7×7 Report: Academy QB prepares for Jr. year with big night
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Even without its top wide receiver ( Kellan Gehres Kellan Gehres 5'10" | 150 lbs | WR Albuquerque Academy | 2023 State NM ), Albuquerque Academy looked in mid-season form Tuesday night during 7-on-7 action at Highland High School. Led…
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Continue ReadingEven without its top wide receiver ( Kellan Gehres Kellan Gehres 5'10" | 150 lbs | WR Albuquerque Academy | 2023 State NM ), Albuquerque Academy looked in mid-season form Tuesday night during 7-on-7 action at Highland High School.
Led by 2023 quarterback A.J. Rivera A.J. Rivera 6'2" | 195 lbs | QB Albuquerque Academy | 2023 State NM , the Chargers moved the ball up and down the field against Class 4A District 5/6 rival St. Pius X with a steady stream of intermediate routes designed to secure 1-on-1 matchups with the defense.
“We had a good night tonight,” Rivera told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “There is always room to get better. I made some mistakes, but we’re out here to get better so the season means something. We feel we have a chance to make a statement this year. The hype is starting to build at the school, which is something we haven’t seen in a long time. We’re excited.”
Academy head coach Shaun Gehres was pleased with how the Chargers played Tuesday.
“Our younger guys are definitely starting to figure out what we’re trying to do scheme-wise, offensively and defensively,” Gehres said. “We have a good mix. We have a lot of older guys out. But it’s a great opportunity for the younger guys to get reps and play against some decent competition.”
Besides Academy and St. Pius X, five other schools participated in Tuesday night’s event: Highland, Bernalillo, Valley, Hope Christian and Pojoaque Valley.
The Chargers finished 2-2 in the spring with victories over Tucumcari and Moriarty. Rivera overall completed 74.2 percent of his passes (49-66) for 728 yards and 6 touchdowns with 4 interceptions.
In two seasons as the Academy’s starting quarterback, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Rivera has 18 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions.
“Coming into my junior year, I feel like I’ve been a little off with touchdown-to-interception ratio my entire career, so far,” Rivera said. “I’d like to come out this season and keep the interceptions to a minimum, working on getting my teammates the ball and let them make plays.
Rivera camped at Stanford a few weeks ago and attended the Top 200 camp in Albuquerque. He’s camping at Kansas State on July 27 and possibly visiting Kansas while he’s in the Sunflower State.
Academy head coach Shaun Gehres utilizes Rivera in a variety of ways to keep defenses on their toes, including straight dropbacks and rollouts.
“What’s missing on my tape is my ability to move around in the pocket and outside the pocket,” Rivera said. “I want to showcase that. I’ve gotten more mobile and I’m still working on getting more mobile. Mentally, I want to show I’m capable of more advanced reads.”
2023 WR Kellan Gehres Kellan Gehres 5'10" | 150 lbs | WR Albuquerque Academy | 2023 State NM is also an outstanding basketball player and missed Tuesday night’s session because he’s traveling with his AAU summer team. This past spring, Gehres averaged nearly 20 yards per reception (10 catches for 191 yards) with 1 TD and enters the fall campaign as one of the top pass catchers in Class 4A.
“He’s a great help,” Rivera smiled “He’s a great bailout guy. When I need him, I know he’s going to be there. We have a couple of guys like that this year, which is nice. He’s dependable.”
NOTES:
— 2022 St. Pius X RB Marco Ybarra Marco Ybarra 5'10" | 190 lbs | RB St. Pius X | 2022 State NM told Prep Redzone New Mexico that Carleton College in Minnesota is showing strong interest. He will also visit Ivy League institution Brown University in Providence, RI on July 21 for a camp and tour. He has also taken a virtual visit with St. Ambrose University in Iowa. Ybarra has been selected to play in the Blue-Grey All American Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Dallas on Dec. 20.
— St. Pius X QB/S Cian Jones told Prep Redzone New Mexico that he has camped at a half dozen schools, including Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Tulsa, University of Central Oklahoma and Texas Tech. The 6-foot-1 Jones is competing with two other candidates for the Sartans’ starting QB job. He said Central Oklahoma is showing interest. He visited there last weekend.
— Shaun Gehres (@CoachGehres) July 6, 2021
Honored to be selected to play in the @BlueGreyFB All-American Bowl on December 20th at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium!!
Thank you so much Mr. Gus Bell and the entire Selection Committee! pic.twitter.com/yvVQlqOlh1— Marco Ybarra (@marcoayb) July 13, 2021