Team Preview: Clovis

<strong>Clovis 2020 Preview</strong> <strong>Head Coach</strong>: Cal Fullerton <strong>Mascot</strong>: Wildcats <strong>Twitter</strong>: @chs_wildcats <strong>Enrollment</strong>: 1,576 <strong>2019 Record</strong>: 8-4 <strong>Star Players</strong>: QB [player_tooltip player_id="26155" first="Chance" last="Harris"], RB [player_tooltip player_id="26162" first="Jeston" last="Webskowski"] <strong>Breakout Star</strong>: OLB [player_tooltip player_id="26219" first="Ernesto" last="Acuna"] <strong>Overview</strong>: Everything in football starts with the quarterback position and Clovis has the best in the state in Harris, who has already committed to Colorado State. Harris is entering his third season as the Clovis starting QB, and his numbers have steadily improved each year. Last season, he threw for 2,281 yards and 22 touchdowns in nine games, completing 62 percent of his throws. Add Webskowski (1,713 rushing yards and 27 TD + 35 receptions and 4 TD in 2019) to the mix and the Wildcats have a legitimate claim for the best offensive backfield in New Mexico. Only Cleveland with its array of talent is on the same level. Defensively, DL [player_tooltip player_id="26157" first="Jaden" last="Phillips"], who has verbally committed to New Mexico, had 42 tackles and four sacks in 2019. The Lobos have expressed interest in 6-foot-3, 215-pound OLB [player_tooltip player_id="26219" first="Ernesto" last="Acuna"] (46 tackles, 7 TFL in 2019), who looks to bounce back from a torn ACL late in the season. If he does, the offers could pour in. Pound-for-pound, Acuna could be the best athlete on Clovis in terms of speed, strength and explosiveness. DB Robert Nora is just a rising sophomore but should make plenty of noise this season. He’s certainly a 2023 prospect to watch. <strong>Schedule</strong>: Fri. Aug. 21 at Hobbs Fri. Aug. 28 El Paso (Tex.) Ysleta Fri. Sept. 4 at Frenship (Wolfforth, Tex.) Fri. Sept. 11 Rio Rancho Fri. Sept. 18 Bye Fri., Sept. 25 at La Cueva Fri. Oct. 2 at Albuquerque Fri. Oct. 9 Santa Fe Fri. Oct. 16 Manzano (Homecoming) Fri. Oct. 23 at Sandia Fri. Oct. 30 Eldorado <strong>Top Storyline</strong>: Will elite talent at the offensive skill positions carry Clovis to its first state title in nearly two decades? <strong>Final Thoughts</strong>: The first half of Clovis’ schedule will tell us a lot about the Wildcats and whether they’re truly state championship contenders. The showdown with Rio Rancho on Sept. 11 is the ‘Game of the Year’ in Class 6A and a possible championship game preview. After a bye, they open district play against new rival La Cueva. If Clovis starts 5-0, an undefeated regular season and the No. 1 seed for the 6A playoffs is likely. Historically, the Wildcats are one of the state’s most successful programs with 13 titles and 22 championship game appearances on their resume, but they haven’t lifted the championship trophy since 2001 or reached the title game since 2007. All that could change this season. <strong>Coach’s Comments</strong>: “We lost some really good senior leadership from last season, but the core of the team was the juniors. And most of those juniors played when they were sophomores. Go back two years ago (2018) when we were 4-7. We lost four games by six points or less. So, we were in some ballgames when they were sophomores. They have gotten used to the speed of the game and competed well. Making that run (to the semifinals in 2019) has made our kids even more hungry. Chance has played varsity since he was a freshman. Colorado State was shocked more teams weren’t after Chance considering how good he can throw it and how well built he is and how tough he is. Jeston is special. He can outrun you, run over you or juke you, and he can catch the ball out of the backfield. He plays free safety too, so he won’t come off the field very often.”