying oensive line?
A: “We’re brothers. I loveevery single one of them.We learned a lot last yearfor being how small wewere. This year we’ve got-ten bigger up front.”
Q: Whatdoesit mean tobe partof Centennial’s
rstseniorclass?A: “I never thought thatwould happen. We have agreat senior class that isgoing along with me.”
STEVE MACINTYRE — FOR THE SUN-NEWS
The Hawks cool o on the rst ocial day of fall practicein early August.
Online: For individualphotos of local high
school football players, goto our Sun-News SportsFacebook page:FACEBOOK.COM/SUNNEWSSPORTS
Online: Videos on theOñate team can be
found at LCSUN-NEWS.COM
| Football |16 S AUGUST 29- SEPTEMBER 4, 2013SUN-NEWS
ENTENNIALHAWKS
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2
QuevinRedding
6
CristianBarrera
10
MattAlvarez
12
ThomasLopez
1
DanielConklin
5
ChristianCedano
9
YsmaelGomez
11
MarcoFernandez
14AngelCruz
40AlexChacon
16JohnathanCastillo
18MarcSotelo
20JohnnyGomez
23CrisCesarez
45StephenGarcia
28BrianKirker
32FrankMartinez
34JonathonFaulkner
13MichaelAguirre
36MichaelSutherlin
15IsaacLegarreta
17JoseRuiz
19JerryGallegos
21RicardoMontoya
42AlexVoelz
27KeithJasso
31DustinGonzalez
33LorenzoRamirez
7 KEYPLAYERS
Quevin Redding: Thesenior quarterback wasthe last man standing onoensetowardthe end of2012, astwo of hisfavorite tar-gets wentdown withinjuries. Redding is a strongrunner and was amongthe best athletes on theteam last year. As a senior,he’s capable of leading theHawks on oense.
Christian Barrera: Prior togoing down with a season-
ending knee injury last sea-son, Barrerawas clearlythe Hawksmostdangeroustarget inthe passinggame. Theteam hopes the 5-foot-7senior can bounce back formore in 2013.
Daniel Conklin: Well on hisway to a 1,000yard cam-paign last season, Conklinsuered a broken leg priorto districtplay. Henow entershis seniorseasonnearly 100percentand, at
6-feet and 170pounds, hasproven to be a hard runningback to bring down.
Joaquin Melendez: Oenin football the le tackle isthe most important playeralong the oensive line,
and Melendez is certainlythat for Centennial. Whilestanding at
just 5-foot-8, 220pounds,Melendezmakes up
for a lackof size withhis feisty attitude andleadership.
Jerry Gurrola: As a sopho-more last year, Gurrolawas arguably the Hawksbest player on defense. Heplayed nose guard and de-fensive end and, at 6-foot,230pounds, Gurrola isamong the most physi-
cal players on the roster.The coaching sta hasalso spoken highly of hisfootball IQ.
Christian Cedano:Among the best athletesin Centen-nial’s pr o-gram, the5-foot-11,156-poundCedano
startedat safetylast year as a sophomore.Cedano even played quar-terback during oseasonworkouts. Now enteringhis junior season, Sedanocould also see time at thewide receiver position.
Andres Chavez: The teambelieves Chavez is amonga handful of Hawks players
with potential for a break-out year. Chavez showedglimpses last season aerwide receiver ChristianBarrera was injured, andshould see increased play-ing time as a junior.
WHAT THEY’RESAYING
Head coach Aaron Oc-ampo on District 3-4A:“We don’t have a 4A teamon our pre-district schedule,so doing well in district isimportant. Deming is still
alented, and Santa Teresahas their line back from last
ear.”
Quarterback Quevin Red-ding on goals for the 2013season: “To get throughevery game with a ‘W’ andmake sure every game, we’regetting be tter.”
Defensive lineman JerryGurrola on the Hawksdefense: “We’re going tohave tough challenges with
all the dierent teams. Wehave to y o the ball andhit them rst.”
Oensive lineman JoaquinMelendez on the Hawks2013schedule: “We’ll stickit out this year. We havereally good teams that we’refacing. We’re working hardto overcome those teams.”
ENTENNIALHAWKS
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LOOKING BACK > Roy Ge-rela took over after an 0-10season in 2011 and Gadsden
went 5 -5 and 2-2 in District3-5A play last year.
“We were probably over-achievers,”Gerela said. “Butit’s very possible to repeatthat if we stay healthy andthe quarterback has a goodseason.”
G erel a d i d n’t h ave t o worry about the quarterbackposition last year, as AaronGomez was the heart andsoul of the Panthers. Gomezended his football career
by ear nin g Most Valuab lePlayer honors in the North
vs. South All-Sta r game last
month.“Aaron also probably hadthe best hands on the teamand he also played safety,”Gerela said.
The Panthers started the
season with a 34-33 home vict ory over Hobbs, whichmarked a sign of things tocome for a program that ex-perienceda greatdealof suc-cess in 2012.
“When I f irst took the
job, I was wondering what Ihadgottenmyselfinto.But Isaw them develop in seven-on-seven,” Gerela said. “Ithought that if we won twoor three games, it would be
a great start.”Gadsden hadn’twon a dis-
trict gamesince2006 beforea 31-24 victory over Oñateat t h e F i eld o f D r eams .The Panthers then beat Al-amogordo the next week athome.LOOKINGFORWARD> CanthePanthers build o the suc-cess of last season?
WhileGomezwas a senior,Gadsden had a large sopho-
more class, which speaks well for the ne xt two ye ars.“We had a lot of sopho-
mores last year and a lotof them did very well,” Ge-
GADSDEN PANTHERS
Aer .500 season, Panthers look to build of success
ROBIN ZIELINSKI — SUN-NEWS
Aer a surprise season in 2012, head coach Roy Gerela and the Gadsden Panthers arelooking to build o momentum.
TEAMCAPSULE
Coach: Roy Gerela
2012season: 5-5, 2-2
District: 3-5A
“It’s verypossible torepeat that if westay healthy and
the quarterbackhas a goodseason”— Gadsden coach Roy Gerela
GADSDEN: PAGE 19
CENTENNIAL HAWKS
2013CENTENNIALSCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT TIME
Aug. 30 @ Ruidoso 7 p.m.
Sept. 6 BYE
Sept. 13 vs. At ris co Her it ag e 7 p .m .
Sept. 20 @ Fabens 7 p.m.
Sept. 26 vs. Estancia 6 p.m.
Oct.3 vs. Hatch 7 p.m.
Oct. 12 @ St. Michael’s 2 p.m.
Oct. 18 vs. Ruidoso 7 p.m.
Oct. 25 @ Santa Teresa* 7 p.m.
Oct. 31 Chaparral* 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 @ Deming* 7 p.m.
* District 3-4A game
Online: For individualphotos of local high
school football players, goto our Sun-News SportsFacebook page:FACEBOOK.COM/SUNNEWSSPORTS
Online: Videos on theCentennial team can
be found at LCSUN-NEWS.COM
46JaimeBalcazar
50ChaseAustin
61Jorge
Suarez
62Duncan
Gallegos
76JustinMauldin
55GerardoBermudez
66Levi
Melloy
97XzavionPatterson
73GeorgeNiño
52AdrienGarcia
64Scott
Glines
81TonyTello
78MichaelLuna
60AmaniThompson
70Justin
Williams
74LeonelOlivas
53AaronRigales
65Vincent
Rubino
88MarkVirgil
72SantiagoSosa
51ZekeHerrera
63Nicholas
Rosales
80GabePacheco
77VicMontoya
59CameronBurkley
67Joaquin
Melendez
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ALAMOGORDO TIGERS
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BILL ARMENDARIZ — DEMING HEADLIGHT
Deming High football coach Fernie Holguin said the Wildcat program has drawn 60
athletes and he was expecting as many as 10more once classes began in mid-August.
rela said. “We’re going tobe very young and inexpe-rienced, but the first groupgot to see some things lastyear.”KEY PLAYERS > One of thepreviously-mentionedsoph-omores was Arturo Sotelo,
who started last season inthe defensive backfield forthe Panthers. Sotelo stepsinto replace Gomezat quar-terback this year.
“He’s a great athlete whojust lacks the experience,”Gerela said.
Eric Lopez is a 6-foot-2,
260-pound defensive endand offensive guard whois one of the Panthers’ topreturners. Another top re-
turning playeris senior run-ning back/linebacker KevinLoera.
— Jason Groves
GadsdenFROMPAGE 18
LOOKING BACK > The 2012season was a struggle onceagain at Alamogordo, with
theteam finishingwell under.500 andthe eventual depar-ture of Tommy Standefer ashead coach.
The Tigers lone district win was agai nst Oñate, andtheteam electedfora coach-ing change at season’s end.Dale Hooper was the manhired to right the ship in Al-amo, a program that’s en-
joyed just one winnin g sea-son since 2007.LOOKING AHEAD> The 2013Tigers look to provide freshfaces and a youthful spirit.
Hooper, who’s spent thelast four seasons as GrantsHigh School’s head footballcoach (he was also a grad-uate of the school), said he
wants to build the AHS foot- ball program into one that will be competitive at the 5Alevel every year.
“I think we’re going to bereally successful,” Hoopersaid. “I really look forwardto the challenges ahead.”
The Tigers oensedoesn’treturn a single starter froma year ago. Defensively,Hooper is counting on hisnine returning defensive
vetera ns to hold down thefort until the oense comesaround.
