2021 Season Preview: Volcano Vista Hawks

<strong>Volcano Vista 2021 Preview</strong> <strong>Head Coach</strong>: Chad Wallin <strong>Mascot</strong>: Hawks <strong>Twitter</strong>: @vvhawksfootball; @CoachWallin <strong>Colors</strong>: Black, Platinum and White <strong>Enrollment</strong>: 2,222 <strong>Spring Record</strong>: 2-1 <strong>Star Players</strong>: QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26247" first="Josh" last="Gerardo"]</strong>, RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134974" first="Acen" last="Aguilar"]</strong>, WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135097" first="Kaden" last="Valdez"]</strong>, WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135095" first="Kieran" last="Cordova"]</strong>, WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26258" first="Kieran" last="Gonzales"]</strong>, DB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135101" first="Tyler" last="Martinez"]</strong>, DB <strong>Ryan Sandoval</strong>. <strong>Breakout Star</strong>: WR [player_tooltip player_id="135097" first="Kaden" last="Valdez"]. <strong>Overview</strong>: Gerardo has the potential for a sensational senior season, but first he must beat out 6-foot-2, 195 pound rising junior <strong>Elliot Paskett-Bell</strong> for the starting QB job. Johnny Herrera put up som5-pound  staggering number in Volcano Vista’s limited spring slate: 1,080 passing yards, 249 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns accounted for in the spring. He’ll head to Arizona Christian University in Phoenix in the fall. The talent around the QB spot is outstanding. Aguilar rushed for 179 yards and 3 touchdowns in the spring. Niko Salazar is a solid backup. We’ve dubbed the talented WR trio of Valdez (22 receptions for 422 yards and 5 TD in just three games), Cordova and Gonzales as the ‘Special K Unit.’ They’ll put up eye-catching (pun intended) numbers this fall. Two starters return on the offensive line. Defensively, the Hawks started nine juniors the spring, most of whom had never played at the varsity level, so there were some expected growing pains. The name to watch is Martinez, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound DB who has camped at Texas Tech and Air Force in June, and looks ready for a monster senior season. Carleton College has expressed interest. Ryan Sandoval will also be featured in the back seven. <strong>Schedule</strong>: After traveling to Las Cruces for the season opener, Volcano Vista stays in the Albuquerque Metro area for the rest of the season. The Week 3 home matchup with Carlsbad is one of the most intriguing cross-district clashes of the year. Plenty of points will be scored in that one. The stretch run is a bear: Cleveland, Rio Rancho and Cibola. 8/20 - at Las Cruces 8/26 - at Manzano 9/4 - Carlsbad 9/10 - La Cueva 9/17 - Bye 9/24 - at Sandia 10/1 - West Mesa 10/7 - at Albuquerque 10/14 - Cleveland 10/22 - Rio Rancho 10/29 - at Cibola <strong>Top Storyline</strong>: Will Volcano Vista be in position for a Class 6A playoff berth when they begin the season-ending three-game gauntlet against Cleveland, Rio Rancho and Cibola? <strong>Final Thoughts</strong>: The last time we had a high school football playoff in New Mexico, Volcano Vista was the No. 1 seed in Class 6A and carried a perfect 11-0 record into a semifinal matchup with Rio Rancho before seeing their dream season come to an end. If the Hawks run the table again in the regular season, Chad Wallin should be the runaway winner for Coach of the Year. Volcano Vista is 22-9 overall since missing the playoffs in 2017 with a 5-5 record. Volcano Vista possesses plenty of offensive firepower on the roster and should score a bushel of points. If the defense keeps up, the Hawks will be one of the more interesting and entertaining teams to watch in Class 6A. <strong>Coach’s Comments</strong>: “The quarterback position is going to be a battle all summer long. It goes back and forth. We’ll see where those guys lead us. We played Josh at different positions in the spring. We’ve primarily had a senior quarterback for the past four years. Josh is stronger and really has arm talent. He throws the ball well. Elliott has good arm talent, but not like Josh. But he’s 6-foot-2 and super athletic. We’ll do something with him if Josh wins the job. . .Kaden is a special athlete. He’s started on the basketball team since he was a sophomore. He has speed, agility and athleticism. [player_tooltip player_id="26258" first="Kieran" last="Gonzales"] is a grinder. [player_tooltip player_id="135095" first="Kieran" last="Cordova"] is blazing fast. Those three guys and a few young guys should be the strength of our offense. We still want to run the ball. As a coach, that’s comforting. But as the passing game takes over and the defense adjusts, you take what they give you. . .[player_tooltip player_id="135101" first="Tyler" last="Martinez"] is the leader of our defense. He’s the cog that makes things go. He’s a very good football player. He’s a hybrid guy. We try to get him close to the point of attack. We move him around quite a bit. . .We’ve been to the semifinals four times. We’ve lost five games in the last three seasons. We have the program stabilized after going up and down for a few years. We have a good culture right now. We’re probably under the radar a bit right now, but we’re grinding hard” – Chad Wallin. https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM/status/1401221535688396800 https://twitter.com/tvler_1/status/1404529625750028291 https://twitter.com/vvhsfootball/status/1385196970143150084 https://twitter.com/tvler_1/status/1401327054969135104 &nbsp;