2021 Team Preview: La Cueva Bears

<strong>La Cueva 2021 Preview</strong> Head Coach: Brandon Back Mascot: Bears Twitter: @LaCuevaFootball, @AidanArmenta Colors: Navy Blue, Silver and White Enrollment: 1,762 Spring Record: 0-3 Key Players: QB [player_tooltip player_id="137862" first="Aidan" last="Armenta"], RB Brandon Cabaniss, WR Myuh Robertson, WR Ian Sanchez, LB Hunter Haemker, LB Christian Buzzard, DE Kolby Burton. Breakout Star: QB [player_tooltip player_id="137862" first="Aidan" last="Armenta"] Overview: Junior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137862" first="Aidan" last="Armenta"]</strong> has everything you seek in a top-level quarterback: length, strong throwing arm, accuracy, touch, leadership. What he lacks is experience. His only varsity experience to date came in La Cueva’s final game in the spring. But his potential is off the charts, as evidenced by the interest he is attracting from colleges. Now La Cueva needs to build around him. Senior <strong>Brandon Cabaniss</strong> and junior <strong>Gabriel Buie</strong> are the top two running backs with <strong>Lucas Lopez</strong> and <strong>Ayden Mitchell</strong> involved in the competition as well. Who will catch the passes from Armenta? Juniors <strong>Myuh Robertson</strong> and <strong>Ian Sanchez</strong> are the slot receivers, with juniors <strong>Exodus Ayers</strong> (early contender for the All-Name team) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171475" first="Mason" last="Crowell"]</strong> on the outside. Defensively, New Mexico commit <strong>Hunter Haemker </strong>(6-3, 215 pounds) anchors the unit with speedy linebacker <strong>Christian Buzzard</strong> next to him. Buzzard finished second behind [player_tooltip player_id="26158" first="Luke" last="Wysong"] in the 100-meter dash at the Class 5A state track and field meet in June with a time of 10.82 seconds. <strong>Kolby Burton</strong> is an excellent defensive end with <strong>Edgar Cuvas</strong> at defensive tackle. <strong>Deven Dyer</strong> and <strong>Dylan Lee</strong> should see plenty of action at defensive end. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145396" first="Colt" last="Mangino"]</strong>, a member of La Cueva’s state championship winning baseball team, leads the secondary. Schedule: La Cueva opens the 2021 campaign with a challenging four-game stretch against Cibola, Rio Rancho, Las Cruces and Volcano Vista. After a home game against Sandia, the Bears play three of the next four games on the road before finishing the regular season against Albuquerque. Aug. 21 CIBOLA (Sat.) Aug. 27 RIO RANCHO Sept. 4 at Las Cruces (Sat.) Sept. 10 at Volcano Vista Sept. 17 SANDIA Sept. 24 at Clovis Sept. 30 at Eldorado (Thur.) Oct. 8 Bye Oct. 16 SANTA FE (Sat.) Oct. 22 at Manzano Oct. 29 ALBUQUERQUE Top Storyline: Will [player_tooltip player_id="137862" first="Aidan" last="Armenta"] live up to the billing as one of the top 2023 quarterbacks in the state? Final Thoughts: La Cueva was winless in the spring, but that was more of a factor of head coach Brandon Back’s decision to play the seniors and give them one final hurrah before they graduated. The Bears have a very good football team, notably  Armenta and the talented defense, which should be one of the best in Class 6A. Some people are probably sleeping on La Cueva because of their spring record, but the Bears have a wonderful opportunity to wake folks up with their early-season schedule. The duel between Armenta and Cibola QB [player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"] in the Aug. 21 season opener is one of the must-watch games of the season. Coach’s Comments: “Aidan has worked hard to get his shot. He is going to take full advantage of it. He still has to work hard. But he knows what he needs to do. He’s always working like he’s number two. He’s gotten better each week. He’s listening to his quarterbacks coach and he’s working on his foot work. Those are the most important things. He listens very well. When he played in the spring, he had a deer in the head lights look. But he made great adjustments. He does a good job not letting a good or bad play ruin his emotions. He knows he has to stay steady with his emotions and move on to the next play. So far, we like his progress and his attitude. . .I like the competition at running back. At wide receiver, we have a lot of speed. We’re still young. We have a lot of juniors. We have a lot of young talent and a lot of speed. If they continue to get better at their route running, we’ll have some really good weapons there. Overall, this is one of the fastest teams we’ve had. . .I’m excited about our defense. I’m a defensive coach and I love the fire our defense has been bringing lately. . .Hunter loves the weight room. I know (UNM)  Coach Long loves linebackers who want to be in the weight room and want to get stronger. He does that. You have to have the right size and speed to play Division I and he checks both those boxes. And his character and leadership are exemplary. He does things the right way. He’s dependable and he listens. . .Our schedule is pretty rough, so we’re going to find out very early what we’re made of." - Brandon Back https://twitter.com/hunter_haemker/status/1407120362521825295 https://twitter.com/Brandega/status/1425993129480523781 https://twitter.com/AidanArmenta/status/1425172638201049093