Hooper said he’s an of-
fensive coach, and plans forthe Tigers to open thingsup with a spread oense -- a
vast departu re from previ-ous years under Standefer,
who preferre d the past twoseasons to go with a veerrun-first mentality.
“I’ve been a spread guyfor a long time, probably 12or 14 years,” Hooper said.“We do run a power game,
but I definitely try and coverthe whole field. I make peo-ple defend from sideline tothe other sideline.”KEYPLAYERS > Hooper hadhigh praise forJohn Matzke,
Alamo’s featured back whofigures to get plenty of touches. The head coach
also pointed to wide receiv-ers Andrew Yates and Key-shawn Gatson as big-playthreats.
Hooper said the quar-terback position’s up forgrabs amongst under class-men, while he pointed to
his defense’s overall expe-rience across the board as
a strength. He added the Ti-gers will run a 4-2-5 defen-
sive scheme in 2013.— Michael Johnson
LOOKING BACK > Demingmade it two-straight Dis-trict 3-4A football champi-onships with a 3-0 run to
the top of the league stand-ings. The Wildcats blankedRoswell in the first roundof the Class 4A Playoffs,36-0, and traveled to Belenfor the quarterfinals wheretheir season ended in a dis-appointing 58-6 loss.
Two of Deming’s losses
were to Belen (14-7 and 58-6final scores) and the other
was to A rtesia (49-14).Big wins came against
Class3A Silver (14-12), Class5A Al amogordo (29-28), El
Paso Cathedral (22-14) andDistrict 3-4A foe Santa Te-resa (21-14).
TheWildcatsran theball
eectively and the passingattack became more of afactor as the season pro-gressed. Coach Holguin
built a defense that playedloose between the 20s andhardened likecementinsidethe red zone.
ALAMOGORDO TIGERS
New coach to lead Tigers
DEMING WILDCATS
’Cats hope to go further ALAMOGORDO DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO
Alamogordo welcomes a new coach this year and hopes toput last season’s struggles behind.
TEAMCAPSULE
Coach: Dale Hooper
2012record: 3-7, 1-3 indistrict
District: 3-5A
TEAMCAPSULE
Coach: Fernie Holguin
2012record: 9-3, 3-0in
districtDistrict: 3-4A
“I think we’regoing to be reallysuccessful.I really lookforward to thechallengesahead.”— Tigers’ coach Dale Hooper
2013 GADSDENSCHEDULEDATE OPPONENT TIME
Aug. 30 @ Hobbs 7 p.m.
Sept. 6 @ Rio Rancho 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 @ Eastwood 7 p.m.
Sept. 20 vs. Santa Teresa 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 vs. Chaparral 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 @ Roswell 7 p.m.
Oct. 10 @ Mayeld* 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 vs. Oñate* 7 p.m.
Oct. 25 @ Alamogordo* 7 p.m.
Nov.1 vs. Las Cruces* 7 p.m.Nov.7 BYE
* District 3-5A game
2013 ALAMOGORDO SCHEDULEDATE OPPONENT TIME
Aug. 30 BYE
Sept.6 @ Los Lunas 7 p.m.
Sept. 14 @ West Mesa 1 p.m.
Sept. 20 vs. Carlsbad 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 vs. Socorro ( Texas) 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 @ Hobbs 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 vs. Deming 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 vs. Las Cruces High* 7p.m.
Oct. 25 vs. Gadsden* 7 p.m.
Nov. 1 vs. Mayeld* 7 p.m.
Nov. 7 vs. Oñate* 7 p.m.
* District 3-5A game
DEMING: PAGE 20
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LOOKING FORWARD > TheWildcats return eight start-ers on oense — includingthe entire backfield — andseven starters on defense —
including the entire second-ary.Twenty-five players who will open the season at BelenonAug. 30 sawvarsity actionlast year.
“We are a running team,
but we will throw more thisseason,” Holguin said.
The plan is to continue with the sprea d and pro- Ion oense and dig in a “50”or “3-5” — a variation of the3-4 front on defense.
The line on both sides of the football will be the big-gest Holguin has coached inthepastfive seasons. Theav-
erage weight iswellover200pounds and the personnel isathletic and mobile, accord-ing to Holguin.
Practices have been ef-ficient and productive, ac-
cording to Holguin.“It ’s a h ar d -wo r ki ng
bunch, a nd there really wasno o-season,” Holguinsaid.“They came in and hit the
weight s and played 7-on-7all summer long. That workethic continues in practiceand will get us ready for theseason.”K E Y P L AY E R S > SeniorNestor Ponce (6-0, 235) and
junior Juan Carlo s Wilso n(6-0, 225) figure to anchorthe offensive and defen-sive lines, along with junior
Aaron Garcia (5-10, 215), ju-nior Lalo Lerma (5-11, 220) junior Danie l Galva n (5-10,220) and sophomore JordanPerales (5-9, 210).
—Bill Armendariz
DemingFROMPAGE 19
“It’s a hard-working bunch,and there reallywas no off-season.”—Deming coach Fernie Holguin
2013DEMINGSCHEDULEDATE OPPONENT TIME
Aug. 30 @ Belen 7 p.m.
Sept. 6 vs. Hot Springs 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 @ Santa Fe 7 p.m.
Sept. 20 vs. Artesia 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 BYE
Oct.4 @ Silver 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 @ Alamogordo 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 vs. Cathedral 7 p.mOct. 25 vs. Chaparral* 7 p.m.
Nov. 1 @ Santa Teresa* 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 vs. Centennial* 7 p.m.
* District 3-4A game
STEVE MACINTYRE — FOR THE SUN-NEWS
SonBlazers quarterback Tristan Franzoy is a returning player with starting experience.
LOOKINGBACK>Mesilla Val-ley Christian had 19 playersonit’srosterlast yearunderfirst-year head coach MikeDraper.
The SonBlazers went 4-6overall and 1-3 in District3-2Aplay, butsnuck intotheClass2A playoswhere theylost to Tucumcari.
“Eunicehad toloseto HotSpringsforus togetin andIdidn’tthink itwouldhappen
but it did,”Draper said. “Ourloss in districtto Lordsburgput us behind the eight ball,
but othe r thi ngs fell intoplace. I was happy to makethe playos with 19 playerson the roster.”LOOKING AHEAD > Drapersaid the SonBlazers pro-gram has grown to 25 play-ers this year.
“They’re getting used tome and it’s taken some timefor them to learn from me,”Draper said. “(Previouscoach Charles Gleghorn)
was a popular coach. I runthe ball a little more thanthey did before.”
Mesilla Valley lost threekey contributors, but theSonBlazers did gain moreathletes from the school’s
basketball team who did notplay football last year.
“Iexpectfor usto bemore
L OOK IN G B A C K > A f t er
brea king into the win col-umn the past two years,Chaparral took a step backlastseason, going winlessin2012 while remaining win-less all-time in district play(the program’s entering it’sseventh year of existence).
Previous headcoach TomSmith won seven games inthree seasons at the school,
but aft er a four-w in cam -paign in 2011, the Lobos arenow hold a 7-51 all-time re-
cord in football.Chaparral’s closestgames
last year were a one-pointloss in the season opener atSanElizario anda one-pointdefeat to El Paso Jeerson.LOOKINGFORWARD> Assis-tantcoach MarkAguilarre-placed Tom Smith as headcoach. It’s Aguilar’s firstfootball head coaching job,
but he has previous experi-ence as a head track coachin the El Paso area.
“I’ve been at differentschools and every schoolthat is fairly new, it’s takena little while to get foot-
ball o the ground ,” Agui -lar said. “It takes numbersand confidence and build-ingtradition. I think thesoc-cer team winning the statechampionship last year hasreallykick-startedthings. Infact, some of them are kick-ingforus andare startersat
theskill positionsthis year.” Agui lar said the Lobos
had solid participation num- bers this past offws easonand that such eort wasn’t
MESILLA VALLEY CHRISTIAN SONBLAZERS
MVCS continues to grow
CHAPARRAL LOBOS
Regrouping afer no wins
TEAMCAPSULE
Coach: Mike Draper
2012record: 4-6, 1-3indistrict (Lost in rst roundof Class 2A playos)
District: 3-2A
TEAMCAPSULECoach: Mark Aguilar
2012record: 0-10, 0-3indistrict
District: 3-4A
ROBIN ZIELINSKI — SUN-NEWS
Chaparral’s Johnny Joya makes a one-handed grab duringa mid-August practice at the school.
MVCS: PAGE 21 CHAPARRAL: PAGE 21
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reflective of a team that’sstill looking for it’s first dis-trictwin in programhistory.
“If we play up to our abil-ity and try to do the rightthing in the classroom andon the field, the wins willtake care of themselves,”
Aguila r said.KEY PLAYERS >
The Lobosreturn five players on of-fense and defense. Agui-lar wants to balance the of-fense this year with moreof a ground attack featur-ing returning quarterbackRoy Lopez andfullbackRay-mond Garcia.
Senior receiver LakotaHuff is the team’s top re-turning receiver. Defen-sively, senior nose guard
Andres Castro and Garciaat linebacker are the team’stop returning players.
— Jason Groves
competitive,” Draper said.“We are a little more athleticatthe skill positions. We lostsome keyplayerson the lineandwe have to replace themon the oense anddefensiveside of the ball.”K E Y P L A Y ER S > TristanFranzoy started at quar-
terback three games intohis sophomore season andkept theposition for therestof the year. In order to bol-ster the losses on the oen-sive anddefensive lines, Mi-cah Gray and Zane Wagnerreturn up front.
