2021 Season Preview: Cleveland Storm

<strong>Cleveland 2021 Preview</strong> Head Coach: Heath Ridenour Mascot: Storm Twitter: @CHSStormFB,  @Coach_Ridenour Colors: Black, Silver, Electric Blue Enrollment: 2,600 Spring Record: 4-0 (Won Class 6A Bowl Game vs. Las Cruces) Key Players: QB [player_tooltip player_id="139521" first="Evan" last="Wysong"], RB [player_tooltip player_id="138204" first="Josh" last="Perry"], RB Lucious Dickson, WR [player_tooltip player_id="139523" first="Nic" last="Trujillo"], DL Jose Maes, LB Stratton Shufelt, LB [player_tooltip player_id="26237" first="Dominic" last="Vasquez"]. Breakout Star: LB Stratton Shufelt. Overview: If the just completed 7-on-7 season is any indication, Cleveland isn’t going away anytime soon. Start at quarterback. The Storm lost a good one in [player_tooltip player_id="26185" first="Jeff" last="Davison"], who has joined New Mexico State as a walk-on. But the duo of junior  <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139521" first="Evan" last="Wysong"]</strong> and sophomore <strong>Elijah Brody</strong> look ready to take over. Coming out of 7-on-7 season, Wysong has the edge with his strong, accurate arm and blazing speed and will likely be the starter. But Brody has talent as well and could see action this season. When he does, Wysong could move to slot receiver, arguably his best spot at the next level. What both quarterbacks need the most right now is experience and time spent watching film. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138204" first="Josh" last="Perry"]</strong> and <strong>Lucious Dickson</strong> are the running backs. Both got valuable experience in the spring. The WR corps is better than people think following the departures of FBS talents [player_tooltip player_id="26158" first="Luke" last="Wysong"] (New Mexico) and [player_tooltip player_id="26156" first="Tre" last="Watson"] (Fresno State) with the dynamic <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139523" first="Nic" last="Trujillo"]</strong> doing what he does best and that’s making plays. Tight ends <strong>Max Gillet</strong> and <strong>Michael Ortiz</strong> are big targets and potential weapons. Defensively, 6-foot-5 <strong>Jose Maes</strong> anchors the defensive line. Sophomore LB <strong>Stratton Shufelt</strong> is our Top 2024 prospect in the state. He earned First-Team All-State honors in the spring as a freshman and headlines the Storm’s deep linebacker corps. New Mexico has already offered. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26237" first="Dominic" last="Vasquez"]</strong> is going into his third year as a starter there, while senior <strong>Kendal Ulmer</strong> returns at DL as a three-year starter. The secondary is fairly new because most of last spring’s staters were seniors. Schedule: As usual, Cleveland plays a very challenging schedule beginning with the opener against Centennial on a hot Saturday afternoon in Las Cruces. The Las Cruces Bulldawgs come to Rio Rancho in Week 4 for a battle of heavyweights in what could be a Class 6A championship game preview. The following week the Storm travel to Artesia. The district schedule is loaded with games against Cibola, Volcano Vista, West Mesa and, of course, rival Rio Rancho. Whew. Aug. 21 at Centennial (at FOD) Aug. 27 EL PASO (TEX.) FRANKLIN Sept. 3 MANZANO Sept. 10 LAS CRUCES Sept. 17 at Artesia Sept. 24 Bye Oct. 1 ATRISCO HERITAGE Oct. 8 at Cibola (C) Oct. 14 at Volcano Vista (C) Oct. 22 WEST MESA Oct. 29 at Rio Rancho Top Storyline: Will Cleveland reload or are they rebuilding? Final Thoughts: If we’ve learned anything about Cleveland over the past decade, it’s never bet against the Storm. They have played at a consistently high level for years – a testament to Heath Ridenour’s masterful job as head coach – and there’s little reason to believe they will take a step backwards in 2021. Cleveland lost plenty of talent from the spring but there’s plenty of talent returning as well. If there are two players who define the 2021 Storm, it’s [player_tooltip player_id="139521" first="Evan" last="Wysong"] and Shufelt. Both are young, talented players with loads of promise and could be household names by the end of the season. Coach’s Comments: “We rotated our two-deep all summer. We focused on getting better. We’ve rotated quarterbacks, running backs, everybody. It’s about program development. . .We have a lot of good depth. We lost a good senior class, but our program is stronger than one class. You look at our body of work over the last 10 to 12 years, we have a good program. We put kids in position to be successful. That’s one of the things our coaches emphasize. We’re going to develop every kid in the program. That’s why we’re able to reload rather than rebuild. . .Both Evan and Elijah are really intelligent. Evan gives us an advantage out on the edge with his speed. We’ll find way to get him out on the edge. And we don’t miss a beat with Elijah at quarterback. We have two guys who can play at a high level. It’s a good problem to have. . .Josh and Lucious are both very good running backs. They both played last season and understand the offense. I think they’re going to be two of the best running backs in the state. . .[player_tooltip player_id="139523" first="Nic" last="Trujillo"] is playing the same position as [player_tooltip player_id="26158" first="Luke" last="Wysong"] last spring and he’s just coming into his own. He’s going to be dynamic. He’s very intelligent. He’s a playmaker. He might be the best after the catch guy we’ve ever had.” – <strong>Heath Ridenour</strong> &nbsp; https://twitter.com/CHSStormFB/status/1385335846077796352 https://twitter.com/AmericanRivalry/status/1402690025356152836