7×7 Recap/Video: Young QBs Take Center Stage In Rio Rancho

Every quarterback who took a snap in Wednesday night’s 7-on-7 event at Cleveland High School has at least two years left in their prep careers. In short, youth was served. The biggest name, of course was 2023 Cibola QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"]</strong>, who led the Cougars into their final 7x7 tune-up before preseason camp begins Aug. 2. Cleveland has an ongoing quarterback battle between 2023 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139521" first="Evan" last="Wysong"]</strong> and 2024 southpaw <strong>Elijah Brody</strong>. Based on the number of snaps each signal caller took on Wednesday, Wysong appears to have an edge heading into August. Wysong, best known for his 4.5 speed in the 40, started the night fast, throwing four TD passes against Cibola in the opening 15 minutes as the Storm rocketed down the field on each drive. Wysong isn’t big (listed at 5-10, 155 pounds) but he possesses a strong arm and throws the ball with uncanny accuracy. And with his speed, Wysong is always a threat to tuck it and run. “Evan gives us an advantage out on the edge because he’s so fast,” Cleveland head coach Heath Ridenour told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “He’ll always be a threat when we snap it to him. Any mistake he makes is something we can fix. Sometimes he doesn’t have the experience to execute a play the way we want. We can solve inexperience. “Evan is more than capable to make any throw and make any decision. He just needs time in the film room and time to see what teams are doing. He’s going to get tons of film study. He’s going to know what teams will do and what to expect. It won’t be just come out here and see what they do.” Brody, also a basketball player for the Storm, is several inches taller than Wysong but lacks his experience at the varsity level. “We don’t miss a beat when Elijah is back there,” Ridenour said. “It’s a good problem to have. Remember, he’s still a sophomore and he played just two games as a freshman. The only quarterback we’ve played as a sophomore is (the recently graduated) [player_tooltip player_id="26185" first="Jeff" last="Davison"]. “Elijah has the cards stacked against him from an experience standpoint. But he’s very cerebral. He understands the game and is very coachable. He’s picking up the offense very fast. He has a very bright future in our program.” The presumptive QB starter for Rio Rancho is senior <strong>Dominick Priddy</strong>. Behind him are a trio of promising sophomores: <strong>Rayce Ramirez</strong>, <strong>Noah Nelson</strong> and <strong>Dominic Valencia</strong>. Because Priddy is with his traveling baseball team at the moment, those three young quarterbacks took all the snaps Wednesday night. “Dominick has some of the ‘it factor,’ Rio Rancho coach Gerry Pannoni told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “Those three sophomores out here (Wednesday) are all talented. And they all have different talents. Are we set on a quarterback yet? I don’t think we are. Dom has played a lot of baseball, so he hasn’t been around a whole lot and gotten a lot of reps with the first group, while these younger guys have.” One of young quarterbacks will probably earn the No. 2 job behind Priddy, who served as the Rams’ backup in the spring and saw limited action. “With these young guys, we’re not looking for somebody to be the captain of the ship,” Rio Rancho coach Gerry Pannoni told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “They just have to make sure they execute. We do have playmakers that can make some plays.” https://youtu.be/8_R6NjSFDzQ https://youtu.be/RoG4_5-ATH4 https://youtu.be/vZa7ERvX5ZM