From a skill-position
standpoint, Rene Medina isthe SonBlazers most expe-rienced running back and
wide receiver Nick Nunley
isoneof a handful ofbasket- ball players who are playingfootball this year.
— Jason Groves
2013MESILLA VALLEY CHRISTIAN SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT TIMEAug. 30 @ Anthony 7 p.m.
Sept.6 vs. Tornillo 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 BYE
Sept. 20 @ Mountain View 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 @ NMMI 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 vs. Hot Springs 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 vs. Hatch Valley* 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 BYE
Oct. 25 @ Cobre* 7 p.m.
Nov.1 vs. Tularosa* 7 p.m.
Nov.8 @ Lordsburg* 7 p.m.
* District 3-2A game
2013CHAPARRALSCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT TIMEAug. 30 vs. San Elizario 7 p.m.
Sept.6 vs. Irvin 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 @ Jeferson 7 p.m.
Sept. 20 @ Roswell 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 @ Gadsden 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 vs. Mountain View 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 vs. Cathedral 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 BYE
Oct. 25 @ Deming* 7 p.m.
Oct. 31 @ Centennial* 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 vs. Santa Teresa* 7 p.m.
* District 3-4A game
MVCSFROMPAGE 20 ChaparralFROMPAGE20
LOOKING BACK> With a se-nior-laden team and quar-terbackAlex Sedillo running
the offense, Santa Teresawas expected to do betterlast year than their 3-7 finalrecord. But injuries contrib-utedto a 1-6start and failingto reach the playos for thesecond-straight year.
When the Desert War-riors were healthy at theend of the season, they wontwoof their lastthreegameswith a 21-14 loss to District3-4A champion Deming.
“We were just snakebit alittle,” head coach Shae Vi-erra said. “Deming is one of the top teams in Class 4Anow. I think we can make arun at them or have a goodenough record to getintotheplayos.”LOOKING FORWARD > Un-like last year, Santa Teresais short on experience withfive returning starters on
oense and four on defense.All of the returning startersplay on either the oensiveor defensive line.
“We’re not as talented aswe were last year, but it’s amore cohesive group,” Vi-erra said.
Key games on the sched-ule include Gadsden, Roswelland Silver.
“Winning those games would put us in a good posi-tion to ... get an invite if wedon’t win the district,” Vi-erra said.KEY PLAYERS > The Des-ert Warriors do have someexperience at the quarter-
back position. Junior LukePerea started three gameslast year while Sedillo wasinjured. Running back Tris-ten Villegas was a starterlast year onbothsides ofthe
ball. In front of them will bereturning oensive linemen
Angel Nunez a nd Dav id A l-
dama, whoVierra is high on.“I feel like he’s one of the bette r oensive linemen inthestate,” Vierrasaid. “He’sstrong andhe’s a leader. He’simportant to what wedo this
year.”— Jason Groves
SANTA TERESA DESERT WARRIORS
Afer injury-laden season, a chance to rebound
ROBIN ZIELINSKI — SUN-NEWS
Santa Teresa High School lineman Isaac Lara works on his game during a mid-Augustpractice at the school.
TEAMCAPSULECoach: Shae Vierra
2012record: 3-7, 2-1
District: 3-4A
2013 SANTA TERESASCHEDULEDATE OPPONENT TIME
Aug. 30 vs. Fabens 7 p.m.Sept.6 vs. Austin 7 p.m.
Sept. 12 @ Irvin 7 p.m.
Sept. 20 @ Gadsden 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 vs. Roswell 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 @ Cathedral 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 BYE
Oct. 18 @ Silver 7 p.m.
Oct. 25 vs. Centennial* 7 p.m.
Nov.1 vs. Deming* 7 p.m.
Nov.8 @ Chaparral* 7 p.m.
* District 3-4A game
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LOOKINGBACK> The Fight-
ing Colts have progressedover the years, and lastseason saw them reach theClass3A statechampionshipgame.
S i lver h ad ju st t h r eelosses all year, and two of them came to St. Michael’sHigh School — one of which
was a 10-7 road defeat forthe state title. The Colts didhave their chances in thatparticularcontest,but somekey turnovers and a fail-
ure to get into the end zonehaunted them throughout.Silver’s other loss came torival Deming — a Class 4Aschool — by a final score of 14-12.
Silver had little troublegetting to the championshipgame with wins over Albu-querque Academy (49-10 fi-nal) and Ruidoso (37-10 fi-nal). In District 3-3A action,the Colts rolled to anothertitle, beating Socorro, 42-
14, and then pounding HotSprings, 45-6.LOOKINGFORWARD > There
were some key pers onne l
losses on both oense anddefense, but the Colts willlook to reload.
Dakota Bencomo and Ne- vada Bencomo graduated af-ter playing a big roles on of-fense (both came out of the
backfield)and defense (atthelinebacker position).
The Colts also lost Ish-mael Jacquez at wide re-ceiver, and Justin Trewern
at linebacker.Silver will put 14 seniors
on the field, and it begins with the quarterback Derek
Salas. He’s in his third yearasa starter, andled theColtsto a state championship last
year. He also helped the of-f ens e aver age abou t 3 3points per game throughoutthe season.
“He’s about as close as you can get to a coach on thefield,” Branson said. “And,that’s a tremendous plus forus. We’re looking for him totake care of the football andmake some good decisions.”
Silver’s schedule provesto be a tough one again.The Colts open at home
with cross- county rival Co- bre High, but an early bye won’t see Silver on the foot- ball field aga in until a trip to
Albuq uerque to play HopeChristian.
Games with Grants,
SILVER FIGHTING COLTS
Year afer reaching championship, Colts reload
PHOTO BY DANNY UDERO — SUN-NEWS
Silver High senior quarterback Derek Salas will attempt to lead his Colts back to the Class3A state championship when the season opens up.
TEAMCAPSULE
Coach: Butch Branson
2012record: 10-3overall,2-0in district (Lost in Class3A state championship)
District: 3-3A
LOOKINGBACK > In his first year at the Clas s 2A level,Hatch Valley head coachJack Cisco led the Bearsto the Class 2A semifinals,
wher e the y lost 34 -20 tostate champion Santa Rosa.The Bears finished with an8-4 overall record and a 3-1mark in District 3-2A.
“It was where we belongfrom a size standpoint,”Cisco said of his program’sclass affiliation. “We playagainst schools in towns
with no Walmar t and if wemove up, we will be playingagainst schools where thereis a Walmart and we don’t
have a Walmart.”LOOKING FORWARD > Nowthat Emory and Jim Cole-man have both worked their
way throu gh the Tula rosaprogram, the Bears couldovertake the Wildcats atopthe District 3-2A standings.
“I feel like we’re at leasteven with Tularosa now,”Cisco said. “I feel very goodabout our chance to win thedistrict.”KEY PLAYERS > Hatch Val-leyreturnssix starters onof-fense and eight on defense.Chase Carsonis a three-yearstarter at quarterback, anda first-teamAll-State player
last year.“Myfirst three yearshere
there was a dierent quar-terback each year,” Ciscosaid. “Now we can call any-thing and (Carson) gets theteam to execute.”
MikeGonzalez is a 6-foot-3 , 3 0 0 -p ou nd A l l -S tat eplayer on the oensive anddefensive lines, while juniorTyrell Harrison is a three-
year sta rter on both line sand a first-team All-Statenose guard last year as asophomore. JR Carraza isa three-year starter at full-
back and linebacker a nd se-nior Marcos Olivas is a re-turning player at defensivetackle. In orderforthe Bearsto be successful, it will takesome of the younger playersto be productive, Cisco said.
“We have some youngerathletes who have to growup, but we have a chance to
be bet ter from a skil l stand-point,” Cisco said.
— Jason Groves
HATCH VALLEY BEARS
Hatch Valley eyes district title and beyond in 2013TEAMCAPSULECoach: Jack Cisco
2012record: 8-4, 3-1(Lostin Class 2A semifnals)
District: 3-2A
“He’s about asclose as you canget to a coachon the field. ...We’re looking forhim to take careof the footballand make somegood decisions.”— Silver coach Butch Bansonon quarterback Derek Salas
2013HATCH VALLEYSCHEDULEDATE OPPONENT TIME
Aug. 30 NMMI 7 p.m.
Sept. 6 @ Estancia 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 @ Texico (@ Estancia) 7p.m.
Sept. 20 Silver 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 West Las Vegas 7 p.m.
Oct.3 @ Centennial 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 @ Mesilla Valley* 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 @ Tularosa * 7 p.m.
Oct. 25 BYE
Nov. 1 Lordsburg * 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 Cobre * 7 p.m.
* District 3-2A game
SILVER: PAGE 24
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NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES
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By Teddy [email protected]@TeddyFeinberg on Twitter
LASCRUCES> A new coach,an independent playingschedule and similar chal-lengesthat haveforever sur-rounded Aggie football.
That’s what New Mex-ico State faces in 2013, ayear after the team finishedwith another poor record
(an 1-11 mark), lost its headcoach (DeWayne Walker leftto take an NFL assistantcoaching job) and is start-ingfrom scratch once again.
First-year head coachDoug Martin is literallybuilding fromthe ground up,
coaching the team through
a 2013independent schedule before the program joins theSunBelt Conference in 2014.
Here, we take a position- by-position look at the Ag-gies, as they enter a historicseason for the program:
Quarterbacks A week into fal l camp,
the team moved TravaughnColwell, who was thought to
have a slight edgeinitially forthe startingquarterbackjob,to the widereceiver position.
