2021 Team Preview: Eldorado Eagles

<strong>Eldorado 2021 Preview</strong> Head Coach: Charlie Dotson Mascot: Eagles Twitter: @EldoEaglesFB, @EldoFootball14 (Charlie Dotson) Colors: Gold, Texas Orange, White Enrollment: 1,758 Spring Record: 1-2 Key Players: QB [player_tooltip player_id="135326" first="Elias" last="Franco"], QB Aidan St. John, RB Gabriel Velez, RB [player_tooltip player_id="135122" first="Shane" last="Aspera"], LB A.J. Otero, LB Aidan Martinez, S Alesandro Morrison. S Mark Pcheco. Breakout Star: LB A.J. Otero. Overview: Like many teams during preseason camp, Eldorado’ first order of business is deciding on a starting quarterback. In the wake of [player_tooltip player_id="26222" first="Nick" last="Petty"]’s graduation, seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135326" first="Elias" last="Franco"]</strong> and <strong>Aidan St. John</strong> are battling for the job 10 days before the season opener for the Eagles. Sophomore <strong>Brandon Olivas</strong> (2024) is ready to pounce if Dotson wants to move in a different direction personnel-wise. Dotson has already decided to tweak the offensive scheme. Eldorado will utilize the spread more than last year after hiring a new offensive coordinator to replace Greg Henington, who left to become the head coach at Los Lunas. But the Eagles still intend to establish the run as a key component of their offense. Junior <strong>Gabriel Velez</strong> and senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135122" first="Shane" last="Aspera"]</strong> succeed Elijah Goree, who has also graduated, at running back. Three starters return at offensive line. Wide receiver is a question mark with so many new faces. Nearly every contributing receiver for the Eagles in the spring was a senior. Defensively, Eldorado is entering the second year with the same defensive coordinator. The defensive line and secondary will be inexperienced as well. The good news is both inside linebackers return – seniors <strong>A.J. Otero</strong> and <strong>Aidan Martinez</strong>. Aspera will play outside linebacker<strong>. John Fahey</strong> and <strong>Jupi Rabago</strong> headline the defensive line. <strong>Alesandro Morrison</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138052" first="Mark" last="Pacheco"]</strong> will be the safeties. Schedule: Eldorado opens the season on a Thursday night against Highland at Wilson Stadium. Tough trips to Mayfield and Rio Rancho follow in non-district play before the Eagles play three of the next four at home. The rivalry game with La Cueva is Thur., Sept. 30. The bye week doesn’t come until Week 10 on the FB calendar. In a scheduling quirk, Eldorado plays five of its 10 regular season games on Thur. or Sat. Aug. 19 HIGHLAND (Thur.) Aug. 28 at Mayfield (Sat.) Sept. 3 at Rio Rancho Sept. 10 CIBOLA Sept. 18 SANTA FE (Sat.) Sept. 24 at Albuquerque Sept. 30 LA CUEVA (Thur.) Oct. 8 at Manzano Oct. 14 at Sandia (Thur.) Oct. 22 BYE Oct. 30 CLOVIS Top Storyline: Will a new spread attack and new quarterback lift Eldorado to its 13th playoff appearance in the last 14 years? Final Thoughts: Eldorado has been one of the consistently solid programs in the state of New Mexico for over a decade, and nothing suggests anything will be different in 2021. The Eagles will compete for a playoff berth just as they do every year. But they have unknowns at quarterback, receiver, defensive line and secondary. We’ll find out a lot about Eldorado in the first four weeks of the season, particularly the road trips to Mayfield and Rio Rancho in Weeks 2 and 3, which precede the Week 4 clash with Cibola. If Eldorado gets out of that challenging stretch with a couple of wins, watch out. Coach’s Comments: “We’re going to go to the spread a little bit more than we did last year. We’ll be a spread team that likes to run the ball. We’ll try to mix the pass and the run.  . .Both of our running backs have experience and both have played the last couple of years. We’re excited about that with four returning linemen. We’ll start with running the ball and move on with trying to hit receivers in the passing game. We have to be more consistent there. I know Elias and Aidan are excited for the opportunity. We’ll see who plays the best. . .The new offense is going to be a process. . .Wide receiver is probably our most inexperienced position. We have some young sophomores and we have a basketball player that will play. We’ll see how it goes. . .We’re going to be inexperienced at D-Line and defensive backs, but we’ll see how we progress. . .Our first goal is to make the playoffs and try to win a state championship. We’ve been fortunate to make it 12 of the last 13 years. That means we have to play well in non-district and get ahead of the teams in our district.”  -- Charlie Dotson https://twitter.com/EldoEaglesFB/status/1422724126125350915 https://twitter.com/EldoEaglesFB/status/1422729824414539776 https://twitter.com/EldoEaglesFB/status/1418993519339868161