City Rankings: Top 5 Wide Receivers in Metro Albuquerque

We’ve given you the top wide receivers in classifications 3A-6A. Now we’ll break down the position by geography starting with Metro Albuquerque and continuing with Las Cruces/Southern New Mexico, and Santa Fe/Northern New Mexico. The Albuquerque Public School district consists of 13 public high schools and two private schools that play football (Albuquerque Academy and St. Pius X). It’s important to note the APSD does not include Rio Rancho, Bernalillo, Los Lunas or Belen, so the schools located in those towns will not be included in these rankings. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26171" first="Brad" last="Thomas"], La Cueva</strong>: Thomas finally enters a season as WR1 for the Bears. Last season, Connor O’Toole, who signed with Utah, was the top target but he only played in seven games before being injured. Thomas went on to lead La Cueva with 70 receptions for 1,235 yards, third highest in the state, and 13 touchdowns. His reception total is highest among returning receivers in the state by a wide margin. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26177" first="David" last="Mapalo"], Sandia</strong>: In the wake of highly touted DE [player_tooltip player_id="26154" first="Sam" last="Carrell"]’s decision to enroll early at Baylor, Mapalo is going to be counted on even more by the Sandia coaches for leadership and guidance. Mapalo is a strong candidate for breakout star of the year. His impressive series of performances on the summer camp circuit show he might be ready to erupt. Don’t bet against it. <strong>Elijah Spaulding, Cibola</strong>: Not only does Cibola have one of the top young quarterbacks in the region with Aden Chavez, he’s got a prominent target in Spaulding, who had 40 receptions for 531 yards and four touchdowns as a junior in 2019. Cibola’s potentially prolific offense is one of Albuquerque’s best kept secrets, but Spaulding is a major reason the Cougars could get more attention in the spring. <strong>Kellen Gehres, Albuquerque Academy</strong>: Gehres is just a sophomore and similar to Albuquerque Academy QB AJ Rivera, enjoyed a sensational freshman campaign with 34 receptions for 554 yards and 6 touchdowns. He averaged 16.3 yards per reception. A solid spring season should catapult him to more success in the fall of 2021 and beyond. <strong>Johnny Herrera, Volcano Vista</strong>: Overshadowed by a senior-dominated wide receiver corps in 2019, Herrera is another pass catcher set for a breakout season in the spring. In eight games, Herrera caught 23 passes for 294 yards and 1 TD. He has offers from Culver-Stockton College, Macalester College and Kenyon College. <strong>Honorable Mention</strong>: Eric Winters (La Cueva); [player_tooltip player_id="26270" first="James" last="Jenkins"] (Hope Christian); [player_tooltip player_id="26249" first="Tim" last="Drennan"] (West Mesa); Xander Gibson (Eldorado); [player_tooltip player_id="26217" first="Cole" last="McClain"] (La Cueva); [player_tooltip player_id="26263" first="Mark" last="McIntosh"] (Albuq. Academy); Antwaan Wilson (Manzano); Nick Pascuzzi (St. Pius X); [player_tooltip player_id="26258" first="Kieran" last="Gonzales"] (Volcano Vista). https://twitter.com/JPtheSportsGuy/status/1322614753588518913