In turn, NMSU appointedsenior AndrewMcDonald toNo. 1 quarterback and ele-
vated true fres hman KingDavis III to No. 2.
McDonald took a handful
of snaps in a blowout loss atOhio (not only did he not seethe field the rest of the way,
but his junior year of eligi - bility was burned in the pro-cess). Expect him to supplysimilar attributes to whatMatt Christian brought two
years ago — a good knowl-edge of the system, a gooddecision-maker and an un-derrated runner with the
football.Withthat,the move ofCol- well was made as much forDavis’ progress. The coach-ing sta is high on him, and
would like to g room a quar-terback of the future.
Therefore, he’ll be thepri-mary backup.
Colwell will remain No.3 on the depth chart andnow the Aggies couldhave aunique oensive package in
place:three quarterbacks onthe field simultaneously.
Running backsLast year’s starter Germi
Morrison is a proven player,a pounder andtough runner
between the tackles. He’ll beflanked by Brandon Betan-court, a Mayfield High grad-uateand NMSUjuniorwho’sdisplayed a burst, and couldprovide some big-play pop.
The Aggies brought infreshman Marquette Wash-ington, a player who putup good numbers at Kai-ser High School in Fontana,Calif. The team also addedJermichael Selders (a trans-fer from City College of San
Francisco) before trainingcamp. True freshman andLas Cruces High graduateXavier Hall has also gottensome work during Augustpractices.
Wide receiversThis is a unit that’s devel-
oped some very good play-ersin recent years — TaveonRogers, Todd Lee, KemonteBateman and Austin Frank-lin were all talented pieces.
This year, there doesn’tappear to be one singleplayer that encompassessuch skills — Franklin, of course, would have beenthat player, but theteamwasdealta big blowwhen hewas
ruled academically ineligibleearlier this month.
With that, a collectivegroup takes shape, withplayers such as Joseph Mat-thews( junior), Jerrel Brown(junior), Adam Shapiro (ju-nior), and Jordan Bergstrom(transfer from Santa RosaJunior College) having tostep up to fill the void. Andeven while players such asMatthews and Brown haveshown potential, none seemto have the game-breakingability that Franklin pos-sesses (he was one of theteam’s few big-play threatsentering the year).
One intriguing player isTravaughn Colwell, a quar-
terback-turned-wide re-ceiver who has the physi-cal tools to play the position— listed at 6-foot-3 and justover 200pounds,Colwell hasgood hands,speedandis oneof the team’s top athletes.
Martin has spoken highlyoftight endPerris Scoggins,andthe junior college trans-fer from a year ago has al-
ways looked the part (listedat 6-3, 242 pounds).
Offensive lineThis unit already looks
improved after a poor 2012campaign. Three solidifiedstarters return to the oen-sive front — senior
A new lookHighlighted by an independent scheduleand a frst-year head coach, NMSU
enters a historic season on the gridiron
SHARI V. HILL — SUN-NEWS
Freshman quarterback King Davis III (foreground) will likelysee playing time during the upcoming year.
SHARI V. HILL — SUN-NEWS
Jordan Bergstrom is one of a handful of Aggie wide receivers who will need to step upin 2013.
AGGIES: PAGE 2
NEWMEXICOSTATEAGGIES
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Deming, Ruidoso andSt. Mi-chael’s will testthe Colts be-fore theDistrict3-3A seasonbegins.
Aga in, the re’s just twoteams in thedistrict,so bothcontests will prove to be im-portant once again.KEYPLAYERS> QuarterbackDerek Salas will anchor theoense.
“Derek’s a guy that can
certainly play at the nextlevel,” Branson said. “I’mnot lookingforhim to runorthrow the football. I’m look-ing for him to take care of the football. His experience
will certain ly h elp u s out i nthe big games we will facethis year.”
Gabe Morales is a seniorthat should be Salas’ go-totarget in the passing game.Moralesmade some bigscor-ingcatcheslast year, andthequarterback-wide receivercombo haveexhibiteda tight
bond on the field.
J u ni or r u n n in g b a ckFrankie Castillo will haveto take on the load that theBencomo brothers car-ried last year. He exhibitedgreat speed and the abilityto carrythe footballbetweenthe tackles, as well as on theperimeter, last year.
“If he can remain healthyfor us and take that pound-ing heis going toget, wearegoing to get a lot of yardagefrom him,” Branson said.“Last year he missed fivegames because of injury.We are going to try and see
where he will be at this year,and take it from there.”
Jorge Rodriguez andManuel Ortega are the mostexperienced linemen Silver
wil l have on both sides of the ball.
Defensively, Michael Ma-ria Jr., Joe Rivera, ShawnGutierrez and Shane Perryare all fighting for the line-
backing spots that were left vacant from graduating se-niors.
Branson said all will getplaying time on defense.
—DannyUdero
2013SILVER SCHEDULEDATE OPPONENT TIME
Aug. 30 Cobre 7 p.m.
Sept. 6 BYE
Sept. 14 @ Hope Christian 1 p.m.
Sept. 20 @ Hatch 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 @ Grants 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 Deming 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 @ Ruidoso 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 Santa Teresa 7 p.m.
Oct. 25 @ St. Michael’s 7 p.m.
Nov.1 Socorro* 7 p.m.
Nov.8 @ Hot Springs* 7 p.m.
* District 3-3A game
SilverFROMPAGE22
Davonte Wallace (left tackle),sophomore Andy Cunning-
ham (guard) and junior Va-lerian Ume-Ezeoke (center)— under first-year assistantcoach Bart Miller.
The other starting po-sitions figure to be helddown by Isaiah Folasa-Lu-tui (guard) and Dada Rich-ards (tackle).
But perhaps more impor-tantis an improved oensivescheme, which will help theline both in run blocking and
pass protection. Gone is lastyear’s dropback passing at-tackand straight-ahead run-ning philosophy. In its placeisa more variant oense fea-turing the quarterback-op-tion, which will look to getthe QB out ofthe pocketandon the move as a runner.
Defensive lineThis personnel group ac-
tually has some quality tal-ent. It starts with Mayfieldgraduate Matt Ra mondo(who transferred to NMSUfrom Michigan State twoyears ago) and Willie Mob-ley (a fifth-year senior fromthe University of Arizona),two BCS-caliber playerswho could both play signifi-cant roles for the Aggies.
NMSU also has somedepth on the defensive front
this year, with players such
as Kalvin Cruz and KevinLaudermill filling the gaps.The coaching sta has also
been high on junior-c ollegetransfersMason Russell andJay Fisher James.
NMSU will move to a 3-4defense that will act moreas a 4-3 in function — threedown lineman, withone out-side linebacker playing es-sentially as a standup de-fensive end.The linemen willplay an aggressive, slantingstyle, designed to get quick,undersized players to knifethroughthe line. TheNMSU
defense struggled stopping
the run during spring andfall practices, however.
LinebackersTwo outside linebackers
haveshown good pass-rush-ing skills for the Aggies —that being senior TrashaunNixon and redshirt soph-omore Stephen Meredith.They add to the improvedskill along the defensivefront-seven.
Kalei Auelua joins Mer-edith as the boundary line-
backer (agai n, ess enti all ya standup defensive end),
whi le the midd le wil l be
mannedby senior Bryan Bo-nillaand Melrose,NM nativeClint Barnard.
SecondaryFormer Aggie head coach
DeWayne Walker made it apoint during histenureto re-cruit talent to the defensive
backfield and such a trendremains apparent today.
This year’s group is high-lighted by senior corner-
ba ck s Da ri en Jo hn so n,Cameron Fuller and Win-ston Rose. The safety com-
binationof George Callender
and Davis Cazares is a good
one on paper.NMSU will play more
zone defense in the second-ary than in years past and,in turn,will utilize more zone
blitzes up front. The idea isto create more turnovers
— pressuring the opposingquarterback, with defensive backs facing the ba ll in cov-erage in an attempt to picko hurried throws.
Whilethe ideais tocreatethe big play for the defense,the hope is the Aggies won’t
be susceptible to the big playin return.
Special teamsOne ofthe team’s topplay-
ers last year was punterCayle Chapman-Brown, andhe returnsforhis senior sea-son. The Sydney, Australianative punted 70 times fora 44.3 yards-per-punt aver-age in 2013.
The team also returnsplace-kicker Maxwell John-son and kicko man BrockBaca.
One thing the Aggiesneed: improvement in thepunt-return game, as last
year the tea m average d apaultry 1.2 yards on 15 re-turns(a statisticthat rankedNo. 119 out of 120 Division Ifootball schools, just aheadof the University of Idaho).Upon his hire, Martin an-nounced he’d coach the Ag-gies special teams units in2013, a job title he held forfive years as an assistant
coach at East Carolina.
Coaching
Martinseemsto be a goodfit for theNMSU programatthe right time, a resourceful
coach who actually workedat the school before(as oen-sive coordinator at NMSUin2011).He brought in a qualitycoordinator in Brandon, andtheNMSUoense asa wholeshould be better.
Defensively, David Elsonreturnsto run the show, and
will have a chance t o imple-ment his scheme — again, aslanting technique up front,increased blitzing and morezone defensein the back-end.TheAggieswould like to cre-ate more turnovers in 2013.
Overall, the team neededa breath of fresh air and anew start under a first-yearhead coach. With that beingsaid, this year could very
well be a bui lding season forthe program, with an inde-pendent schedule will likely
be very dicult to manage
for the mid-major program.
AggiesFROMPAGE23
SHARI V. HILL — SUN-NEWS
Senior cornerback Cameron Fuller, lef, and wide receiver Joseph Matthews run throughdrills recently during practice at NMSU.
