Five quarterbacks with the most to prove next season

Some high school quarterbacks in the state of New Mexico are looking to build off solid seasons in 2019, and take their game to the next level. Other quarterbacks, however, are trying to replace graduated seniors and go into the spring without much experience OR know they must improve for their teams to have the type of season they want. Here are five quarterbacks with the most to prove in 2019: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26198" first="Joey" last="Cave"], Rio Rancho</strong>: A major reason Rio Rancho reached the Class 6A state championship game in 2019 was the stellar performance of quarterback Isaiah Chavez, who amassed 3,415 total yards through the air and on the ground. The crown now passes to Cave, who threw eight passes as a junior. Cave gets one shot as Rio Rancho’s starting QB. And the expectations surrounding the Rams are always to win the state title. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26220" first="Ryan" last="Cook"], La Cueva</strong>: After transferring from Alamogordo, Cook watched Bears quarterback Austin Smith throw for 3,174 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2019. Like Cave, Cook gets one shot as the starting quarterback for one of the most successful programs over the past three seasons. Cook attempted just four passes for the varsity in 2019. Can Cook help lead La Cueva, which won the Class 6A championship in 2018, back to the mountain top? <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26168" first="Karsten" last="Rueckner"], Centennial</strong>: Centennial has put together back-to-back 10-win seasons and now it’s up to Rueckner to help keep the momentum going for the Las Cruces-based school. He was arguably Centennial’s best defensive player a season ago with six interceptions and possesses the skill set to become a dangerous dual threat quarterback. If he does, Centennial will make some noise in Class 6A. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26222" first="Nick" last="Petty"], Eldorado</strong>: Petty appeared in just four games for Eldorado in 2019 and attempted just 38 passes. However, he served notice in July at the Jenkins Elite Camp in Colorado that he’s serious about locking down the starting job in the spring. According to Prep Redzone Colorado’s report, Petty was “another player with good timing and accuracy, Petty showed good arm strength and the ability to throw an accurately deep ball down the sideline in 1-on-1 drills with receivers and defensive backs.” If he does that in the spring, Eldorado will make some noise in a difficult district. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26223" first="Cord" last="Cox"], Artesia</strong>: Succeeding any quarterback that throws for over 3,500 yards and 46 touchdowns in a single high school season will always be challenging, but it looks like that task will fall to Cox, a rising senior that attempted 23 passes in 2019. Listed at 5-foot-10, one thing Cox doesn’t have is 6-foot-5 Clay Houghtaling’s enormous size. So, he might be a different type of quarterback for one of the state’s most storied programs. https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1286101471381995520 https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1282089159935406080