Martin seemsto be a goodfitfor theNMSUprogramat theright time,a
resourcefulcoachwhoactuallyworkedat theschoolbefore.
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NEWMEXICOSTATEAGGIES
PROGNOSTICATINGONTHE 2013 INDEPENDENTSCHEDULE
The Aggies will be “playing
up” throughout the 2013college football season, anindependent schedule ontap for an FBS program try-ing to nd it’s footing.
The tasks: beginning theyear on the road at theUniversity of Texas, followedby a home game againstMinnesota of the Big Ten;the team’s two rivals (UTEPand New Mexico), as well asPac 12power UCLA and asolid San Diego State team
on the schedule — and thatall comes before the Aggies’bye week in early October.
From there, the scheduledoes get a bit more man-ageable, and hopefully somewins will be in the cardswhen the dust settles.
For now, all we can do isprognosticate. With that,we take a look at the Aggies2013competition:
Week 1Aug. 31at Texas
Scouting report:What away to start. The Longhornsare going to have top-leveltalent across the board and,as if that’s not enough, headcoach Mack Brown is onthe hot seat entering thenew year. A Top-25team inthe preseason polls, don’texpect Texas to go easy on
the opposition in this one.Rather, they’ll look to takethings right to the Aggies.
Week 2
Sept. 7vs. Minnesota
Scouting report:This isgoing to be an importantcontest for Aggie foot-ball — home opener, goodcrowd and a new coach(Doug Martin) running anNMSU team with a new
vision. Certainly it wouldbe nice if the Aggies wereto be competitive, and givethe locals something to feelgood about. But it won’t
be an easy task. Minnesotais still a Big Ten team, andfor those pointing out theAggies beat the GoldenGophers in 2011, understand
these are two dierentclubs from that point intime. For one, Minnesotanished 6-6last year, andwent to a minor bowl gamein the process (MeinekeCar Care Bowl). Also, theteam returns virtually theirentire starting lineup fromlast season, and some ofthose returnees just mightremember NMSU’s 28-21upset win in Minneapolistwo years ago.
Week 3
Sept. 14vs.UTEP
Scouting report:Anotherkey game for the Aggies,because it’s one they cancertainly shoot for. TheMiners nd themselves witha rst-year coach of theirown — former UTEP playerSean Kugler took over thereigns from Mike Price this
oseason. They’re breakingin a new quarterback (sucha factor could dictate theentire season for the Miners)and new starters across theboard on defense. The teamcould look to run the ballmore in 2013— Kugler is aformer oensive lineman,and has coached the posi-tion in the college and NFLranks. Aggie head coachDoug Martin has been point-ing to the program’s rivalry
games since the day he gotthe job, and will get his rstchance at one here.
Week 4
Sept. 21at UCLA
Scouting report:This issimilar to Texas — powerteam from a power confer-ence in a heralded awayvenue. The Bruins wereimproved last year under
rst-year head coach JimMora Jr. This big-moneygame will be another chiefchallenge for the Aggies onthe 2013schedule.
Week 5Sept. 28vs.SanDiego State
Scouting report:Anotherchallenging contest for theAggies, as San Diego Stateis a quality team underformer University of NewMexico head coach RockyLong. For those familiarwith Long, they’ll know theAztecs will bring in a soliddefense and should be pre-
pared. A veteran roster willalso be in tow. If the Aggiescould get this one, it wouldbe a huge win for their foot-ball program.
Week 6
Oct. 5at NewMexico
Scouting report:Can theAggies beat UNM? Whynot? Aer all, they’ve doneit three of the last four
years. But the Lobos wereimproved in 2012under headcoach Bob Davie (one oftheir four wins was againstthe Aggies, 28-14, in LasCruces) and this year’scontest will be in northernNew Mexico. This in-staterivalry aair also comesaer a gauntlet of gamesfor the Aggies. A winnablecontest? Sure. But far froman easy one.
Week 7
Oct.19vs.Rice
Scouting report:Ricewas a bowl team last year,
nishing with a 7-6overallrecord (4-4in ConferenceUSA), and return a solidcore. Expect the Owls tobe hunting for bowl eligibil-
ity again in 2013. Again, atough one at home for theAggies.
Week 8
Oct.26vs. AbileneChristian
Scouting report:NMSUhas to win this footballgame over an FCS pro-gram that recently playedDivision II football. AbileneChristian does have somehistory behind it’s program,and has put some playersin the NFL over the years.While on paper it looks like agame the Aggies should win,the Wildcats might not bepushovers once they cometo town.
Week 9
Nov. 2at Louisiana-Lafayette
Scouting report:This isa high-quality team folks.Aer nishing 9-4and win-ning the New Orleans Bowllast year, the Ragin’ Cajunswere picked to win the SunBelt Conference entering
the 2013campaign. Aggiehead coach Doug Martinsaid this would be a keymeasuring-stick game forhis program — the Aggies
will be in the Sun Belt in2014, and will compete inthe same Western Divisionas Louisiana-Lafayette. Butmake no mistake: the Ragin’Cajuns look to be a bowlteam once again.
Week10
Nov. 9vs.Boston College
Scouting report:Can theAggies pocket a win here?It’s not out of the question.
Boston College was nota good team last season,nishing with a 2-10record.While the Eagles were com-petitive in some of thosecontests, they also had aloss to Army on their re-sume. Martin was oensivecoordinator at BC in 2012,and should be familiar withthe opposition. And whilethe Eagles will make the tripto Las Cruces, they’ll also doso between two ACC homegames on their schedule —vs. Virginia Tech and vs. NCState. Yes, they’re still aBCS team. But they’re alsoa beatable one.
Week 11
Nov. 23at Florida Atlantic
Scouting report:Again,perhaps a winnable gamefor the Aggies, as FloridaAtlantic went 3-9lastseason. The only issues:it’s an away game, and whoknows where the Aggies willbe from a health standpointat this point of the sea-son. With that being said,certainly one NMSU canshoot for.
Week12
Nov. 30
vs. IdahoScouting report:Similarto Abilene Christian, thisseems like a game theAggies have to win. Theyget the Vandals at home,and Idaho’s in a similarposition in 2013: a programthat should be scratch-ing for wins while playingan independent schedule.Who knows where thesetwo clubs will be when theymeet in Las Cruces for the
last week of the season. Theunderlying factor here couldbe which team holds thebetter health.
— Teddy Feinberg
SHARI V. HILL — SUN-NEWS
Strong safety Dior Moore, le, and linebacker Dele Junaid stay hydrated during practicerecently at the New Mexico State University practice elds.
Thetasks: beginonthe roadatTexas, followed
byMinnesotaathome, rivalsUTEPandNewMexico,aswellasUCLA— andthat’sall beforetheAggies’byeweek inearlyOctober.
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NO. NAME POS. HT./WT. C LASS HOMETOWN (PREVIOUS SCHOOL)
1 Tr ava ug n C ol wel l WR 6 -3/ 20 2 Jr. Man ve l, Te xa s (Man vel H S)
1 W in st on R os e C B 6 -0 /174 J r. I ng le wo od , C al if . ( Lo s A ng el es V al le y C ol le ge)
2 G re go ry H og an W R 6 - 1/ 18 2 F r. H ou st on , Te xa s (S um me r C re ek H ig h S ch oo l)
2 Tr as hau n N ixo n L B 6 -1 /2 35 S r. Ox nar d, C ali f. (Ve ntu ra Co ll eg e)
3 K in g D av is I II Q B 6 -1 /2 00 F r. M es qu it e, Te xa s ( No rt h M es qu it e H ig h S ch oo l)
3 C am er on F ul le r C B 5 -1 1/ 17 5 S r. R ic hm on d, C al if . (C on tr a C os ta C ol le ge )
4 A us ti n F ra nk li n W R 6 -2 /1 84 J r. D al la s, Te xa s ( Ki mn ba ll H ig h S ch oo l)
4 D ar ie n J oh ns on C B 5 -9 /1 85 S r. F on ta na , C al if. ( Bi sh op A ma t H ig h S ch oo l)
5 G eor ge C al le nde r S S 6 -1 /2 05 S r. Mi ami , F la . (D ura l Ac ade my)
5 J os ep h M at th ew s W R 6 - 2/ 20 3 J r. Tu cs on , A ri z. ( Ri nc on H Ig h S ch oo l)
6 J os hu a B ow en W R 5 -1 0/ 17 5 S o. A lb uq ue rq ue , N M ( Ma nz an o H ig h S ch oo l)6 D el e Ju nai d L B 6 -1 /219 S r. Hou sto n, Te xa s (Ea ste rn A ri zo na C ol le ge)
7 C ay le C ha pm an - Br ow n P 6 - 5/ 2 31 S r. S yd ne y, A us tr al ia ( Sn ow C ol le ge )
7 Ada m S hapi ro WR 6 -1 /1 92 Jr. Rio R an ch o, N M (Ri o Ran ch o Hi gh S ch ool)
8 B ar ry Co ff man QB 6 -3/ 20 0 Fr. Al bu qu er qu e, NM (S and ia Hig h S ch oo l)
8 Ju sti n S mi th F S 6 -2 /20 5 S r. S af fo rd , A ri z. (S af fo rd Hi gh S ch ool)
9 Evan C aval ie re D B 6 -1 /1 90 S o. Atl an ta , Ga . (D ean C oll eg e)
10 Kedeem Thomas-Davis CB 5-10/170 So. El Paso, Texas (El Dorado High School)
10 Br en non S hay WR 6 -3/ 20 4 S r. Far min gto n, NM (We st Texa s A &M)
1 1 Tr e W il co xe n S S 6 -0 /1 98 F r. I ng le wo od , C al if . ( In gl ew oo d H ig h S ch oo l)
1 1 J or da n B er gs tr om W R 5 -1 0/ 18 0 J r. P or tl an d, O re . ( Sa nt a R os a J un io r C ol le ge )
1 2 B ry an B on il la L B 6 -1 /2 40 S r. P om on a, C al if . ( Di am on d R an ch H ig h S ch oo l)
1 2 A nd re w M cD on al d Q B 6 -2 / 20 5 S r. New po rt B ea ch , C al if . ( Sa nt a A na C ol le ge )
1 3 J us ti n A ll en W R 6 - 0/ 19 0 J r. H ou st on , Te xa s (C it y C ol le ge o f S an F ra nc is co)
1 3 C li nt B ar na rd L B 6 -3 /2 40 R Jr. M el ro se , N M ( Ne w M ex ic o H ig hl an ds U ni ve rs it y)
1 4 M at t J ar am il lo D L 6 -3 /2 50 S o. A lb uq ue rq ue , N M ( We st M es a H ig h S ch oo l)
1 5 A nt ho ny J oy ne r T E 6 -3 /2 50 R Jr. S an D ie go , C al if . (P oi nt L om a H ig h S ch oo l)
16 Kawe Joh ns on D B 5 -8 /17 7 Fr. Kah uk u, H aw aii (Ka hu ku H ig h S ch ool )
1 6 P re s to n S ch ol la nd er T E 6 - 0/ 20 0 F r. L os L un a s, NM ( Lo s L un a s H ig h S ch oo l)
17 J er re l B ro wn W R 6 -0 /1 90 J r. I ng le wo od , C al if . (S t. J oh n B os co H ig h S ch oo l)
1 8 M ax we ll J oh ns on P K 5 -1 0/ 18 5 J r. A st or ia , O re . ( Or eg on S ta te U ni ve rs it y)
1 8 Br ayd en Pri ce QB 6 -2 /20 5 Fr. Hob bs , N M (Ho bbs Hi gh S ch ool )
1 9 B re nd en B ar ke r C B 5 -1 1/ 18 0 F r. A lb uq ue rq ue , N M (S an di a H ig h S ch oo l)
1 9 X av ia n B ra nd on W R 6 -3 /1 85 R Sr. D ul ut h, G a. ( No rt hv ie w H ig h S ch oo l)
2 0 S am ue l O ye nu ga C B 5 -1 1/ 18 0 S o. R ow le tt , Te xa s ( Ro wl et t H ig h S ch oo l)
2 1 B ra nd on B et an co ur t R B 5 -1 0/ 18 7 J r. L as C ru ce s, NM ( Ma yfi el d H ig h S ch oo l)
2 1 A nt ho ny E dw ar ds S S 6 - 0/ 19 0 S r. L an ca s te r, C al if . ( An te lo pe V al le y C ol le ge )
2 2 Xavie r Hal l RB 5 -8 /1 80 Fr. L as Cr uc es , N M (L as Cr uc es Hi gh S ch oo l)
2 3 J er ri on B ur to n D B 5 -1 1/ 16 3 F r. R ia lt o, C al if . (E is en ho we r H Ig h S ch oo l)
2 3 J er mi ch ae l S el de rs R B 5 -1 1/ 19 7 J r. H ou s to n, Te xa s (C it y C ol le ge o f S an F ra nc is co )
24 Jos h S mi th L B 6 -0 /2 27 S r. In gle wo od , Ca li f. Mo rni ng si de Hi gh S ch ool )
2 4 M ar qu et te W as hi ng to n R B 5 -1 0/ 21 5 F r. F on ta na , C al if . ( Ka is er H ig h S ch oo l)
2 5 G er mi M or ri so n R B 6 - 0/ 19 5 R Sr. P an or am a C it y, C al if . ( Lo s A ng el es V al le y C ol le ge )
2 5 T ho ma s W ar re n C B 5 -1 1/ 17 5 F r. Ph oe ni x, A ri z. ( Mo un ta in P oi nt H ig h S ch oo l)
2 7 B re eo n M or en o C B 5 -9 /1 87 J r. S al in as , C al if . (E as t L os A ng el es C ol le ge )
2 8 Ch ri s Ji nn a CB 6 -0 /17 5 R Sr. We st C ovi na , C al if. (Ci tru s C olle ge)
29 Lewis Hill CB 5 -10/175 So. Frisco, Texa s (Monroe College)
3 0 Yo la nd us P ra tt R B 5 -8 /1 98 S r. H ig h P oi nt , N C (H ud so n V al le y C ol le ge )
3 1 D av is C az ar es F S 5 -1 1/ 19 0 S r. M on ro vi a, C al if . ( Bi sh op A ma t H ig h S ch oo l)
3 2 D yl an D av is L B 6 -0 /2 30 S r. Ve nt ur a C ol le ge (S t. B on av en tu re H ig h S ch oo l)
NO. NAME POS. HT./WT. C LASS HOMETOWN (PREVIOUS SCHOOL)
3 4 Je ss e F or te RB 5 -11 /20 0 Jr. Atl an ta , G a. (Pa rk vie w Hi gh S ch ool )
3 5 Z ac he ry B ake r L B 6 -1 /2 20 Jr. L as C ru ce s, N M (L as Cr uc es Hi gh S ch ool)
3 6 Gi no S atr ia na P 5 -10/ 18 0 S o. Ri o R an ch o, N M (R io Ra nch o Hi gh S ch ool )
3 7 J er em y F ie ld er R B 5 -7/ 18 6 S r. S af fo rd A ri z. (S af fo rd H ig h S ch oo l)
3 8 I saa c Le on L B 5 -10/ 20 0 S o. A lbu qu er qu e, N M (St . Piu s X Hig h S ch oo l)
4 0 R ob er t W ag ne r L B 6 -1 /2 34 R Fr. O nt ar io , C al if . (C ol on y H ig h S ch oo l)
41 Br oc k Ba ca PK 5 -10/ 215 S o. L as C ru ce s, N M (May fie ld Hi gh S ch ool)
4 2 Jake C apr ar o P 6 -1 /21 5 S r. Cla rem on t, C al if. (Da mie n Hi gh S ch ool )
4 3 A nd re w Z ap ie n L S 5 -1 0/ 22 1 R So . L as C ru ce s, N M (M ay fie ld H ig h S ch oo l)
4 4 M ik e K ai se r L S 6 -2 /2 47 S r. C ar ls ba d, C al if. ( La C os ta C an yo n H ig h S ch oo l)
4 5 D al to n R oc ha L B 6 -1 /2 32 F r. Ve nt ur a, C al if . (S t. B on av en tu re H ig h S ch oo l)4 5 E du ar do R od ri gu ez K 6 -1 /2 40 J r. V en tu ra , C al if . ( Ea s t L os A ng el es C ol le ge )
4 6 Dior Moore LB 6 -1/222 Jr. Las Vegas, Nev. (Butte College)
4 7 A nd re w Ke nn ey L S 6 -0 /2 22 F r. C ha nd le r, A ri z. ( Pe rr y H ig h S ch oo l)
4 7 C ha nc e R ob er ts D L 6 -4 /2 43 S r. L os L un as , N M ( Lo s L un as H ig h S ch oo l)
4 8 Kal ei Au elu a D E 6 -2 /24 0 Fr. Ho nol ul u, Hawai i (St . Lo uis H ig h S ch ool )
4 9 L ar ry B utl er L B 6 -0/ 23 3 Jr. B at on Rou ge , L a. (Ea ste rn A ri zo na C ol le ge)
5 0 A br am H ol la nd O L 6 -2 /2 70 R Fr. R io R an ch o, N M (C le ve la nd H ig h S ch oo l)
5 1 T ho ma s M cG wi re O L 6 - 5/ 2 82 F r. R an ch o C uc am on ga , C al if . ( Lo s O so s H ig h S ch oo l)
5 2 J ay E ak in s D E 6 -2 /2 75 J r. A pp le V al le y, C al if . (S an B er na rd in o V al le y C ol le ge)
5 3 R od ne y B ut le r L B 6 -1 /2 12 F r. P al m S pr in g, C al if . (P al m S pr in gs H ig h S ch oo l)
5 4 S pe nc e U el i- Fa at oa li a O L 6 -1 /3 0 8 F r. L a M ir ad a, C al if . ( Pa lm S pr in g H ig h S ch oo l)
55 Valerian Ume-Ezeoke OL 6-3/295 Jr. Garland, Texas (Garland Lakeview Centennial High School)
5 6 K ev in L au de rm il l D L 6 -2 / 27 7 S r. L os A ng el es , C al if . ( We s t L os A ng el es C om mu ni ty C ol le ge )
5 8 H ec to r C az al es J r. L B 5 -1 1/ 22 5 J r. L os A ng el es , C al if . ( Ea st L os A ng el es C ol le ge )
6 2 I sa ia h F ol as a- Lu tu i O L 6 -3 /3 09 S o. C or on a, C al if . ( Sa nt ia go H ig h S ch oo l)
6 5 R ya n A rb el ae z O L 6 -1 /2 95 J r. S an D ie go , C al if . ( Mi ra M es a H ig h S ch oo l)
6 6 D ad a R ic ha rd s O L 6 -3 /3 07 S r. Pi tt sb ur gh , C al if. ( Di ab lo V al le y C ol le ge)6 9 A le xa nd er T ru ji ll o O L 6 -2 / 28 5 S o. S pr in g, Te xa s (C en te nn ia l H ig h S ch oo l)
7 0 A nd y C un ni ng ha m O L 6 -3 /3 08 S o. F ri sc o, Te xa s ( Fr is co H ig h S ch oo l)
7 1 D us ti n L amb OL 6 -6/ 320 Fr. Li ns ay, C ali f. (L in ds ay Hig h S ch oo l)
7 2 P et er F or em an O L 6 -4 /2 95 S o. H ou st on , Te xa s (S t. T ho ma s H ig h S ch oo l)
74 D av on te W al la ce O L 6 -4 /31 5 S r. E l P as o, Te xa s ( Ir vi n H ig h S ch oo l)
7 5 A nt on io O rt eg a O L 6 -3 /2 93 R Fr. V ad o, N M (G ad sd en H ig h S ch oo l)
7 7 H ou st on C le me nt e O L 6 - 4/ 3 03 S o. H on ol ul u, H aw ai i ( St . L ou is H ig h S ch oo l)
8 0 P er ri s S co gg in s T E 6 -3 /24 2 S r. F on ta na , C al if . ( Mt . S an J ac in to C ol le ge)
8 1 J am es O ot en W R 6 - 3/ 18 0 F r. P er ri s, C al if . (C it ru s H il l H ig h S ch oo l)
8 2 T ho ma s S he pa rd D L 6 -4 /2 25 R Fr. D en ve r, C ol o. (D en ve r S ou th H ig h S ch oo l)
8 3 Te ld ri ck M or ga n W R 6 -0 /1 85 S o. H an ov er, M d. ( Me ad e H ig h S ch oo l)
8 4 Z ac h J on es T E 6 -4 /2 60 R Fr. H ig hl an ds R an ch , C ol o. ( Th un de r R id ge H ig h S ch oo l)
8 6 R ay ve an M oo re W R 5 -1 0/ 16 8 R Fr . Tu cs on , A ri z. ( Tu cs on M ag ne t H ig h S ch oo l)
87 Prentavious Morehead WR 6-3/165 Fr. Dallas, Texas (Justin F. Kimball High School)
8 8 J oe C or do va W R 6 -8 /2 51 S r. M ar ie tt a, G a. ( Bl es se d Tr in it y C at ho li c H ig h S ch oo l)
8 9 A nd re w D ea n T E 6 -3 /24 4 J r. C am ar il lo , C al if. ( Ad ol fo C am ar il lo H ig h S ch oo l)
9 0 Ni ck Oli va D L 6 -5/ 25 5 S r. S au gu s, C ali f. (C oll eg e o f th e Ca nyo ns)
91 Kal vin Cr uz D L 6 -2 /274 S r. Li tt le ton Co lo . (Ve ntu ra C oll eg e)
9 2 M as on R us se ll D L 6 -5 /2 60 S r. Tu rl oc k, C al if. (S an J oa qu in D el ta C ol le ge)
9 3 Mat t Ra mon do D L 6 -5/ 310 S o. L as C ru ce s, N M (Mi ch ig an St ate)
9 5 I nu ka R ha he ed D L 6 -2 /2 85 S o. F t. P ie rc e, F la . ( We st wo od H ig h S ch oo l)
9 8 W il li e M ob le y D E 6 -2 /2 82 S r. E de n P ra ir ie , M in n. ( Un ive rs it y o f A ri zo na )
9 9 S te ph en M er ed it h D L 6 -3 /2 40 R So . G ar de n G ro ve , C al if . (G ar de n G ro ve H ig h S ch oo l)
The Associated Press
Depending on the per-spective, New Mexico’s 4-9seasonin 2012 canbe viewedas another failure, oras a re-sounding success. The wintotal was actually one morethan the Lobos had com-piled in the previous threeseasons combined, so fromthat aspect there was quitea bit to like.
What’s more, New Mex-icowas competitive in nearlyevery game, which could nothave been said about theLo-bos in previous years.
Last season, “we showed
we can play w ith anybody,”said senior defensive line-man Jacori Greer. “But wedon’t want to be close this
year. We want to win thosegames.”
Five things to watch asthe Lobos continue to try toclimb back to respectabil-ity under second-year coachBob Davie:DEFENSIVE STOPS > NewMexico’s opponents aver-aged 30 points a game andgained 444 yards per out-ing. That was toomuch for ateam reliant on its runninggame, no matterhow strongit may be. “That’s one of the
bigg est empha sis ,” Gre ersaid. “We want to be themost improved defense. Wethink we can.”AERIALATTACK> New Mex-ico managed just 895 yardsthrough the air, less than 70per game. The Lobos com-pleted just five touchdownpasses all season while al-lowing 33. “We know wecannot survive like that this
year,” s aid oensive coordi-nator Bob DeBesse. “We’vegot to be more diverse. Wecan’t be this predictable. So
we’ve had to tweak our of-fense.”STOP THE BLEEDING > New
Mexico closed outthe season with six consecutive losses. And in half of those losses,the Lobos had second-half leads that they lost. “All of us want to see tangible im-provement,” Davie said.“Last year we came close ina lot of games. That doesn’tnecessarilymean weare go-ing to come close again.”GROUNDANDPOUND> As im-potent as the passing was,the rushing attack was ster-ling, finishing with morethan 300 yards a game, fifthnationally.Kasey Carrier av-eraged 122.4 yards, 12th na-tionally. “He’s really a good
fit in what we do,” Daviesaid. “Our third-down pass-inggame wasKaseyCarrierrunning the ball. I bet there
was not a backin the countrythat converted more third-down-and-four or more
yards for first downs.”NUMBERS, NUMBERS, NUM-
BER S> The Lobos are justrecovering from a proba-tionary period that cost thesquad 15 scholarships over athree-year period, while ad-ditional players left the pro-gram upon Davie’s hiring,leaving it short in many ar-eas. Numbersat all positionsare much better, Davie said,
creating competition anda hunger for playing time.
Althou gh depth was an is-sue across the board, it wasparticularly tellingin the de-fensive backfield and undercenter. “We’ve got depth,”defensive coordinator Jeff Mills said. “When you havedepth, you have competi-tion. When you have compe-tition, it pushes each personto evaluate the things theyneed to work at becausethey’re all hungry. Theyhave a little bit of intensitythat they’re bringing it eachday and I think that’s mak-ing each guy better.”
NEW MEXICO LOBOS
5 ways for the Lobos to win this year, not just get close
NEWMEXICOSTATEAGGIES
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For the past several sea-sons, theWesternNew Mex-ico University football teamhasn’t finished where itwanted to be in the RockyMountain Athletic Confer-ence standings. But, thisyear, head coach AdamClark is ready to changethat around, have a break-out year and earn some re-
spect in the RMAC.T h e M u st a ng s w er e
picked to finish seventh inthe conference, which was aspot further than last year’spreseason selection. West-ern finished the year at 4-7overall and had a great op-portunityto winat least fourmore games.
The oense had a greatseason,scoring an average of 29.2 points per game. Quar-terback Mitch Glasmannhad a breakout year, andClark expects himto bethatmuch better this season.
Glasmann is coming off a banner year that saw himnamedconference OensiveFreshman of the Year, set-
ting Division II-era (since1993) school records forpassing yards and touch-downsin a season.He threwfor 3,139 yards and27 touch-downs, completing 249-of-426. Hebrokethe marksthat
were previously set the year befo re by Dav id Ing ram , who amas sed 2,92 7 yard spassing and 24 touchdowns.Glasman had two games
where he threw for over 400 yards a nd thre e others that went for over 300.
His favorite target should be junior wide receiver Don-
ald Byrd, who was namedto the Third-Team oense.Byrd was second on theMustangs in receiving cat-egories, including catches
with 65, yards with 847 andtouchdowns with seven.
Onthe defense, Junior de-fensive end Zachary Dem-
brows ki roun ded out the
Mustangs on the All-Confer-enceteams, ashe was namedto the Third-Team defense.He was stellar along the de-fensive linefor WNMU,lead-ing the team in total tackles
with 69, tackles for loss with11.5 for 79 yards and sacks
with nine for 68 yards. He was also second in the con-ference in sacks.
“We are happy to be backout on the field,” Clark said.“We have some leadershipthat we have never had be-
fore,and wehopethat trans-lates onto the football field.”
Western’s schedule is go-ing to be a dicult one, asthe Mustangs will be onthe road for the first threegames.
“It’s going to be tough be-ing on the road for us forthe first month,” Clark said.“But, we have a real goodopportunity to win some of these games, andcome homeready to play.”
—DannyUdero
ESTERNNEWMEXICOMUSTANGS
Mustangs look to fnish better, earn respect
COURTESY PHOTO
Western’s running game is going to have to step up thisyear to take some of the load o the passing attack.
2013WESTERNNEWMEXICOSCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT TIME
Sept.7 @ University of San Diego 7p.m.
Sept. 21 @ CSU-Pueblo 2 p.m.
Sept. 28 @ Fort Lewis College noon
Oct. 5 Colorado School of Mines 1:30p.m.
Oct. 12 @ Colorado Mesa University 2p.m.
Oct. 19 Western State College noon
Oct. 26 @ Adams State University 1p.m.
Nov. 2 Chadron State College noon
Nov. 9 @ Black Hills St ate 1 p.m.
Nov. 16 New Mexico Highlands noon
“Wehave someleadership thatwehaveneverhadbefore, andwehope thattranslates ontothe footballfield.”—WNMUhead coach AdamClark
5 KEYSTO THE SEASON
With New Mexico State’scollege football seasonless than two weeks away,we take a look at ve keysentering the new year:
1Survive and advance:Lets just say it — the
Aggies are over-scheduledfor the 2013season. Withthat, keeping the team’shealth and condenceintact through the year willbe a top priority for thecoaching sta and play-ers. There’s some winnablegames on the independentdocket — Abilene Christian,Idaho, UTEP and Florida
Atlantic, to name a few.But the team will need tobe ready for such competi-tion once it rolls around,
and needs to capitalize ifit wants to avoid anotherone- or two-win season. Notgetting beat down physi-cally and mentally by elitecompetition will be a chiefchallenge.
2Aggie defense: Springand fall practices saw
the Aggie oense haveconsiderable success run-ning the ball on the NMSUdefense. While it does signalan improved attack in 2013,it’s also worth asking: If theAggies are having troublecontaining the run duringpractice, how will it stopthe University of Texas in
Week 1? In the secondary,while an experienced groupdoes return, the unit willnot be coached by DeWayne
Walker and Mike Rutenberganymore, who now both tu-tor defensive backs for theNFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.The entire Aggie defensewill be tested throughoutthe season, and it at leastneeds to be a respectable
unit that can keep the teamin games.
3Aggie oense: NMSUis implementing a new
oensive scheme as well,albeit one that appears tobe improved from recentyears. The quarterback-option run game is a focalpoint, and with that therushing attack and oensive
line has looked better duringspring and August practic-es. Such a performance willneed to transfer over into
the season, however. If thequarterbacks t the schemewell, and the Aggies cangenerate a more balancedoense with a productiveground game, the teammight be able to win sometime-of-possession battles.
4Special teams: TheAggies at least seem
adequate in the kick-ing game. Punter CayleChapman-Brown was agood player for NMSU in2012, and the team plans onhaving Maxwell Johnson asplace kicker and Brock Bocahandling kicko duties.Who’ll handle punt returns?
That’s an entirely dierentquestion, although the Ag-gies need to nd someoneto ll the role. Last year the
team averaged just 1.2yardsper return, which ranked No.119our of 120FBS teams.One thing to watch: Headcoach Doug Martin will becoordinating such units in2013, so hopefully an uptickin production will follow.
5The 2014season: Inmany respects, this
upcoming campaign is asmuch about the future as itis the present. Aer playingan independent schedule in2013, the Aggies will moveinto the Sun Belt Confer-ence as a football-onlymember in 2014, a moresuitable t for the program
to begin with. The hope isthat in the Sun Belt, NMSUwill have a shot at a .500season (even if that particu-
lar conference is consider-ably improved from yearspast as well). That meansthis year could be used asmuch as a spring boardthan anything else. If theAggies can pocket a handful
of wins and be competi-tive in some other contests(tall orders nonetheless),it would provide consider-able momentum headinginto their new league. That,and perhaps the upcomingyear will give the program achance to get young playerson the eld against qual-ity competition. In short,as much as the Aggies are
playing for today, they’realso playing for tomorrow.
— Teddy Feinberg
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By [email protected]@TeddyFeinberg on Twitter
LAS CRUCES >> Uponhis return to Las Cruces,this time as a first-yearhead coach, Doug Martin
brought an air of positivityand a fresh start to the Ag-gie football program.
We sat down with Mar-tin for a recent interview to
get his thoughts on the up-coming year, and all things
Aggie football:
SUN-NEWS > What’s yourperception of Aggie footballtoday?
DOUGMARTIN> My percep-tion of Aggie football is un-tapped resources....There’s alotof potential here. There’sa lot ofpeople here that want
you t o suc ceed. In the com-
munity, former players, al-ums....The administration....
And I see all that, maybe forthe first time in a long time,
bei ng on the sa me pag e,and moving forward andhaving a direction. I thinkit’s kind of been a rudder-less ship, maybe, before....Ithink that’s myjob,is todic-tate what direction we wantto go in, what we want theprogram to look like in allphases, and then get every-
body else on board with it. And I real ly like where weare right now.
SN > In your estimation, when ta lki ng bowl gam e,how long do you think it’lltake to get the program tothat point?
DM > I don’t ever talk to theplayers about bowl games.
And I don’t ta lk to themabout winning seasons....I
be lie ve th is .. ..U TEP an dUNM: that is the measur-ing stick....You beat thosetwo teams in the same sea-son, that winningseason and
bowl game.... is going to takecareof itself.Justlook atthe
history....Every year, whenNew Mexico State has wonthose twogamesin thesameseason,it’s beena greatyear,it’s been a winning year, it’s
been a championship y ear.
SN > What will Aggie foot- ball do dierently that hasn’t been done before, on a nd o the field?
DM > Really, we’ve alreadyaccomplished that off thefield. Withall thecommunityservice thingswe’vedone- Idon’t even know how manyhours we’ve done, but it’s alot. We’ve had a lot of suc-cessful camps, we’ve kindof re-engaged the community.Our players have really en-
joyed that....I think the otherthing is toget this campustoembrace us. The students....
And then I thin k the thing
that hasto bedierent isthe way we play footbal l... .Theidentity ofwhatwe want thefootball team to look like....Ihave a vision in my head of
what our football team is go-ing to look like one day: it’sgoing tocome runningdownthat tunnel, it’sgoingto be afast, physical football team,plays with a lot of passionand a lot of discipline. Andit’s justa very athletic team.
And team in every sense of the word. We don’t have alot of great star power here.
And that’sOK. The best foot-
bal l tea ms I’ve ever bee naround were just that - they
were team s. And I’m afte rguys that are willing to givethemselves to eachotherandplay for each other.
SN > As you see it, what arethe incremental steps in de-
veloping a quarte rback?
DM > No. 1 is, you gotta havea guy who has confidence,or moxy, or whatever you
want to call it. That ‘it’ fac-tor....There’s just somethingspecial about a real quar-terback. They just have adierent air about them....
The other thing is....a youngquarterback like King (Da-
vis III), you can ruin a kidlike that real early if youput him in a lot of bad sit-uations….(It’s) developing aquarterback.
SN > How many of your cur-rent players could play atBoston College?
DM > I would say (Davonte)Wallace could play at BC,
(Valerian) Ume(-Ezeoke)could play at BC, (Perris)Scoggins could certainlyplay. A lot of the receiverscould play, that’s what theyhadthe hardesttime gettingat Boston College....I thinkKing (Davis III), obviously,could play there. Defen-sively, our secondary would
be pretty eective....They’vegotpretty good linebackers,
but Tra Nixon’s a guy whocould certainly play there.
SN > W ha t a re y ou rstrengths as a coach?
DM > I think organizationand having a vision....Hav-ing a plan that I won’t de-
viate from... .The cl assroomespecially. I’m really ada-mant that we are going to
be g reat i n the classroom... .Quite honestly, we’re notgood enough in the class-room right now to meet my
standard....I don’t believe you’ll ever be successf ul onthe field until you’re suc-cessful off the field. I willout-stubborn them on thatissue....And I’d like to thinkI know something about of-fensive football. And how toscore points....I have a lot of enthusiasm for young men.My college coaches had agreat impact on me, I enjoydoing that, and hope thatcomes across on the play-
ers that I really care aboutthem.
SN > When you looked atgame film last year, what
were your thoughts?
DM > The negatives thatI saw, particularly defen-sively, was the lack of turn-overs(nine total)....AndI feltlike we were very predict-able on defense. You weregoing to play man cover-age, and you were going toget a 4-3....I think with ourtalent and what we have,
we need to be really diverseand really multiple, and be
able to put our guys in a lotof dierent situations to beable to succeed....And thenoffensively....I thought theskill players really had a lotof potential. Germi Morri-son, I thought was a reallygood back, andobviously thereceivers I really like....Myfeeling was that the oen-sive line was better than it
was when I was here b efore. And I think that’s turned outtobe true, watching them up
to this point.
SN > What’s your assess-ment ofregional footballtal-ent,particularlyin Las Cru-ces and El Paso?
DM> I think there’scertainlygoing to be one or two play-ers,obviously,in those areasthat we would oer and re-cruit. And we’ve done thatthis year. Now whether ornot they want to come is a
different issue....I will saythis: I want kids that wantto be here. I don’t wantsomebody that I have totalk them into coming here,or they come here becausethey didn’t get the oer thatthey wanted from some bigschool.....I want the kid that
wants to pl ay for New Mex-ico State. Because that guy
will want to be coached, he’llplay here with passion....We’ll win with the guys that
want to be here.
Sports Editor Teddy Fein-berg can be reached at 575-541-5455
NEW MEXICO STATE FOOTBALL
Q&A: Aggie coach ready to tackle questions
ROBIN ZIELINSKI — SUN-NEWS
Aggie head football coach Doug Martin draws up a play from the NMSU coaches oces
last week.
Online: Read morequestions and answers
from Martin at WWW.LCSUN-
NEWS.COM
• 0-0 at New Mexico State(rst-year head coach of theAggies)
• 29-53record as headcoach at Kent State (2004-10)
• Martin served as oensivecoordinator at NMSU in2011, and also has coordi-nating experience at Boston
College (2012), East Caro-lina (1996-2002) and EastTennessee State ( 1989-91)
• Martin was a four-yearletterwinner at the Univer-sity of Kentucky (1981-84)
• Born on Feb. 4, 1963,Martin and his wife Vickihave a daughter, Molly, andtwo sons, Cory and Bobby
DOUGMARTINBIO
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